Canberra with every dimension
It’s almost certain that Canberra is not going to seduce you with a vibrant city life and many touristic attractions at glance, however, Canberra definitely offers a different Aussie experience if you go there and take it. If it is your first time studying abroad, just bear in mind that it’s not going to be about the city and places you visit, rather you’re going to remember the memories with the people you happen come along the way. So, it does not really matter where you go, or at which university you decide to study abroad. It is needless to say that each city has its upsides as well as downsides. In this case, you are more likely to live in a city where 1/3 of the locals are students and the rest is almost government officials or professionals working for the companies, meaning that the chances you’re going to bump into someone you know on your way to school or when you hit the clubs/pubs are quite high. This closeness brings all the students in Canberra, especially the ones study at ANU, together and creates a community to which you feel you belong. My only and best advice is to take advantage of this by joining Halls -fraternity/sorority-like student communities mostly live together-, student clubs, and going out on every Thursday, which is the student night of the city. Once you get the feeling of this community as you go along with it, you will realize you become a true “Canberran” while starting to find the city and the life there oddly charming.
Transportation
Go get a bike on gumtree.com. It was the wisest decision I’ve made and I secured an okay bike for only 20 bucks. I’m sure you can find something that works out for you not more than a hundred bucks. If you don’t feel like cycling in the city -you are so weird mate-, you can use the busses and they pretty much everywhere. I wouldn’t say the city and the suburbs are well-connected but hey you are there for only couple of months and you will barely go to the suburbs. If you ever happen to be in need for a cab, go take an Uber. It’s usually half the price and easier to just to call one on your phone. They even have an Uber waiting lounge at the airport, if you wonder where the hell this Uber driver is waiting for you. This is me, first-hand experience speaking again.
Places to travel
There are many attractions in and around the city, and I’m you are going to hear all about them once you settle in. Just to give you some insight, Canberra is not so far from Sydney, only 3 hours by bus or 2.5 hour by car, which means you can easily go for weekend trips to a metropolitan city if you really miss living in a big city. Unfortunately, Melbourne is a bit farther, approximately 9-hour drive from Canberra. However, the city has an airport and recently one of the cheapest airlines in the country, Tiger Airlines, just opened up a counter and offers flights to both Melbourne and Sydney and they probably take around 45 minutes and a 1 hour and 15 minutes respectively. Though it may be relatively smaller airport than the ones you have seen before there are quite few flights you can to some other major cities from this airport, such as Brisbane, Newcastle, Perth, and Adelaide. Last but not least, the exchange semester is to short to just to spend in Canberra, so go and take every possible chance for traveling to the East Coast and to the south for the Great Ocean Road.
Climate
Canberra has a very arid climate this place gets really cold in one of the hottest country in the World, around minus something in the night, so to speak. This cold breeze during the night goes through till the spring and it may even show itself during the summer. Not surprisingly, summers there are quite hot due to this aridness. No worries, it is still Straya, noting that you may experience a climate which is not so different than the one you are used to back home.
Nature
If you’re into hiking and going for a long run in the nature, Canberra may be a right place for you to go. Seriously, this place is surrounded by numerous great hiking paths that you can go for an evening run and watch the sunset with kangaroos around the place. Yes. Kangaroos. All around. Mount Ainslie would probably the best bet if you wanted to hang around with some roos. I also recall someone telling me they saw them around Black Mountain, which does not really surprise me. After all, this is Straya and there are more kangaroos than people. Lastly, keep in mind that roos usually come out in the evening and chill for a while in the plain areas. I don’t really know why but that’s how they like it and I’m telling you this now so you will not get disappointed once you climb all the way to Mount Ainslie in the noon and see nothing but bunch of hikers. First-hand experience speaking here.
