Let's talk about Canberra

Since I moved to Canberra, I haven't talked about this city although I know some people have already underestimate this city as quite one, yeah being public servants city is not as cool as Melbourne or Sydney.

Here is what wikipedia says about Canberra:
Canberra (pronounced /ˈkænbrə, ˈkænbərə/[3]) is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth largest Australian city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, 280 km (170 mi) south-west of Sydney, and 660 km (410 mi) north-east of Melbourne. The site of Canberra was selected for the location of the nation's capital in 1908 as a compromise between rivals Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's two largest cities. It is unusual among Australian cities, being an entirely purpose-built, planned city. Following an international contest for the city's design, a design by the Chicago architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin was selected and construction commenced in 1913. The city's design was heavily influenced by the garden city movement and incorporates significant areas of natural vegetation that have earned Canberra the title "bush capital". Although the growth and development of Canberra were hindered by the World Wars and the Great Depression, it emerged as a thriving city after World War II.

As the seat of the government of Australia, Canberra is the site of Parliament House, the High Court of Australia and numerous government departments and agencies. It is also the location of many social and cultural institutions of national significance, such as the Australian War Memorial, National Gallery of Australia, National Museum of Australia and the National Library of Australia. The federal government contributes the largest percentage of Gross State Product and is the largest single employer in Canberra.

Canberra experiences hot, quite dry summers, and cold winters with heavy fog and frequent frosts, with a rare spot of snow in the CBD but the surrounding areas get annual snowfall through winter and often the snow capped mountains can be seen from the CBD. The highest recorded maximum temperature was 42.2 °C (108 °F) on 1 February 1968. The lowest recorded minimum temperature was −10.0 °C (14 °F) on 11 July 1971. Light snow falls in the city in one out of approximately three winters but is usually not widespread and quickly dissipates. Thunderstorms can occur between September and March, with rainfall maximums in spring and summer.

The urban areas of Canberra are organised into a hierarchy of districts, town centres, group centres, local suburbs as well as other industrial areas and villages. There are seven districts, each of which is divided into smaller suburbs, and most of which have a town centre which is the focus of commercial and social activities. The districts were settled in the following chronological order:

• North Canberra, mostly settled in the 1920s and '30s, with expansion up to the 1960s, now 14 suburbs
• South Canberra, settled from the 1920s to '60s, 13 suburbs --> where we live in.
  
• Woden Valley, first settled in 1963, 12 suburbs
• Belconnen, first settled in 1967, 25 suburbs
• Weston Creek, settled in 1969, 8 suburbs
• Tuggeranong, settled in 1974, 19 suburbs
• Gungahlin, settled in the early 1990s, 18 suburbs although only 12 are developed or under development
• Molonglo, development to begin in 2009, 12 suburbs planned.

I like living here because this city is easy to live in and pretty relax compare to other big cities like Jakarta, Melbourne or Sydney. It is easy to go around, and since the city is not too big I feel connected to other Indonesian who live here, I probably won't feel the same way if we live in Melbourne or Sydney.

We live in inner south of Canberra, basically we live in government offices area, we are at the same street with the Attorney General's office, in front of us is the Pharmacy agency, Dept. Foreign Affairs & Trade just 2 minutes walk from our place, we can see the Australian flag on top of The Parliament House from the back street of our basement garage. The neighbourhood is alive on the weekdays where I can see public servants walk to work but on the weekend is mostly like dead area, but I love it as it is a trendy part of the city and only 10 minutes from CBD, 5 minutes to Manuka Circle, and 5 minutes to Kingston shop.

Next must see event is Floriade, Saturday 12 September - 11 October 2009, Commonwealth Park, Canberra.

And if you want to see yourself in the Nation's Capital Canberra, check this site out: Home of the Australian story.

Well, hopefully all of those information about my new home will attract my friends to come and visit me here, I want them to know and experience my new home. I guess if they love me enough they will come and visit me here ;)

The beauty of Canberra, courtesy of Vinita Strudwick: