Australia's best kept secret

Public consensus about Canberra is that it really hasn't much to offer. No, the public consensus about Canberra is not that positive: a former prime minister claimed "Canberra is of its essence a great mistake." Ouch. Bill Bryson glorifies all of Australia and at the same time trashes Canberra, changing its slogan to "there's nothing to it" or "why wait for death." And it really makes a person feel pretty bad for Canberra. And it really did make us nervous to live here. And no one we spoke to had anything nice to say about living in Canberra. And I think they really felt bad for us that we just moved to a great country and had to move to Canberra. We would miss out on Sydney's beach scene and Melbourne's hip scene and what a shame it would be. 

So I was quite curious to know what it would be like to live in Canberra. And I was also quite curious to know what Canberrans thought of their city. When we walked across Kansas folks liked to talk about how horrible the western part of the state was. And then we got there and it wasn't so bad. When we told locals this, they would say "just wait until you get to Eastern Colorado." And then we got to Eastern Colorado and really it was just about the same as Kansas, except that when you asked the folks there how they found it, they solemnly stated "it doesn't get much worse than here." And so I wondered if people who lived in Canberra would feel bad for themselves, much as the Eastern Coloradoans did.

It is quite the opposite. Everyone I have asked here absolutely adores Canberra. Many of them have come from gems such as Sydney or Melbourne or Perth and claim that Canberra is way better. They would not willingly return to a place like Sydney. They thought Melbourne was great but actually this is better.

And this brings me to the point. Canberra is great. It is cosy and green and surrounded by bush. It only has 300,000 people so everything is always quiet. But there are more than enough activities and events going on. Actually, as it is the capital there is way more infrastructure than 300 000 would ever need. Even on free gelato day there is no line. There is no waiting list to get into good schools. There is green space and animals actually can and do make use of the many green belts.  There are lots of bike paths and trails. Really I have grown quite fond of Canberra. Did I mention that I am sad to be leaving it? And if I had to choose where to live in Australia I may even choose here because after a couple of months here the thought of living in a big city is overwhelming. The thought of not having trail runs outside my door is sad. 

And this brings me to my real point. I think Canberrans like the negative image they evoke. They enjoy being pitied. It is the best way to avoid the tragedy of the commons. And Canberra has an awful lot of commons. Maybe the government officials here even secretly write some of these shaming articles to ensure that the population and lifestyle stays the way it is. After all no one likes traffic.

Look how beautiful children are when they sleep in Canberra!

Look how happy children are in Canberra!

Look how smart children are in Canberra! (Aurora posing with her completed curriculum book)