In Defence Of Canberra

As the nation’s capital, the city has become shorthand for any political mayhem that’s underway. Don’t let a political clownfest turn you away from an amazing city.

Canberra doesn’t dominate the headlines by winning ‘most liveable city’ awards – or by losing them to Vienna. It’s a town of politicans, public servants and students. Actually, that’s not fair. Those students have teachers and some of those people have families.

Then there are other people like me that have ended up here too. Not sure we count towards though.

That small population means the morning commute is never hectic. Combine that with the small size of the city and nothing is ever much more than half an hour’s drive away.

Speaking of half hour drives, just last weekend I went on one of them with my wife to the Gibraltar falls. There was some scattered snow on the ground so we drove onwards to a snowfield.

Nothing turns adults into children quite like snow.

The surrounding area is full of magnificent bush walks and other natural beauty. Even near the centre of town has some beautiful spots with Lake Burley Griffin being a great place to stop and have some fish and chips on a weekend.

It’s not bad in the bush capital. Kangaroos roam the streets during colder months. Ever want to tell an American that roos sleep on your front lawn? I can.

Admittedly, that’s also a significant downside. They have absolutely no idea what to do when a car is near. One once hopped into the back of my car while I was stopped at an intersection.

The coffee is pretty great too. Canberrans have consistently placed well in the Australian Barista Championships.

Once you get past the fact that politicians spend a lot of time here, Canberra is a fantastic place to live. It’s not the most exciting town on the planet but sometimes a nice, quiet place to settle down in is what you want in life.

You can still complain about Canberra as a shorthand for the political farce of the day though. We can’t rob you of that pleasure.