I'm convinced that Canberra (which was a "planned city" in the sense that they started from scratch and did the design in one go) was designed to look good from the air (or more accurately, on the plan) irrespective of the practicalities. (It also suffers from being designed after the invention of the car and thus misses the whole locality of facilities -- and abundent public transport -- which much of Europe and other older cities have.)
That said, Canberra is very pretty in April ("fall"). I still recommend Canberra in April. Having also been there at other times of the year, the trip in April (last year) was really the only one which grabbed me.
Incidentally I must pick your brains about Sydney at some convenient time (perhaps SupperClub); I'm going there for a conference in January, plus an extra week.
Melbourne is indeed very nice, and I'd highly recommend it. I've been there 3 times (plus random "pass through the airport" trips) and enjoyed it each time.
"Hot hot hot" for Sydney in January sounds good to me, at least with cooler places (eg, indoors) for the occassional change. I've even done Melbourne in a (February) heat wave when they were rationing air conditioning (due to power shortages) and didn't find that too bad, so I expect to cope okay with Sydney. (Somewhere about 5-6 years ago my internal "desirable temperature" meter seemed to get reset about 5 degrees hotter than Wellington's average temperature cycle.)
And yes knowing people in Canberra does help. Although I've known people there each time I went, and other than the trip in April it was a case of "nice to see you, why do you live here again?" rather than liking the city. (They live there because they're attending ANU, which they're doing because it gave them a scholarship. I can't argue with that logic.)
I'm certainly not ruling out the entirity of Australia--I'm still keen to try out Melbourne.
I was mostly with long-term canberra residents, but even they were hard pressed to say compelling things about it. When I put the question to them I got milquetoast suburban answers like "safe, clean, uncrowded..."
Not only designed after the invention of the car, but I think designed with individual-in-car as the operating unit. I saw plenty of bike paths, but I think that as much because walking places is not feasible as it is because people want to use bikes for transport. (that, and recreational cycling)
Happy to tell you tonight what I know of Sydney, limited though it may be.
That said, Canberra is very pretty in April ("fall"). I still recommend Canberra in April. Having also been there at other times of the year, the trip in April (last year) was really the only one which grabbed me.
Incidentally I must pick your brains about Sydney at some convenient time (perhaps SupperClub); I'm going there for a conference in January, plus an extra week.
Ewen
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(The comment has been removed)
"Hot hot hot" for Sydney in January sounds good to me, at least with cooler places (eg, indoors) for the occassional change. I've even done Melbourne in a (February) heat wave when they were rationing air conditioning (due to power shortages) and didn't find that too bad, so I expect to cope okay with Sydney. (Somewhere about 5-6 years ago my internal "desirable temperature" meter seemed to get reset about 5 degrees hotter than Wellington's average temperature cycle.)
And yes knowing people in Canberra does help. Although I've known people there each time I went, and other than the trip in April it was a case of "nice to see you, why do you live here again?" rather than liking the city. (They live there because they're attending ANU, which they're doing because it gave them a scholarship. I can't argue with that logic.)
Ewen
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(The comment has been removed)
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Mine is similarly set, but I accept that some discomfort is the price of living in Wellington.
Having been to Canberra now, the hotly-pursued doctoral write-up fellowship in SE Asian Studies at ANU is a whole lot less interesting.
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I was mostly with long-term canberra residents, but even they were hard pressed to say compelling things about it. When I put the question to them I got milquetoast suburban answers like "safe, clean, uncrowded..."
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Happy to tell you tonight what I know of Sydney, limited though it may be.
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