Canberra was never the place I expected to call home.
Before moving here, I was living in Sydney. Canberra first came onto my radar because of visa considerations, but that was only what made me look at the city in the first place.
What actually made me want to live here was Canberra itself.
I visited for what was basically a scouting trip, just to see what the place was really like. Somewhere along the way, I found myself thinking, I could actually live here.
More than four years later, I still think moving to Canberra was one of the best decisions I made in Australia.
My first impression of Canberra
Canberra has an unusual balance that I still appreciate today.
It has almost everything I actually need from a city: shopping centres, supermarkets, restaurants, hospitals, public transport and the everyday services that make life convenient.
Some people might argue that Canberra barely counts as a city.
I disagree.
If a place has the infrastructure I need to live comfortably, while still letting me enjoy open space, nature and beautiful scenery every day, that sounds like a pretty good city to me.
And that combination is probably what attracted me most.
One of my favourite things about Australia has always been its natural environment and scenery. In Sydney, I loved escaping into nature whenever I had the chance.
In Canberra, it often feels like nature is simply part of the commute.
One of the things I still love about Canberra is how easily the city opens up into water, hills and open sky.
There are mornings when the drive to work feels less like a commute and more like a short reset before the day begins.
Wide roads, open skies, hills in the distance and stretches of greenery are just part of ordinary life here.
I still haven’t really got tired of it.
Canberra was much quieter when I arrived
When I first moved here, Canberra felt noticeably quieter than it does today.
And by quieter, I mean really quiet.
There was a reason I heard people jokingly describe Canberra as a ghost town.
One Christmas Day, I went out hoping I might find somewhere open for a cup of coffee.
I walked around the area near a shopping centre for quite a while.
No people.
No passing cars.
Almost nothing.
I ended up filming it because the whole scene felt so strange.
Canberra on Christmas Day a few years ago. I walked around for quite a while without seeing another person or even a passing car.
If I uploaded that clip today without context, someone might reasonably ask whether it was generated by AI.
It genuinely looked that empty.
A short clip from the same walk. The streets stayed almost completely empty.
Even the bus stop felt abandoned that day. No waiting passengers, no traffic, just a very quiet Christmas afternoon in Canberra.
Canberra feels different now
Four years later, Canberra feels busier.
I don’t necessarily need population statistics to notice it. I can feel it on the roads, in shopping centres and in places that once seemed almost empty.
There are more cars, more people and more development.
The city feels as though it is gradually filling in.
That’s exciting in some ways.
More people usually means more businesses, more restaurants, more services and more reasons for new things to open.
At the same time, I occasionally miss how ridiculously easy it used to be to drive almost anywhere.
Traffic in Canberra is still very manageable compared with Sydney, at least from my experience, but there are definitely more cars on the road than there used to be.
Apparently, you can’t keep all the advantages of a growing city without eventually sharing the road with a few more people.
What I still like most about living here
For me, Canberra’s biggest advantage is not one particular attraction.
It’s the overall quality of everyday life.
I can get to the things I need without feeling as though I am constantly fighting the city.
I can go shopping, get to work, find good food, access services and still be surrounded by scenery that reminds me why I liked Australia in the first place.
Canberra can certainly feel quiet.
For someone who wants nightlife, endless crowds and a city that never slows down, that may be a disadvantage.
For me, it became part of the appeal.
There is enough here to live comfortably, without everything feeling overwhelming.
Is Canberra a good place to live?
I don’t think Canberra is perfect for everyone.
If you love the constant energy of Sydney or Melbourne, it may feel too quiet.
If you prefer a slower pace, easier driving, access to nature and a city that still has most of the conveniences you need, Canberra is worth considering.
My original reason for looking at Canberra may have been practical.
The reason I stayed was much simpler.
I liked living here.
And after more than four years, even with the city getting busier and the roads slowly filling up, I still find myself appreciating the scenery on an ordinary drive to work.
That’s probably the best summary I can give of Canberra.
It has enough city to make life convenient, and enough nature to make ordinary life feel a little less ordinary.