Commitment Statement for Canberra

D* C*

My wife and I started thinking seriously about emigrating to Australia following an extended holiday to the East Coast in
July/August 2010. We decided to engage emigration consultants, ‘The Emigration Group’ to help us decide on a suitable
location and, following an extensive interview and several lengthy telephone conversations with them, plus a chat with the
representative from ACT at the London Expo on 14th September 2010 who gave us some useful literature to read, we
decided that ACT was the place for us.

Why Canberra?
Our research suggests that Canberra offers a lot of similarities to our home life, while adding all the elements that drive us
to try to emigrate to Australia. We live in a village on the outskirts of a market town in Wiltshire, a beautiful part of the UK,
where we are very happy. Canberra has several similarities:
 Getting around Wiltshire is relatively easy due to the quieter roads, low pollution, and fewer traffic jams found
in this part of the country. All major cities in Wiltshire can be reached in 45minutes or less. Getting around
Canberra is reported to be easy, convenient and quick with journey times averaging about 20 minutes
(www.liveincanberra.com.au).
 We have lots of beautiful open countryside around our home town, including Salisbury Plain, The Cotswold Hills
and Savernake Forest where we can explore wildlife and natural environments on our doorstep. Canberra’s design
offers a contrast of nature and urban areas, giving great access to wide open spaces, lakes, the Australian
National Botanical gardens, ponds and reserves, and the easily accessible bush. Even the coast is only about two
hours away.
 My wife and I love to walk and cycle to explore the countryside. We have lots of wonderful footpaths and
bridleways in Wiltshire including the Wiltshire Cycleway. Canberra has an extensive network of cycleways and
walkways that offer enjoyable and safe routes around the parks and lakes (www.tams.act.gov.au) of the city.
 House prices in our part of the UK are not cheap as we live in a very desirable part of the UK, but average
incomes are higher than the national average. This is similar to Canberra where houses are not the cheapest in
Australia, but incomes are higher, and Canberra offers the best home loan affordibilty in Australia.
 The population of Wiltshire is about 650,000 and continued development of new homes across the county intends
to bring greater employment opportunities in the building and supporting industries. Canberra is also a growing
city, with a population growth from 350,000 up to 500,000 by 2020. This affords the same opportunities as
Wiltshire for employment in the relevant sectors.
 Wiltshire folk have often been born and bred in the county, and people who come to settle here rarely leave.
This is because once you have lived here you fall in love with the place and have no desire to leave. Canberra is
similar because people who live there tend to love the place. We have spoken to Australians who tell us how
beautiful it is and how it is often underestimated by Australians who don’t know it.
There are many things we love about where we live today and we have tried to show why we believe that Canberra is
so attractive to us. Canberra also offers many things that we cannot get in the UK and I will endeavour to cover
these later.

Research
We have used the internet as the basis for our research but we have tried to balance it out with other sources:
1 Expo – Australia House – September 2010. I spoke to one of the representatives on the Canberra Stand who
extended my knowledge of the city by informing me about the excellent standard of living, the well planned
layout of this modern city and the attractive career opportunities for me.
2 Talking to Australian contacts who have family living and owning property in ACT, We have learned that Canberra
is often dismissed by Australians as being boring, cold and full of politicians, but it is actually a very clean, safe
and relaxed place to live, with everything you would expect from a world-class capital, yet the bush, Sydney,
snowfields and south coast beaches are all within easy reach.
3 The Canberra Times – This has proved invaluable in providing information on jobs, property and news, as well as
useful advertisements for cars, local issues and leisure information.
4 Live In Canberra – We have used the website and the information pack as useful reference material to enable us
to ask more specific questions as we get closer to our potential move to Canberra.
We have also used other resources which will become apparent further in this statement.
Compelling Reasons for choosing Canberra
As well as the items covered in our comparison with Wiltshire there are a number of other compelling reasons for
choosing Canberra:
1 Employment –
Da**** – I have worked in Quantity Surveying for over twenty years and can bring a wealth of experience to a
future employer, as recognised through my skills assessment of 2122-11 Quantity Surveying by the AICS. The
Canberra Construction Snapshot newsletter, released by the Chief Ministers Department keeps me informed of
planned capital works and construction activities in Canberra and suggests a buoyant industry with a vibrant and
diverse construction sector in the ACT.  
We have repeatedly used the Canberra Times, www.seek.com.au, www.careerone.com.au, www.simplyhired.com.au
and www.indeed.com.au to research the local job markets and have repeatedly seen jobs that fit my skill set and
career history. Canberra’s salaries are higher than the national average and I was pleased to see that wages were
slightly higher than my existing salary within the UK. I am confident that I will be able to gain employment within
Canberra.
De**** – now works from home as a private tutor, running a small tutoring agency and teaching in local primary
schools as a cover teacher. She will be hoping to find work on relocation to Canberra and has a number of skills to
offer. She is a fully qualified and experienced primary school teacher and a qualified medical laboratory
scientist. She also has an honours degree in environmental science and IT. Given the low unemployment rate in
Canberra of circa 3% we see no problems in Denise gaining employment to suit her skills and experience.
2 Lifestyle and Worklife Balance –
It is in this area that we feel there is the most to be gained by relocating to Canberra. Although there are many
things we like within our home county of Wiltshire which compare favourably with Canberra; Canberra also offers
us significant benefits over the UK:
 Climate – It is much warmer than the UK and our research shows that it has more sunshine than Sydney
and Melbourne and certainly more than the UK. However, there are four distinct seasons: fresh winters,
balmy autumns, breathtaking springs and warm to hot summers. We both enjoy the variety that seasonal
weather offers and a brisk walk on a crisp morning is as enjoyable as a warm stroll on a summers evening.
Canberra will offer us all this.
 Work life balance – Da**** has spent a number of years commuting long distances up to an hour’s drive
from home, meaning an average daily commute of about two hours. This can often be longer due to poor
road conditions, general congestion, traffic incidents and roadworks.. Given that Canberra is an ACT
cluster and average commutes are 15 – 20 minutes, this offers a significant improvement in work life
balance.
 Arts, Culture, Sports and Leisure Facilities – We enjoy attending the theatre and cinema, listening to
music events and watching sport. Canberra has much to offer with many cultural and leisure venues
including the national Museum of Australia, the National Zoo, Lake Burley Griffin and the National
Gallery, There are opportunities to watch the Brumbies, motorsport and other major events including
Floriade and the Balloon Fiesta. There is also the bush on the doorstep, skiing to the west and the coast
to the east. Not to mention the cosmopolitan nature of the city itself. We believe it to be the perfect
environment to live.
3 Property – We have used www.realestate.com.au , www.domain.com.au and www.allhomes.com.au, as well as the
Canberra Times to research the Canberra property market and have identified some regions where we would
chose to live. We would prefer a more established area such as Farrer, Belconnen, MacQuarie, Bruce, South
Woden or Aranda. Although these areas are more expensive than the newer, less established areas, we feel we
can find a good quality, well sized 3 or 4 bed home with a good plot for around $***K - $***K. We believe we will
have a deposit of $***K which will leave us with a mortgage of $***K – ***K.
In the early stages of our migration we plan to rent a property which we understand may be more of a challenge
as there are fewer rental properties available than we expected.
4 Summary – To summarise, we believe Canberra offers us compelling reasons to consider as the place to live
within Australia. It is a wonderful cosmopolitan city with great amenities, good job opportunities and is easy to get
around. It has the perfect climate, beautiful scenery in and around the city and friendly people who have a positive
frame of mind. The future development of Canberra offers great long term opportunity and we really hope for a
positive response to our state sponsorship application so that we can begin to live our dream.