What's Duffy like?

The senior staff at the school are awful, patronising people.

I must admit, I heard very similar from another parent about 6 months ago (I don’t have children there personally.. yet) but thought it was a one off.

I might have to tone down my recommendation in future 😉

Duffy is a great suburb to live in. Friendly, quiet, close to everything. I grew up in Fisher, have lived in Chapman & now 6 years in Duffy. All great suburbs to be in.

> It would be worth looking at getting your children into the Chapman school if possible. It has a great reputation and quality facilities that are now expanding again.

Speaking from personal experience, I’d say give Chapman Primary a BIG miss. Sure, they have a good reputation (which is why our son went there). However, reputation is all they’ve got. Our son did have a couple of good teachers, but also several terrible ones. The senior staff at the school are awful, patronising people. Thankfully our son is in high school now (at Stromlo, can’t say enough good things about it!) & is rapidly improving with his school work. It’s only since he’s been in year 7 this year that we’ve realised just how bad Chapman was. We should have moved him to Duffy years ago.

Not sure about school catchment boundaries etc but anywhere in Duffy, Chapman, Fisher, Weston is a pretty safe bet. Woden used to be the geographic centre of Canberra (might have changed a little with the expansion to the north) so its pretty central to just about anywhere.

I thought I could make some typically longwinded faux analysis of the pros and cons of Duffy over anywhere else to try and mask how parochial I am. But why beat-around the bush, eh? Duffy’s awesome!

Seriously, I’ve lived in London, Cambridge, bits of Maryland, Sydney and all-over Canberra and I personally prefer the Weston Creek township over anywhere else for the fact it’s damn near central, but still quiet and on the edge of the city. There are several really good restaurants in the Cooleman Court area and a couple of decent clubs a stone’s-throw away.

Duffy is then again at the edge of Weston Creek and that much quieter again.

Sorry, I can’t find the details anymore, but there was a newspaper article a little while ago listing Duffy amongst the top up-and-coming suburbs in Australia for property investment, so pay attention to Sloppery above: Prices are possibly going to accelerate upwards (Full disclosure: I only own my own home in Duffy and will not sell any time soon).

Creekgirl said :

I grew up in Duffy and currently still live in Weston Creek. I think it is the best part of Canberra. The best thing about Duffy and Weston Creek is the sense of Community. I can’t walk into Coolamon Court without seeing 10 people I know and have a chat too. The community feel has only gotten better since the Bushfires.
Coolamon Court also has some great restuarants – Try My’s for some great vietnamese.
Duffy is also great because it is 15 minutes or less from everywhere in Canberra.
I am not sure about the pre-school. Is was great when I went there 22 years ago. I still run into my old pre-school and primary school teachers and I (and many others) still go back to the school fete every year.
I think you would be very happy there.

So you’ve lived in the Weston Creek area for 20+ years and don’t know how to spell Cooleman? Perhaps Duffy Pre-School isn’t the best starting point for the OP’s children 🙂

Weston Creek is a great place to live, but would have to agree that Cooleman Court Woolworths has been substandard for many years.. it’s now even worse thanks to ‘self checkout’.

It would be worth looking at getting your children into the Chapman school if possible. It has a great reputation and quality facilities that are now expanding again.

I do have some concerns about how the Molonglo land release will impact the road infrastructure getting onto the parkway in the morning, but that really isn’t a reason to put you off buying in such a fantastic area.

I am torn between telling you how good it is and keeping quiet.

I haven’t lived in Chapman. It has better shops and a MUCH bigger school but TBH I like my child being in a smaller school and Duffy is really well resourced with a great community feel.

I like how quiet it is in Duffy on weekdays. I like running into neighbours and people from school down at the shops or at Coolo.

Duffy is different to what it was before the bushfires, the big influx of new (mostly much larger) houses as well as original residents reaching their 60s and 70s has brought more young families.

Duffy is a great suburb. Get it while its still affordable.

Chapman is just next door, and imo nicer. Its also only marginally more expensive (unless you want to live in one of the mansions up on the hills).

Weston Creek in General is a nice area. The woolworths in weston creek is below average. The store gets very busy yet most of the checkouts are empty. Shop at Aldi instead. Also parking at Coolaman will get worse once the new Molonglo land is released.

I grew up in Duffy and currently still live in Weston Creek. I think it is the best part of Canberra. The best thing about Duffy and Weston Creek is the sense of Community. I can’t walk into Coolamon Court without seeing 10 people I know and have a chat too. The community feel has only gotten better since the Bushfires.
Coolamon Court also has some great restuarants – Try My’s for some great vietnamese.
Duffy is also great because it is 15 minutes or less from everywhere in Canberra.
I am not sure about the pre-school. Is was great when I went there 22 years ago. I still run into my old pre-school and primary school teachers and I (and many others) still go back to the school fete every year.
I think you would be very happy there.

ZOMB Johnboy there’s such a thing as too much information!

Although in this case you may have supplied the parent of a preschooler with exactly the right amount of information: choose Duffy at the risk of having your child show up on Canberra Slutz in 10 years.