Any 2582-ers here?

Any pros and cons?
No pros that i’m aware of, you will have to head in to the city for them. Cons, unfortunately are everywhere.. make sure you watch Today Tonight and stay vigilant.

Stiffman said :

But I did the maths, and its still substancially cheaper to drive my not so good on fuel car every day than it is to live in canberra.

The money isn’t the issue. I have thought about buying out there, but the research shows that people consistently overestimate the happiness they will get from a larger property and underestimate the pain of a long commute. If you can, try renting in the area first.

My partner and I bought a house out there in March this year, and we both love it. I drive to work, but my partner rides his motorbike or catches the bus. He loves catching the bus as it gets him to Civic just as quickly as riding does, except that he is able to read on the bus, which is a definite pro.

Other pros are the friendly people, the beautiful scenery, the stars at night, the price of petrol (which is steady – even on payday! – and most often cheaper than it is in Canberra), the sense of safety and community, and the quiet. I personally love being able to walk my dogs from my house in the suburbs only to find myself surrounded by paddocks full of sheep and bleeting lambs, or soflty mooing cows within five minutes of home.

The distance to Canberra is mostly inconvenient in the evenings when you’ve gone to Canberra for a party/function/movie/etc., and you just want to get home. There’s also no buses then, or on the weekends.

If I had to make the same move again, I would in a heartbeat. I love living in Yass.

I lived in Yass back in the day (late 80s/early 90s) and the commute to Canberra was no major drama. Perhaps it was the exuberance of youth, but I would often commute to Canberra 7 days for a combination of study/social life. Sometimes twice a day if need be.

It was a nice place to live and I enjoyed more than I thought I would for the 4-5 years I was there.

Since then, though, the bypass has happened (has been good for Yass, I’m told) and the amount of traffic on the Barton Hwy would have increased by a factor of at least five I reckon. There was no Gungahlin for a start and the amount of development in Yass, Murrumbateman and surrounds has been rampant (in relative terms).

What used to be a comfortable 30 minute commute to the big roundabout on the Barton Hwy is probably more like 45 minutes today.

In regards to isolation that’s a bit of an issue, but let’s face it, Yass isn’t exactly hours away and the local shops should cater for most needs. Social life might take a hit, but it’ll be what you make of it on that front.

Personally, if was buying outside of Canberra on economic grounds I would look to somewhere between Gundaroo-Collector-Wamboin. I just reckon the commute would be a bit easier, even though you would probably be more beholden to Canberra for basic services/shopping and the like.

Yes, I have lived in Yass for 20+ years.

It is a lovely place to live, although you made need some time to adjust to somethings. Nothing big, just things like if you need to buy some new clothes it is very limited to what is available locally. It just means that you do that type of thing during the lunch break or after work on a Friday.

I drive to work as I find it more convienent than the bus, and with the car on LPG, it is slightly more cost effective for parttime workers like myself. However, I know a lot of people that do take the bus and have been doing so for years. I have been communting for over 15years and yes sometimes I get sick of it, but then I look around me at the benefits of living here.

Generally the people are great. It helps if you can become invloved in the community and really make it your home. I have a few friends that do nothing but complain about Yass, (they moved from Canberra) but that may have something to do with they still do EVERYTHING in Canberra and haven’t really blended with the place.

We live in town in a newer estate with a 1000m block, our house takes up about 1/3 of it. When Mr Grub96 was also working in Canberra, we were often asked when were we going to move, but the thought of giving up that space, both land and home and doubling the mortgage really didn’t sit well.

I read the other day that Yass is one of the highest growth town in NSW over the few years.

CONS:
Distance to Canberra (I beleive that this can be a PRO and CON, it depends how you look at it)
Council is very slow at approving new building applications (not a problem if buying existing)
Wear & tear on you car, if you do drive

PROS:
Large block at an affordable price
Excellent growth expected for your investment
Friendly
Trip home is easy, even driving once you leave the city and it allows plenty of time to wind down
Close enough to Canberra, if you need access to specialist medical care etc

If you have any other questions, I’m happy to try and answer them.

Good luck with your decision.

My wife and I are thinking of doing the same thing.
For about 100 grand less than what it requires to get a house in canberra, you can get a good sized house, with a large yard (as opposed to basically NO backyard in canberra).
That massive drop means, for us, we will be able to afford to have one of us not working for some time, when things like babys come along. Canberra is just too expensive to do that i’m affraid

The commute will cost you money, yes. But I did the maths, and its still substancially cheaper to drive my not so good on fuel car every day than it is to live in canberra.

The other thing which has already been mentioned is the isolation. If you have a lot of friends and family in canberra, its harder for people to drop in, or harder to drop the kids off to get family/ friends etc to babysit.

Its all pro’s and cons, and I think we’ve decided to go with yass. Hopefully we’ll be headed that way soon

It says something that a bus trip from Yass is comparable with the domestic service :-\
(and ACTGovCo wonders why we aren’t flocking on board)

I work with a bloke who lives in Yass, but he’s born & bred there so has family & roots in the community. Claims it’s God’s own country and he wouldn’t live anywhere else. Has a work car (and phone, which gets a fair bit of use in said car) so the commute doesn’t smash his hip pocket.

Had a rello who moved out there for similar reasons as the OP suggests. Immediately unhappy with the (self-driven) commute and remoteness from familiar things. Lasted about a year, then moved back to Cbr vowing never to return.
Might be a different experience if you enjoy/get value from a bus ride, and join in the local community at least a little.

If you enjoy the lifestyle, I say go for it. Very nice place, very nice and easy drive out there too.

So easy going compared to Canberran life and most locals are decent people.

I can’t comment on the whole public transport thing, but I can say that it’s a nice area to live.