How’s Palmerston?

lizw said :

I have lived in Palmerston since 1992.

Yes, it’s a safe place. Not perfect (nowhere ever is), but safe.

What part of Palmerston is not so good??

gazket said :

Is it a safe place to consider buying a house for a small family?

I didn’t realise Canberra was like Mexico. Anywhere in Canberra is “safe to bring up a family” I don’t know of any suburb called wrap me up in cotton wool.

Whoah, trippy. I find myself agreeing with gazket.

If you want to fine tune the choice in a suburb, found out where the government housing is, and where the shops are, and avoid the corridor between the two, but that’s about it.

Masquara said :

No-one seems to have anything bad to say about Kaleen.

Except the pizza boy.

Growling Ferret said :

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

As long as you don’t mind not being central.

Its 13k from my house in Nicholls to the city by bike. My work colleague in Duffy rides 14k. My colleague in Flynn is 14k.

Bits of Gungahlin are surprisingly closer than you think.

Palmerston has good bits and bad bits, but you are buying into a 20 year old established suburb with NBN about to be turned on. The school is ok and the shops are adequate.

Um how does that contradict what gamernerd said? Duffy and Flynn are way out away from central Canberra!

No-one seems to have anything bad to say about Kaleen, which seems quite cheap but with more established gardens than Gungers.

Is it a safe place to consider buying a house for a small family?

I didn’t realise Canberra was like Mexico. Anywhere in Canberra is “safe to bring up a family” I don’t know of any suburb called wrap me up in cotton wool.

Pork Hunt said :

I would have thought that ensuites are as rare as people with teeth in Charny…

Even if you didn’t get an ensuite in Charnwood, you’d have room to build one. Palmerston you’d have to buy the neighbor’s block or halve your already tiny bedroom. Blocks are still bigger in Charny and most of the properties available in Palmerston are duplexes or part of a villa/townhouse complex. Few stand alone homes.

johnboy said :

Last go by this user on this theme.

But they only have 104 suburbs left to inquire about. Fair use policy, and all.

Roundhead89 said :

I quite like Palmerston. The Manawatu River and the Otorahangi Kiwi House are nearby. Oh sorry, wrong Palmerston…

Sorry, it’s Otorahanga Kiwi House. Memories from my visit in 1987 are getting a bit hazy…

wildturkeycanoe said :

If you are planning on living in Palmerston, do not work in Civic or Belconnen. The traffic jams go right back to both main roads bordering Palmerston – the GDE and Gundaroo Drive. Gridlock from 8:30-9:30 is a wonderful way to start every day. At least in Belconnen, there are more than 2 ways to get to employment opportunities.
Why are you even looking at Palmerston with small family in mind? It is all townhouses, tiny blocks and single bathrooms. Charnwood will give you almost double the block size, an extra bedroom and ensuite for about $50-100k less. Sounds like a better option to me.

I would have thought that ensuites are as rare as people with teeth in Charny…

devils_advocate said :

farout said :

BimboGeek said :

Also check out Nicholls.

+1

If you’re looking for a bit of a backyard for a small family, you should look at Nicholls. Just across the road from Palmerston, but nicer houses on larger blocks IMHO.

And more expensive. Markets do a pretty reasonable job of incorporating amenity into price signals.

True, but for someone looking for a long term view (10 years +), remember that as the young couples and families in apartments/townhouses and small blocks in the rest of Gungahlin will be looking towards places like Nicholls as their family grows and they need a bit of space. So the premium that Nicholls commands will only increase into the future IMHO.

Palmerston is 12km from Civic, and about the same from Belconnen, It is also only 1 bus ride away from both these places. No changing buses at interchanges. Yes, there are traffic issues at peak times, but there are ways around it. It’s an easy ride to both Civic and Belconnen, if you like riding a bike.

The blocks are bigger than in the newer suburbs. We have a mid-size block (for Palmerston), 789m2, but this is considered a big block in the newer suburbs.

If you are planning on living in Palmerston, do not work in Civic or Belconnen. The traffic jams go right back to both main roads bordering Palmerston – the GDE and Gundaroo Drive. Gridlock from 8:30-9:30 is a wonderful way to start every day. At least in Belconnen, there are more than 2 ways to get to employment opportunities.
Why are you even looking at Palmerston with small family in mind? It is all townhouses, tiny blocks and single bathrooms. Charnwood will give you almost double the block size, an extra bedroom and ensuite for about $50-100k less. Sounds like a better option to me.

I quite like Palmerston. The Manawatu River and the Otorahangi Kiwi House are nearby. Oh sorry, wrong Palmerston…

Aeek said :

noone’s mentioned Harrison

Except MightyJoe in #6 and now arescarti42.

Harrison is harmless enough if you like that sort of thing.

Growling Ferret said :

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

As long as you don’t mind not being central.

Its 13k from my house in Nicholls to the city by bike. My work colleague in Duffy rides 14k. My colleague in Flynn is 14k.

Bits of Gungahlin are surprisingly closer than you think.

Indeed, Gungahlin is psychologically a lot further out for many people than it actually is.

I used to live in Harrison, and by road it was closer to the city than some parts of “inner” suburbs like Red Hill and Narrabundah.

noone’s mentioned Harrison

Growling Ferret said :

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

As long as you don’t mind not being central.

Its 13k from my house in Nicholls to the city by bike. My work colleague in Duffy rides 14k. My colleague in Flynn is 14k.

Bits of Gungahlin are surprisingly closer than you think.

Palmerston has good bits and bad bits, but you are buying into a 20 year old established suburb with NBN about to be turned on. The school is ok and the shops are adequate.

I live in Duffy. Don’t get me wrong, canberra is small. It’s no more than a 40 min drive from end to end depending on traffic.

My previous job had me going from Duffy to all over canberra. Palmerston is still out in the sticks, but its no issue as its only a 15 min drive from any other central canberra. But it does suck ass going from a job in condor to a job in ghunners.

Most suburbs are nice and almost all have some public housing. Generally, the closer to Civic, the more expensive. Palmerston is in one of the outer satellite areas, Gungahlin, which has a lot higher density than the others. Personally not my preference (as I like having a backyard). Also, lots of traffic problems if you live on the Northside and have to commute to Civic or Barton. I would avoid if that’s you.
If you don’t mind outer suburbs, some of the nicest, newer ones are Conder and Banks on the Southside – and it’s a quick drive to most places up the Monaro Hwy, Athllon Drive or Drakeford Drive/Tuggeranong Parkway. Check out Allhomes.com.au

This to me sounds like some one doing a paper on public perceptions of different suburbs in Canberra. Then I could be wrong….