Use this map to find the stuff mentioned:
/www.allhomes.com.au/
good for housing
also
www.canberra.gumtree.com.au
food:
choko bai jo in North Lyneham is the famer's outlet, good and not too expensive
farmer's market saturday mornings at EPIC is great but not always cheap, depending on what you buy. really good potatoes.
Fyshwick market south of parliament is open thurs-sat, good for buying a mountain of veg, meat. good when cooking for the masses. also the deli has rather awesome cheeses and there's an asian supermarket with frozen dumplings. there's a coles in manuka on the way north for anything you miss.
woolworths in dickson: local supermarket. there's a supabarn in civic as well as an Aldi's for cheap bulk stuff. The Supabarn is apparently owned by a Greek family, so has lots of good cheeses. They are also the best place to go if you have allergies or are looking for more unusual foods/health foods.
Furniture:
good for housing
also
www.canberra.gumtree.com.au
food:
choko bai jo in North Lyneham is the famer's outlet, good and not too expensive
farmer's market saturday mornings at EPIC is great but not always cheap, depending on what you buy. really good potatoes.
Fyshwick market south of parliament is open thurs-sat, good for buying a mountain of veg, meat. good when cooking for the masses. also the deli has rather awesome cheeses and there's an asian supermarket with frozen dumplings. there's a coles in manuka on the way north for anything you miss.
woolworths in dickson: local supermarket. there's a supabarn in civic as well as an Aldi's for cheap bulk stuff. The Supabarn is apparently owned by a Greek family, so has lots of good cheeses. They are also the best place to go if you have allergies or are looking for more unusual foods/health foods.
Furniture:
Fyshwick has a cute antiques place called Down Memory Lane. If you're looking for vinatge clothing, try April's Caravan. the store roams around a lot (in a caravan) but is currently in Bailey's Arcade in the city.
The Green Shed, otherwise known as the tip shop, has stores in Mitchell and Mugga Lane. Everything you've ever seen and taken from someone's hard rubbish is for sale here. Outdoor furniture, indoor, pianos, kitchen stuff, books, everything. They also have a small shop in Civic which sells their nicer antique items.
Ikea is scheduled to open at the airport in October/Nov 2015, so watch this space. There is also a Costco at the airport.
The Green Shed, otherwise known as the tip shop, has stores in Mitchell and Mugga Lane. Everything you've ever seen and taken from someone's hard rubbish is for sale here. Outdoor furniture, indoor, pianos, kitchen stuff, books, everything. They also have a small shop in Civic which sells their nicer antique items.
Ikea is scheduled to open at the airport in October/Nov 2015, so watch this space. There is also a Costco at the airport.
places to eat
Belgian beef cafe in kingston: good food, good beer, not cheap
asian noodle house in civic: institution of cheap friday night dinners
dickson dumpling house: $15, good stuff.
CBD dumpling house: part of the chain with Dickson dumpling and in my opinion even better; get the eggplant hotpot and the big leek dumplings.
I heart Pho - good cheap Pho. There's also a Spudbar next door which is great.
italian & sons: best fancy-schmancy italian food. expensive, best visited with family who are paying. Jamie's Italian is also nice and cheaper, good for date nights.
Bharat international supermarket: an indian supermarket/cafe with curries under $10 and a great indian tv channel playing overhead. good when poor and tired of cooking, but out in Belconnen.
debacle – good for big group events, long benches and cheap pizza
BRODBURGER: most amazing burgers ever at Glassworks across the lake. humungous, awesome, in high demand on friday and saturday nights. gourmet cheese.
in civic: Gus's was one of the first outdoor dining spots in canberra (back when they were afraid of flies from the sheep stations, i'm not kidding) and a buch of trendy restaurants have grown up at the north end of the canberra centre.
Belgian beef cafe in kingston: good food, good beer, not cheap
asian noodle house in civic: institution of cheap friday night dinners
dickson dumpling house: $15, good stuff.
CBD dumpling house: part of the chain with Dickson dumpling and in my opinion even better; get the eggplant hotpot and the big leek dumplings.
I heart Pho - good cheap Pho. There's also a Spudbar next door which is great.
italian & sons: best fancy-schmancy italian food. expensive, best visited with family who are paying. Jamie's Italian is also nice and cheaper, good for date nights.
Bharat international supermarket: an indian supermarket/cafe with curries under $10 and a great indian tv channel playing overhead. good when poor and tired of cooking, but out in Belconnen.
debacle – good for big group events, long benches and cheap pizza
BRODBURGER: most amazing burgers ever at Glassworks across the lake. humungous, awesome, in high demand on friday and saturday nights. gourmet cheese.
in civic: Gus's was one of the first outdoor dining spots in canberra (back when they were afraid of flies from the sheep stations, i'm not kidding) and a buch of trendy restaurants have grown up at the north end of the canberra centre.
Burmese Curry Place (actual name) Cnr Northbourne and City Walk, $8 massive serves. Brilliant
we avoid canberra centre but usually end up there in search of incense from the oxfam shop - incense is hard to find here! JBHiFi also lures us back there. In general I consider canberra centre better than belconnonen mall, if only because it's smaller and a bit less drowning in carparks. Also has an ALDI.
at uni:
street theatre - good sandwiches
food co-op: lunch served Tue-Thurs, lots for $4, all veg. Nice communal hippy vibe
zamberos - $10 giant burritos. good stuff.
Local shops worth going to
O'Connor: has TuDo Vietnamese restaurant, a big pub and the Polish Club which hosts lots of local music shows
Lyneham: has The Front, lots of indie music there on weeknights, has Tilley's, Canberra's first lesbian bar and now a yuppie brunch place, and a nice secondhand bookstore.
Lonsdale St in Braddon: Has Lonsdale St Roasters (Canberra's best coffee), lots of trendy op shops and similar in Lonsdale St Trader's and lots of bike shops. Currently very fashionable. Good for sunday breakfast, but don't got after 11 - you won't find a table.
There's also a bunch of food trucks now which are fun.
Curtin shops on the southside has Beyond Q, an awesome basement secondhand bookstore definitely worth a visit, and the southside farmer's outlet
Manuka shops is a giant paradise of brunch cafes
Kingston has great mussles and beer at Belgian Beer Cafe, not far from Fyshwick
Kingston by the lake has lovely new trendy waterfront area, including a Rum Bar that does expensive but lovely drinks, not far from Brodburger.
Swimming
Dickson pool is outdoors, lovely with grass areas but crowded
Kambah pools is a fair drive away to the south. It's basically just a river but it's really nice for an evening swim in summer.
Belconnen, Gungahlin and Tuggernong have good indoor heated pools. Avoid Civic pool, it's old and gross.
on the topic of exercise:
there's a hot yoga place (literally temperature hot) in civic called Soul Power Yoga which people rave about. the ANU gym has an odd hotchpotch of stuff but is very cheap, even if you're not a student. No pool though.
I just ride my bike, which leads me to:
bike paths
I use the bike path running down the mid to west side of the inner north hexagon (O'Connor), it's good and goes thru parks rather than by the road. people do cycle down northbourne avenue but it looks scary! in general, northbourne is the flattest part of the suburbs which end where the hills start, so I avoid the paths that circle the suburbs due to hill madness. Going around or across the lake is lovely.
Live music:
The Canberra Musician's 'Club runs a lot of local gigs and is worth looking up on facebook. Key venues include:
The Front, Lyneham (small, weeknight gigs, including touring artists)
The Bowlo/RUC, Turner (near O'Connor shops, rock type gigs)
The Merry Muse, Turner (The Bowlo when it's a folky venue)
The Polish Club, O'Connor (another rock gig once it's back in action, currently under repair)
The Phoenix (open mics, occasional gigs. Kinda grungy, also hosts slam poetry nights)
Smith's Alternative, Civic (currently in receivership but scheduled to reopen soon, folky stuff)
ANU Bar (rock, hosts bigger touring bands)
UC Zierholtz (also hosts touring bands e.g. Josh Pyke)
I recommend checking the Culturazi gig guide http://www.culturazi.com/?page_id=12404 and subscribing to their weekly updates to see what's what. Enjoy!
For music shops, have a look at Better Music in Woden and Davis Wheeler in Fyshwick.
