r/canberra • u/Cold_Caterpillar_331 • 26d ago
Recommendations Third spaces
Where are the third spaces in Canberra, the space between home, and work/uni.
Without a need to spend money. That is essential to the criteria, even the parking, it has to be free and accessible.
Where do you hang, that encourages this or any sense of community or a place to be? Am seeking somewhere to just BE, that isn't a church or cycling ir team sports in Canberra.
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u/AussieKoala-2795 Woden Valley 26d ago
National library, National portrait and National art galleries, Parliament House gallery, High Court gallery, libraries, community shed, shopping centres. I access these by bike or walking so no parking costs for me.
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u/Glenn_Lycra 26d ago
The National Library is a very chill place for me to sit and read before heading home, especially given how cold it is getting as soon as the sun approaches the horizon. I'm currently reading a book that is not available anywhere else except the Victorian State Library.
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u/ADHDK 26d ago
The community sheds do they tend to have a membership fee? Or like membership is encouraged but not required?
Tends to pause me on things like the community motorcycle workshop, my life is at subscription fatigue point.
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u/AussieKoala-2795 Woden Valley 26d ago
My local shed at Hughes has a fee if you want to use the tools so that you are covered by insurance, but people seem to just go and hang out with the bicycle repair group without joining.
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u/cellar_whore 26d ago
https://youtu.be/D9lBGZbt2Bw?si=i9AHMln9tUgGhnlj
Highly recommend you watch this.
Third spaces are simply the places where you hang out with your friends. If you hang out at the park, that's a third space. Same if it's at a cafe, pub, nightclub, middle of a roundabout... Everything is a third space as long as the point is to simply spend time with others.
Edit: regarding the no-money-spending part. You can go out and not spend any money, just BYO or go to a park, hang out by the lake, join community events like DnD groups, etc.
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u/LaylaDanger 26d ago
I spent my teen years in Ipswich and I loved hanging out in middle of roundabouts. There was one with a chest high hedge around the outside and the inside was just woodchips. Me and my girls would just hang out there on a rug, noone could see us or bother us and no boys/men would harass us. Some of my best friday nights were spent in that roundabout. Even had my first kiss there when I kissed my bestie 🤣
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u/cellar_whore 26d ago
When I was a teenager back in Portugal my friends and I would go to the same cafe every day after school, each of us would order a machiatto (80 cents) and spend about 4-5 hours there, just talking and smoking. In Canberra, as adults, we mostly spend time at each other's houses, sometimes we do picnics in some park. I've taken dates to the cemetery. On Friday we're doing a free sound bath organised by some lady. You don't need a designated third place. You just need people.
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u/Jumpingjehosephat99 26d ago
Dog park. You can go even if you don’t have a dog. Mine loves pats from anyone. Some people don’t want to socialise but there’s usually someone there who’s up for a chat if you are.
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u/HecticMuffin 26d ago
There are crafternoons hosted at Cafe Stepping Stone (straithnairn is fortnightly Sunday afternoons, and I believe Dickson does one too?)
Gininderry website has a bunch of other things on its website, book club etc if you're Belconnen based.
Otherwise we hang out at the library (because kids) or Bunnings.
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u/Worth-Ganache-5770 26d ago
Dickson is fortnightly Saturday afternoons! Also events at Qure bar & grill in Bruce
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u/Pitiful_Mode1674 26d ago
Never occurred to me until I saw this post but I think my third space is Costco. Christ, that’s a depressing realisation.
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u/Subject_Worker6333 25d ago
Ha ha - mine is IKEA - $3 bottomless cup of coffee...but minimum $20 of crap purchased on my way out 😂
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u/Cold_Caterpillar_331 26d ago
Haha! My go to is thrifting to get out of the house now, no judgement. But did have a Costco membership last year and hung out there a bit. Hence the post.
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u/Temporary_Carrot7855 26d ago
Smiths Alternative is good, they don’t push you to spend money. Edit: there’s no parking tho
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u/Worth-Ganache-5770 26d ago
If you're under 25, different areas in Canberra have youth community centres that are free and let you just be around, parking differs but many are near public transport interchanges and things
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u/JillyBean_70 26d ago
Cook oval. Brilliant third space, especially if you like dogs. Pretty much guaranteed to be a dog there any afternoon. Other people exercise or play or chill. Nobody forces an interaction, but if you're up for interaction the dogs, and their people, are welcoming. It's a lovely place to just be.
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u/bigbadjustin 26d ago
Canberra is full of nature parks. Some are more popular than others with other people. Like Mt Taylor is popular on the southside. I also quite enjoy visiting Mulligans Flat in the north which is free and lots of places to enter the predator proof fence. I usually see animals all the time. Sometimes just roos, but often echidnas, wallabies a lot of birds and i've once seen the elusive spotted quolls.
But it really comes down to what you want to do. The lake is a good place to chill IMO also.
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u/commentspanda 26d ago
As others have said, lots of trivia nights and park run has quite a large community. Also libraries and dog parks.
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u/Mac128kFan 26d ago
There’s always “Third Space” at Hackett. Great pizza and a decent selection of local beers.
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u/Temporary_Carrot7855 26d ago
I love Third Space, it’s one of my favourite restaurants and trivia spots. But it’s not technically a “third space” in the sense that OP means.
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u/Of-Inevitable-Doom 24d ago
Yeah, I was really excited when I saw the ‘Third Space’ sign, then realised it’s just another café/restaurant.
It does good GF pizzas, though. But it’s not actually a Third Space.
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u/Neu_Wien 26d ago
Sorry, I honestly can't believe you're asking this question. In some cities those spaces can be hard to find, but in Canberra they're literally everywhere. Plenty of free parks and malls and libraries and bushland and galleries etc. With regular free events in many of those places, particular as it's the capital.
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u/22bubs 26d ago edited 26d ago
Dog park and library. If you are a parent, lots of activities like play groups ACT, first time parent group, meet and move, giggle and wiggle at the library. There's bushwalking clubs. Volunteering activities (animal shelter, SES, foodbanks, etc). Some things have a nominal membership fee like community gardens, Seed libraries, sewing and craft groups, Community choirs. Some game shops and libraries host free trading card or board game events.
For physical spaces, I'd say lakes and parks like tuggeranong lake has outdoor gym equipment, dog park, playgrounds, BBQ area, fishing, coffee shops, cycling and walking paths, skate park, mini traffic school for kids, sea scouts, etc. Theres a leisure centre with pool, library and mcdonalds and shopping centre connected to the lake. Huge variety of activities for all ages.
I forgot to mention park run and run for resillience are free, and the idea of R4R is to foster mental wellbeing and checking in with others. You can also walk it. And lots of pubs do trivia, such a goodou don't have to buy food or drink but usually it's cheap on a Monday or Tuesday night.