Canberra is known for its high median incomes, but the cost of living in the capital continues to climb

Emily and Kieron Lester could not believe it when they found themselves having to choose between taking out a personal loan and becoming homeless. "Rents in Canberra, like most capital cities, are relatively high," Associate Professor Ben Phillips, who heads up a social and economic modelling team at the ANU, said. While much of Mr Phillips's research pours cold water on the so-called "Canberra tax" — the idea that Canberrans pay more for most things, just because they live in the national capital — it does identify pockets of stress: Electricity prices have seen a sharp increase over the past five years, up 25 per cent compared to a national average of 15 per cent Petrol price rises have been marginally higher than other regions, up 16 per cent over the past 10 years compared to 14 per cent elsewhere Compared to the rest of the nation, overall taxes have increased substantially, up 80 per cent since 2011-2012, compared to 53 per cent elsewhere The high household and commercial rates are the headline figure. "We didn't grow up in Canberra but we've been in Canberra long enough that we feel Canberran, and if anyone asks where I'm from I always say Canberra," Ms Smith said. "There's an affordability factor which we found ruled us out of a lot of the areas that we quite liked," Ms Smith said, referencing Canberra's newer, small blocks with big price tags.