Anyone living in or visited Tasmania?

[SillyStrokeSensibleMum]

Hi

We're considering moving to Australia/New Zealand. We visited both last year and no one place is standing out as being right for us. We didn't visit Tasmania (not sure why we had ruled it out previously) but we really like the sound of it. Can anyone tell me what it's like? I know the 'facts' (well, some of them!) but what's the overall feel to the place? How does it compare with mainland Australia, and New Zealand? If only we could pop back for another reccie!

Any thoughts gratefully received! Thanks.

hi sssm, i don't know about tasmania i'm afraid (i wish i did - it sounds fab!) but just thought i'd say that if you want to ask any questions about nz, there are quite a few of us kiwis and expats over here

Thanks for that, will go and check it out. You lucky thing, I loved New Zealand!

Bump

Any opinions most gratefully received! Going slightly crazy trying to decide where to go...

I've been to Tasmania. It's absolutely stunning but you go there for the beautiful scenery not the nightlife . It's pretty rural/underdeveloped. I can't remember much about Hobart tbh but it's nothing like the other big Australian cities (Sydney/Melbourne). I've got no idea if there's much work there.

Thanks RealLife. It does look beautiful. The lack of nightlife doesn't worry me too much. I'm a boring old fart really

Work is a worry I must admit. I know the weather can be disappointing for some but as we are a family of mainly redheads I'm not sure we could cope with the really hot summers of mainland Australia.

I wish we'd visited when we were over there. It's hard to get a feel for a place. I wonder how Hobart compares with UK cities. Hmmm. Oh to be able to pop over for the weekend!

Hobart is lovely, but very small scale compared with UK cities.

Apparently the new art gallery, MONA, is outstanding. If you like music, lots of festivals in the summer, but then there are lots in Australia, full stop.

Australia,as a whole, generates lots of its own cultural interests, as the rest of the world leaves it out of the loop, so I would imagine it'e even more pronounced in Taswegia.

Have you tried the PomsinOz forum?

Hi. Thanks for that

Hobart does sound nice. I'm not used to big cities to be honest so it will probably be fine. Is it a friendly place would you say? Safe? Relaxed? I think those kinds of things are more important to me than the facilities or shops/restaurants/attractions. Although obviously the perfect place would have everything going for it! Oh to find the 'perfect' place. We're considering so many places and finding that it's easier to rule out the places which we definitely wouldn't be happy living in, rather than identifying the one where we would be happy. It's just so hard, so many pros and cons of so many different places!

Is Tasmania a bit behind the times would you say? Like some rural places and small towns in the UK? It's more the old-fashioned attitudes and prejudices which I'm keen to avoid really. Not bothered about not having the latest fashions or gadgets or whatever.

I'd love to go back for another reccie but we haven't got the annual leave or the cash unfortunately

Thanks for the poms in oz tip. Will check that out

I've only holidayed there, but had no sense at all of old-fashioned attitudes, not small-town in that way. Hobart definitely safe, relaxed. Lovely food. Land, houses all cheaper than on the mainland, though wages are slightly lower.

Thank you. That's really useful to know. It does sound lovely Work is a bit of a worry and I haven't been able to find a single job in the right profession on recruitment websites but hopefully something will come up. It just takes one vacancy after all! We're in the process of applying for a visa and it would be really good to have a specific destination in mind rather than just a vague idea of somewhere in Australia or New Zealand...! The paperwork is a bit of a nightmare at the moment. I need to focus on the end result - need some real motivation!

I think Tas is a funny mixture of Greens, poets and artists mixed with loggers and people who want to to develop industrially more. Work opportunities are more limited there than mainland Australia and many young Tasmanian graduates go to Melbourne and Sydney to get their careers going. Hobart is very pretty and feels green and fresh. Traditionally other parts of Australia used to joke about Tasmania being inbred.

Also Tasmania is known for fabulous seafood, apples and dairy products. If you can find work and don't hanker for bright lights I think it would be a gorgeous place to live.

Work is the main problem. It is friendly enough, pretty, can be lovey but still can be quite poor in places as economy is so small.

It is isolated. The big thing is work, so depends what you do.

Lovely not lovey. Yes clean air, space, beautiful beaches and great food.

Really appreciate the comments, thank you.

Work is the main issue I think. DH is a web developer (visa is in his name). Couldn't find a single job when we looked the other day. Although he's always thought about being self-employed so maybe the lack of jobs would push us into doing that?

I think we've resigned ourselves to the DC leaving us when they're older and the bright lights beckon. They may come back though when they have children themselves. Maybe I'm thinking too much...this would all be about twenty years away (fingers crossed!!). I must admit I am loving the sound of the place