Tasmania - living there or not?

[Gee]

Hi all,

A good friend of mine and his family has had an offer from a leading financial services firm to take up a 4 year contract in Tasmania.

They do not know much about the place except that its a close trip to the Australian mainland and are doing their own research but would really like to hear from Australians who know the place well.

The have heard conflicting advise from a few people about the place and are unsure if they should take the contract.

Some people have said it gets really cold there in winter a snows a lot, others have say its a tough place to live etc etc

Do people in Tasmania enjoy the same medical and other benefits that Australians living on the AUS mainland do?

Please be totally honest as our friend and wife have 3 kids and its a big move for them

any inputs would be great

thanks

cheers

Gee

Edited November 30, 2006 by Gee

[Mara]

Hi Gee

Well I will give you my impressions of Tasmania, have never lived there, but have been there a few times, as I live in Melbourne, and it is just across the ditch, so to speak.

I love Tasmania, think it is a beautiful place, very similar to New Zealand. It is like living in the country. The people are genuine, friendly and very helpful, also very trusting, which is a something new for South African's to cope with.

With regard to the weather, yes it is a lot colder than Melbourne, for instance, which is known for it's weather. Yes, you do get snow in some of the areas. I have not been there in winter, so I have no idea how well they would heat their homes. Have mostly stayed in a cottage or B&B when I visit there. Those homes that I have been in all have wood heaters, so perhaps this is their method of heating.

The lifestyle appears to be pretty laid back, and if I should hazard a guess, I think it would be a pretty good and safe place to raise your children.

I knew one SA couple who spent 7 years in Tasmania before moving to Melbourne, they loved it, and only moved because the husband was transferred.

I think if the job offer is good, then it would be worth taking, after all, it does not mean you have to live there forever.

With regard to the medical facilities, I don't think that they want for anything, and if it is something really extraordinary, well Melbourne is only around an hour away by air.

Hope this info has helped.

Mara

[Sam]

The people are genuine, friendly and very helpful, also very trusting, which is a something new for South African's to cope with.

The Tassies that I've met are extraordinary people and fit Mara's description very well. From what I've heard I also think it is one of the best places to raise children and the lifestyle seems very relaxed. The weather looks pretty similar to Melbourne. Maybe a higher rainfall. Look at www.bom.gov.au I think Tassie is a good choice for a South African family though I haven't been there... yet.

[Gee]

Hi Mara and Sam,

Thanks for the quick reply and your input's

what is great from both your replies is that Tassie is a good place for kids and that is important for my friends

and as you said Mara, they can always move across the Tasman sea when and if they want

this will greatly assist my friends

have a restful weekend

cheers

Gee

[Mara]

Hi Gee

If your friends have any more questions, send them and we will see what we can dig up for them.

Mara

[Gee]

Hi there Mara,

Thanks a ton

as always you are really helpful and a star...

Better still, I'm going to introduce them to this wonderful website today

the more the merrier hey..

I really look forward to meeting with you when we settle in Melbourne

have a great Aussie weekend..

cheers

Gee

[Pippa]

Hi Gee,

Better still, I'm going to introduce them to this wonderful website today

the more the merrier hey..

Bring them on!!! They are very welcome!

Have a great weekend!

Bye, Pippa! X

[Gee]

Hi Gee,

Bring them on!!! They are very welcome!

Have a great weekend!

Bye, Pippa! X

Hi Pippa

thanks

enjoy the weekend and thanks for all you posts as I have seen you on the forums often

cheers

Gee

[Mara]

No problem Gee, that is what we are here for!

Mara

[Bob]

I got married in 1980, in my late twenties.

My wife, Ginnie, and I decided to start married life off in a part of Australia we'd never been to and chose to live in Tasmania.

It was intended to be for two years, then we'd come back to Adelaide.

Thirteen years later we came back . . . . all five of us!

Tasmania, needless to say, holds a special place in the hearts of this family.

I cannot recommend Tasmania too highly as a place for a family with children to live in.

It is safe.

We never locked the doors of our house when we went out to town for shopping, etc.

We didn't bother locking the car when in the shopping centre . . . . nothing ever got stolen.

Not once . . . but TWICE . . . . Ginnie left her purse with cash in it, on the roof of the car while getting the keys out of her handbag to start the car.

Both times she drove off with the purse on the roof, landing in the road at the first corner she came to.

Both times she got the purse back from the police station, money still inside.

Tasmania speaks for itself!

[Gee]

Hi Bob

thanks for the reply

this is great as having lived in Tasmania for all those years you are a true Tasmanian.

I will certainly get my friends to contact you via this forum

regds

Gee

[Rykie]

Hi Gee

I would like to know if you friend did move to Tasmania?

I am going to Tasmania as soon as my STNI visa is approved

Rykie

[KMG]

I got married in 1980, in my late twenties.

My wife, Ginnie, and I decided to start married life off in a part of Australia we'd never been to and chose to live in Tasmania.

.......

I cannot recommend Tasmania too highly as a place for a family with children to live in.

Hi Bob

We are looking into relocating to Tasmania - Hobart from South Africa. Why do you not recommend it as a place for a family with children to live in?

Will appreciate any input from anyone!

KMG

Edited February 8, 2008 by KMG

[Bob]

Hi Bob

We are looking into relocating to Tasmania - Hobart from South Africa. Why do you not recommend it as a place for a family with children to live in?

Will appreciate any input from anyone!

KMG

I do recommend Tasmania.

You misunderstand me.

I think so much of Tasmania and its way of life, that I find words are just not good enough to praise the place.

Tasmania is wonderful.

My kids want to go back. My son went back there for a year and a half to live with old mates, but is now back in South Australia.

I've often thought of retiring there . . . . selling up in Adelaide and just building my cabin in the woods there with my own hands like I did 25 years ago.

In fact, we are invited to a wedding this afternoon (Sat 9th). A Tasmanian couple that we knew years ago have invited me and my wife to the wedding of one of their sons to an Adelaide girl here in Adelaide.

Tasmanian people are hard to get to know, at first. They have an "insular" mentality, but once they find they can trust you, then you get invited to all the social "do's" and happenings.

Tasmania is rather a unique place. It has the highest proportion of artists in the whole of Australia. Many homes there

are built by Tasmanians themselves . . . . not off the plan.

Children find the place a wonderland. There are great National Parks with big waterfalls, rainforests with enormous ferns, picnic places to enjoy a weekend lunch with the family running around, etc.

Trout fishing is out of this world! Red hot!

The island State is a sailor's dream with lots of little bays and inlets to sneak into for the the night and camp or sleep onboard. . . . (not that I sail)

We'd eat oysters off the rocks when we camped close to the sea.

Tasmania brings back many great memories for me and I often wish I could live those years all over again, seeing my three kids being born and watching them grow up in the fresh air (purest air in the world!), camping, sightseeing and having fun all the time.

You could do worse than go to live in Tasmania.

Edited February 8, 2008 by Bob

[KMG]

Thanks so much for your reply, Bob. It sounds truly wonderful!

We are being told that we are crazy to go live there as job opportunities are not so good and that is is far too cold.

My husband is a plumber, so we figure he should get work. How do the salaries compare with the mainland?

Does one get used to the weather there? We are from Cape Town? We have seen some footage on Tasmania and the people have short sleeves on and look pretty happy to us!

Where did you immigrate from?

Cheers,

Karen

Edited February 9, 2008 by KMG

[Bob]

Of course Tasmania's cooler.

It's further south than the rest of Australia.

However, we found the winter days were invariably sunny with max temps around 8 or 10 degrees in Hobart.

Most days in any one week would be sunny, rather than overcast, which is depressing (Melbourne's winter weather?)

We could always get the washing dry in any week by sticking it on the line.

I only ever remember one year . . . . 1982 . . . when it wasn't green in summertime. We only had a 5 000 gallon (22 500 litre) rainwater concrete tank and would last three weeks normally. Often we go down to the last 500 gallons, and the rain would come and top the tank up.

You get used to Tassie's cooler weather if you live there.

Job opportunities are limited, but in today's economic climate, anyone with a trade would be able to get a job there, so work is no problem. Just do anything at first, and keep looking around for that perfect job which is out there somewhere.

In Tasmania, it's pretty much a case of not what you know, but who you know

[KMG]

Thanks Bob for all the info. Really appreciate you taking the time! We will keep you updated. Have just replied to an SA couple planning to settle in Hobart end of the year. Who knows, we might just be in touch with some future buddies.

Cheers, Karen