Moses2013

Well the howling gale can happen anywhere in the world. You'll even find that in Florida but it's no myth that Tasmania will still be liveable, while other places in Australia will be hell. Although Tasmania can get hot too, you'll be happy to experience a bit of sleet that's wet.

Pollyana

The perfect Christmas for me -cold I've been in Hobart over New Year when its been freezing, but then it has good pubs, with real fires, bit like the UK.
I've also been in Tassie in temps of 38-40degrees, less pleasant, but the high temps have shorter lives there than in Brisbane.
Tassie is an amazing holiday destination, I agree. But if you cam find work and you pove its climate and its culture, it can also be an amazong place to live.

Beoz

Yeah not quite. Its got to be ripping straight out of the southern ocean to be comparable.

Beoz

I went swimming in the Derwent a few years back. It was hot without the Brisbane humidity. Really nice.

A place of extremes.

Pollyana

For sure! Gales from the Southern Ocean one day, hot winds from the west the next. Love the place for its diversity of weather....and for its pubs from which to watch that weather changing!

Beoz

Mostly on the side of ripping gales. But that's cool, still a beautiful place with no work.

Moses2013

Not true that there is no work and It's always a question what work is worth to you? Many people in cities have work but still can just about afford a roof over their head. There are jobs in Tasmania but maybe not for the Yuppies.
For some people who work in tourism/farming Tasmania might offer a better life.

Pollyana

Tasmania has a huge unemployment problem. Many youngsters leave to go and work on the mainland as they can't find work, and older people struggle in many areas as mining and similar jobs cease to exist. Tourism is a major employer but that struggles in the winter. Those migrants who do move there almost always have jobs to go to, usually state sponsored - to arrive with no job lined up and have to compete with the locals for work is not a good plan.

To suggest that only yuppies have employment issues is an insult to the people of the island. Of all the capital cities in Australia Hobart is probably the least"Yuppified".

Have you been to Tasmania? How many people there are friends or relatives of yours? Where does your knowledge of the job market come from?

carcajou

Building on what Pollyanna said, Tasmania may be popular with some sectors of yuppies and aging hippies - it's also becoming something of a favoured retirement destination - but Australian Millennials and young adults are very, very urban and view the regions as radioactive. They don't want to move to Tasmania.

Someone earlier mentioned farmers can do well in Tasmania. If you are a professional and have gone to ag school and know exactly what you are doing . . . then it is still a slog and something like a casino, just you wouldn't take that much money with you into a casino. Big city types who think they're going to just plant a few crops and have a relaxed lifestyle while they live off a small-scale farm or a hobby farm - that is very, very, very naive. The third-happiest day of their life, as they say where I live, will be the day they buy that property and the second-happiest day of their life will be when they sell it and take their much-reduced bank balance back to Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane.

Moses2013

I don't want to argue with you about employment and there are issues like anywhere. The point I'm making is that if there were jobs for all ( including Yuppies:-) the things that make Tasmania great for certain people wouldn't exist. Then it would be like any other place with unaffordable housing and unfortunately it's happening there too.


This is a nice story: 'Hobart's booming' say young business people as they move to the island state for its affordability - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)


The problem I see is that young people just want a busy city and career but when they turn 30 and realise that living in a tiny apartment isn't the great life either, they turn back to places that seemed boring before but where a garden is affordable.


But unfortunately the investors are never far:
No Cookies | The Mercury

Pollyana

Fortunately a large sector of the population are fighting against the ever increasing high-rise hotels etc - there are ways that Hobart, and Tassie as a whole canbe developed without losing its charm. Building monstrous skyscrapers will destroy an idyllic island and the Tasmanians know that and explore more resident-friendly options where possible.

The Mercury is pretty good as source material, but honestly, when it comes to the employment issue, nothing beats hearing the stories first-hand, on the island. There really is an issue with it there and most people moving without a job in place face a long struggle.

You should visit one day - its worth the trip!

Beoz

How often have you actually been to Tasmania?

Clearly not a lot.

I have a lot of family there so I get down there once a year at least, or I pay for the government working family to get up to Sydney.

Its not that they can't afford it, they just hate their teaching, fishery, and other government positions so much, they hate spending so they can retire ASAP. When there's talk of moving to jobs that may be enjoyable, its laughed off - "what jobs?"

In return I get down there to enjoy the outdoors. They put me up, loan me the car, take me fishing, make sure we are well fed with pig on the spit and big steaks.

Simple people with simple lives with simple down to earth interests which is great to experience every now and then.

Could I do that day in day out? No way. I would miss the vibe, the diversity and the energy of the big smoke

Pollyana

Yep, its a whole different lifestyle, and one that would soon pall for any lover of bright lights and big cities.
And thats a phrase I hear so often there 'change jobs? to what?'

carcajou

I'm not sure you understand employment. Most people in most professions have to go to where the jobs are. They can't just say "I want to live in Tasmania" and then snap their fingers and have a job appear.

Maybe you are in a profession where that can happen but the vast majority of Australians aren't. One of the reasons retirees can gravitate there is because they don't need jobs anymore.

Tasmania is 100 percent regional - Hobart is smaller than Canberra and the Sunshine Coast, and Launceston is about the size of Toowoomba, but without a Brisbane nearby - and that comes with all of the employment issues the regions face. If you are a farmer - a real farmer, as I alluded to earlier - a tradie, or a government servant, you might be able to find something. If you are a white-collar professional, it is extraordinarily difficult there. Quadruple that difficulty if you are looking to be on an executive track.

Nor is Tasmania the only place in this country for the outdoorsy, and I can't understand why some posters on this thread are acting like it is. Young Australians seeking that lifestyle don't need to go to Tasmania. All the capital cities have that in the surrounding communities, commutable to jobs in the CBD - particularly Sydney. Cradle Mountain isn't even the highest mountain in Australia.

Moses2013

To answer, yes I've been and the wine is still great. To answer carcajou that I don't understand employment:


I'll say it again that if Tasmania had professions for all, the place wouldn't offer the lifestyle people are there for. No doubt that locals born in Tasmania have to leave the island if they studied something in an area that's not available on the island but where is that different?


You mention if you are a white-collar professional, it is extraordinarily difficult there. That's exactly my point. If you have more jobs like that, you have more people and then the creative people or people in lower skilled jobs like hospitality etc. can no longer live the lifestyle they wanted. The biggest problem is always housing and when you can no longer afford the rent or houses become so unaffordable what's the point of a so called booming industry


If people claim there are no jobs, you can still go to Melbourne if it's so much better. There are still options.