Hi maggy, I lived in Kingston (beach) it is a good area ,nice and clean,good schools,quite a few shops/restaurants/banks etc.Good location to Hobart (about 15 min drive).The beach is good for swimming/sailing etc also a dog walking beach.Not to far from the huon valley (apple growing region).
Battery point is very close to Hobart. probably one of the oldest areas as you can tell by the buildings/houses.Quite small properties.There is a good sat market nearby called Sallamanca also loads of restaurants cafe's.Dont remember any schools.
Sandy bay is the "Posh/ Rich" area of Hobart.Big houses & expensive area.Private schools etc.The casino is there too.Good small beach, but only good for sailing really.Not that many shops.Nice clean ,good looking area.
Tassie also doesn't have flies like WA...the cleanest air and water in the world also.The weather in Tas is a bit like the uk but not quite so severe. Although you can have four seasons in one day there.Winters get cold (frosty)and snow on the mountain top.Summer can get quite hot also but not like perth hot more like 25-30.Your husband is a painter/decorator...well quite a few old houses (well aussie old) and cheap compared to mainland so i spose people will be buying to invest/renovate.With your job..same as anywhere really, old peoples homes etc.
The nightlife in Hobart is not too bad..depends on what you want really i mean there is nothing like the big clubs in uk but you still get good pubs etc.The food is great especially the seafood.
In general people in Tas are friendly and helpfull (good and bad everywhere i spose).North Hobart is a nice area also.At the base of mt Wellington,5min - hobart.A few places i wouldnt live are Rokeby,Glenorchy,Bridgewater,Chigwell.These are where the (hoons) generally live haha.Maybe changed though now.
Anyway hope this helps a bit sorry ive gone on..any more questions ask away..

schweppes in the fridge

Thank you so very much.

The more we hear about Hobart the more we want to re locate there.

Hubby has seen a few houses in Sandy Bay and Battery Point and is so excited about prospect of living there.

I contacted a painting company in Hobart today and it appears that the wages for painters are very similar to that of Perth so thats a real bonus as we expected it to be lower for some reason.

I am just waiting for my work to clear my holidays so we can book a week in Sept to come and explore.

I also have to contact removel companies to get a quote on shipping our belongings.

We are not sure if we do decide to move to Hobart whether we ship Marks Van over for his work or sell it here in Perth and buy again when we arrive.

We have so much to do also want to update my resume and send it out to aged care facilities to see if anyone would be interested in hiring me should we settle in Hobart.

Its going to be a busy few months but very exciting.

I swore after we moved here from the UK that I would never move again and here we are 3 years later and ready to do it all again.

Mags

No prob's mags. Sounds like you will love Tas.Another place to look at would be Taroona which is just a bit further around the coast from Sandy Bay.

only thing to note about Taroona is that there are no shops, no post office, no local pub, no garages, no nothing in fact except housing.

We want to be close to pubs, shops, resturants etc especially the pubs lol.

I dont drive and need to get my license not sure if it would be best to learn here in Perth or wait until we arrive.

Im trying to convince my 17 year old son that he would love Hobart.

I think he will slowly come around to the idea especially now he knows how close it is to Sydney and Melbourne.

Mags

I have been looking at sandy bay where the min. price seems to be 550k for anything decent. that ought to be enough to get u on the property ladder in perth where prices seem to be dropping slightly. i also read that it is the north in lonnie which is experiencing new home approvals in TAS. i know that painters prefer the new builds to the furnished places whose owners can be a pain if you get a dribble of turps on as much as their pooch's bed. i did some research on builders in hobart and there seems to be very few.

a move to tassie would cost about 35k plus. ie 5k in removals across OZ, stamp duty on a new house of 550k = roughly 20k, plus agent fee - if you sell - at around 15k. That is certainly enough to get on the property ladder in WA.

In my exp. the best time to visit a place is in the middle of winter. I went to the Costa del Sol and WA in winter and still thought they were habitable. I have my reservations about Hobart tho. I hope to visit in July so will know by then.

Well, have lived in Tassie all my life and lived in Hobart for 12 months. My OH and I and our 2 kids aged 11 and 13 left Tassie 5 months ago for a warmer climate as we just got sick and tired of the cold! Winter and Autumn are long and Summer is short. There are not a lot of prospects for kids as far as jobs go once Uni is over. It has one of the highest unemployment figures in Australia and the lowest wages. That is the bad news.

I should add that the areas I would definately avoid are Glenorchy, Chigwell, Gagebrook,Bridgewater and Rokeby and Clarendonvale on the Eastern shore. All these places are not in the CBD and are not anywhere near Battery Point/Sandy Bay area.

We moved to Sydney but will be leaving here shortly and moving to the Gold Coast. We made a mistake coming to Sydney, but hey, you live and learn!

Tassie is very pretty and very English countryside. We have been to England and felt a lot of places reminded us of Tassie, more the north, north-west but home just the same.

Sandy Bay is lovely but most of the homes are on a steep hill.... the upside of this.......fantastic views over Hobart! Battery Point is rather exclusive now too. Lovely old homes and near all the pubs, Salamanca,wharves. Lovely area, nice parks, very central. The University is in Sandy Bay so you have a lot of apartments suitable for students around that area.

As someone else mentioned, North Hobart is also very nice. Wonderful eating strip in the heart of Nth. Hobart and some really nice old homes.

I wouldnt really recommend Taroona, too far out and only houses out there.

Some of the cheapest houses in Australia can be bought in Tassie. The shopping isnt too great but you can grab a cheap fare from Virginblue or Jetstar and take the 50min. flight to Melbourne for a shopping spree.

The schools in Sandy Bay are fine.

We will never return to Tassie to live but will love to go back and visit with all our family and enjoy some quiet time each year.

Hope you enjoy your move to Tassie.