I think that minerals clause is Australian wide, I remember something like that when we bought in Queensland, as well as in Western Australia

yep first i've seen, no nooo double glazing though you can get it but its expensive, yep lots of condensation Colin is in the loft as I type laying Pink Batts!! ..insolation in other words.

heard a few reports around here of sharks in fact there was a photo in the local paper not that long ago it was an ariel view of kayakers with a shark nearby, they didnt know it was there I will see if my mate still has the photo and post it if she has.

in the news all the time up here, Gunns are not very popular many call the place Gunnsmania, there is constant lobbying against the mill, plus Gunns have just closed a sawmill in Scottsdale with a loss of 130 jobs.

Hi all

Sorry I've been a bit absent, our mobile internet connection is both costly and unreliable!

Can't believe we've had a week here already, its flown by so quickly.
Sorted out bank accounts, tax numbers etc, been busy looking at rental houses, cars, beds, kitchen stuff etc. Bit shocked by the prices of most things, can see our savings disappearing quickly in the process of setting up again.

However, we have found a nice house to rent in Blackman's Bay, just need to visit the school tomorrow morning before we pay the deposit. The house is clean and modern, views of the sea (just!) and more importantly the children liked it. As long as the school seems OK, we'll go for it

Have been out to Bonorong Wildlife park, Meadowbank Winery, Salamanca Market, fish and chips at Mures, Eaglehawk Neck etc. Everywhere has been great and all the people we have met have been really friendly.

Angus has a few work contacts he will meet with this week so fingers crossed for that to go well.

So, a good start to our life in Tassie, we are knackered but really pleased and positive with everything so far

Take care

Sam

Oooh lucky you Blackmans Bay is lovely! Glad you finally found a rental, I remember how manic I was trying to find somewhere when we arrived.

I'll keep my fingers crossed that Angus finds a job soon.

Kerry

Are you looking at Blackmans Bay state school? There is another expat family that live near there and their girls go to that school and they are very pleased with it.

I remember reading other threads mentioning something about this....
Must be one of those "small print" things that comes up whenever you buy something!

We are curious about people's opinions on the mill. It's the kind of place that could supply Andy with a lot of work during it's construction because it would generate a lot of metal/insulation work....
But i dont think Andy would want to work on something and then be hated for having helped build something!

I might be better off not seeing the shark photo! Only joking - would love to see it if you can get a copy...

Thats a shame about the loss of jobs in Scottsdale. Are all these things normally in your local papers (i presume you get local free newspapers like in the UK???)...

Hi Sam, glad to hear you're enjoying being in Tas - sounds like you've been very busy but i imagine there's so much to do - and see - that it's going to be like that for a while yet until you settle into a normal routine!
We really liked Blackman's Bay when we visited last year - both there and Kingston were high on our list of places to check out 1st for somewhere to live etc when we come over... We had a lovely meal one lunchtime in the restaurant on the beach at Blackmans Bay... It's the one in this photo we took last year....


We had fish and chips at Mure's when we visited last year....although i do recall we sat right near where the Ice-cream's are sold...and i think i spent ages eyeing up all the icecreams people were buying!!!

I was going to say to you but Donna (Teabag) beat me to it that the expat family we met last November that live in Blackmans Bay have been very pleased with the school there.....and they loved living in Blackmans so much that they did buy there after having lived there in their rental for a while..

It's great that you will be living so close to a beach as well.....wait for when the warmer weather arrives later in the year it will be great!

I'd be curious to hear how much some of the essential things you need to get when you move into your rental cost you (if you dont mind) - things like beds etc....We were saying only last night to friends that it's probably going to be a shock at how much money will probably go out of your bank account initially!
What info did the agent ask for with the rental? ie, any references or was your bank statements etc enough for them?


Anyway, good luck with sorting out everything this week. I hope you like the school after your visit - and good luck to Angus with his job search.... Will be keeping our fingerscrossed for you!

talk to you soon....
take care
Cathy

Tasmania is divided pretty evenly between the pro-logging people - (income, infrastructure, jobs, future) - and the Greens (keeping old growth forests, environment, tourism, etc) - just depends which side of the fence you want to sit.

I was just told recently that it is pretty common knowledge amongst the locals that the government put's money into the greens to keep things boiling away as it's good for the government. go figure!

LOL no theres no FREE paper up here, we have a 6 page weekly local paper the type that would be free in the UK but they charge $1.20 for it .. theres never owt in it usually just adverts for local trades etc

the pulp mill is on the local news every night near enough, so was the job loss. Scottsdale is about 19k from Bridport so big news up here.

people are divided on the mill, at first Gunns said it would create 100's of jobs for Tasmanias, now that figure has dropped dramatically so people feel conned. I dont know if it will go ahead, they have already lost a major financial backer. Neither am I against it if it works right, I'm just not totally convinced there wont be any polution from it but of course it will have to be up and running to find out.. they have said they will shut it if it does polute but after spending all that money will that happen??

I can't see the pulp mill going ahead now, there has been too much controversy and investors pulling out. I think it will be a shame if it doesn't go ahead Tassie needs to build on its infrastructure otherwise its going to get left behind. There needs to be a balance between keeping green areas and having industry at the moment the greens want it all there way, if they get their way what future will tassie's population have? We can't rely on tourism that's for sure, although there is still a great deal more money that could be made in this area, we can't rely on this alone.

Personally i can see both sides of the argument....and i guess even if building of the pulp mill did eventually go ahead - even if Andy didnt work on it - hopefully it would create a shortage of workers for the rest of the Island...hence freeing up work elsewhere!

Does anyone know when they're thinking of building the new hospital in Hobart?

Blimey, i wouldn't pay for our free newspapers over here! i guess if wanted to see what special offers - or places were being advertised i might pay for them in Oz. Andy would no doubt buy all the papers - he does like his papers....he always laughs because i rarely read them or see the news on TV - so he reckons i'm living in my own little world!!!!

Does anyone know how much of Tassie's income is down to tourism?
It's a double edged sword i guess - people want Tassie to be more recognised and visited more - but at the same time people want to keep it a secret! Since we visited and decided to move to Tas it's amazed me how many people have no idea where Tasmania is or the image they have is a bit dated and scary!!!!