Hi Anna, welcome to the site, our boy (aged 5) was in full time reception class in the UK, but when we moved over to Tassie he went into Kindergarden for 2 mornings only a week!!!!!!!! it was hell for him as he thought he was going back to being a baby!!!!. After a week or two though he settled in an realised that he didnt have to learn hardly anything but have fun so he loved it, big shock to his system when we got back to the UK and he had to jump back up to full time school again!!! poor lad. Regards C x

Zo, like I said previously just been catching up on all the posts, the photos of your baby girl are beautiful and loved the poo story, it brought back memories of mine doing exactly the same to their dad, and I stress only their dad, each time he changed a pooie bum!!! he he. I bet you cant wait to get to Tassie can you, have you got much more to do on the house now, is the extension finnished? x

HI Sam, glad all going ok, sounds like you are having great fun and what fab places you have visited. Keep us posted on what you are up too, you should start up a blog an attach it to your tag. x

Hi Cathy, see you are already away but know you will be logging on to get your fix. Have a lovely time and will catch up when you get back. Will keep all crossed for the house sale to happen once you are back. We chose Colchester in the end and are living one house away from the beach!!! Look out of the windows over the sea, not quite like Tassie but second best till we can get back there next year. x

Hi Sophie26, we have our visas, and validated, lived in Tassie for a short while but now back in the UK for personal reasons, hoping to be back in Tassie next August/Sept keeping all crossed. Came back to UK from Tassie with some great memories and a Tassie baby in my belly!!!! he he. OH got visa via a skilled migrant visa, he is IT Project Manager, whole process from begining to end took about 18 months (OH had to get ACS acreditation before visa application went in which is the computer version of the vetessase thingy for trades).

We found the lifestyle really relaxing and very family orientated, mainly focused outdoors which was great, the kids loved it and are always asking when we are going back. The scenery is out of this world, as you see the photos it is really like that and better!!! The beaches are great but the sea a little cold!! he he. Dont know if youve got kids but we found the schooling to be better than the UK, kids are a lot more friendly towards each other and there is no competitivness like over in UK. Hope this helps x

Welcome to the thread. WHen we were originally applying to emigrate we had chosen NZ and had some beautiful visits there, but chose Tassie instead. If you loved the scenery and quietness of life in NZ then Tassie is defo the place for you. Melbourne is busy and bustling as you would expect of a main town, prices are alot more expensive, but salaries are slightly higher to reflect this. Tassie is defo the place for a quiet life and a wonderful place for kids to grow up. When are you looking to move out?

Hi All

Welcome to all newcomers to the Tas thread. I have just typed up our update for the 1st 6 weeks in Tas, which I hope some of you will find interesting ?

Maybe some of you will venture up this way for a get together in the future?

Hope you have a lovely holiday Kathy, will catch up with you when you return.
Kerry - Our belongings have finally arrived in Hobart, so we will be down to collect them soon. I will give you a call, and hopefully we will be able to see you.

Bye for now

thank you for your replies. :-)
yes we have a little boy he will be two in december, so thinking realistically he will be three when we come out. i lived in Aus for 8 mths, stayed in Tas for a month, remember it as being a wonderful place. we are a very out doorsy' type family so it seems to tick all the right boxes! seems less job offers though - but oh has heard they need plumbers?!
Its lovely to hear that life is a lot more relaxed there. it just amazes me what you view as being importnant in this country - i a fall foul of that. you just get so ca\rried away!!
thanks again.
p.s where abouts are you all living? for those who's oh's were either sponsored or on skilled visas how did you go finding jobs yourself?
x

Thanks everyone for the welcome!

Have just read your update Carina and it sounds as if all going really well for you. Looking forward to hearing more!

I keep trying to read back through this thread to find out who everyone is but it is so long - i sit down with a glass of wine and start at page 1, by the time i'm nearly half way through the bottles nearly empty and i can't remember what i've already read and have to start again the next day....At this rate it will take years!!

House has now been for sale for two whole days and no viewers yet! Not that i'm impatient or anything. Papers here are full of doom and gloom everyday about the housing market so i guess i need to calm down a bit. What is the market like in Tassie? Are prices changing there? Keep looking at all the lovely things on Realestate.com and dreaming!

Anna

Hi Sophie, welcome to the Tassie thread!! Well where do I start? The north of the island is very pretty, well what am I saying the whole island is very pretty!! If you like wide open spaces, the countryside lots of outdoor activities. Then you'll love Tas. Its not great for clothes shopping or night clubbing and that sort of thing, it's very quiet here. Hobart is as metropolitan as your gonna get here, with Launceston a close second. Forget Tesco's and Sainsburys cos the shopping experience here is more get your necessities and get out sort of thing! Being a plumber I think he would have to take some sort of exam out here to be able to practice his profession in Aus, and it costs, but don't know how much. But he certainly wouldn't have any problems getting a job. Seasons are similar to Uk only winter aint so harsh, it just feels like it is because they don't have double glazing nor central heating. But we do have lovely wood burners to cosy up to and electric blankets are a must. Its a great place for kids to grow up here, but not sure if teenagers would dig it that much. If they aren't into out door stuff they will be bored here.

We only have one poisonous snake and 2 poisonous spiders to worry about, but then thats enough for me thank you very much!! The people are really friendly and will chat to you and be generally interested in what you have to say.

As for which visa route to go down, I'm not sure. You are probably better off speaking to an agent about the best one to go with. My other half is a diesel fitter and we went down the Subclass 134 route, that was STNI, State nominated by the Tas Gov. Have you been to an Oz expo? If not get yourself down to one and get chatting to the Tas gov stand they can help you out and steer you into the right direction.

I hope I've helped you out, good luck with it all, it's a long process!!!

Kerry

At the moment house prices aren't moving, the credit crunch is slowly making its way here. Petrol prices seem to be more of an issue here more than anything. But the Assie dollar is still quite strong and is doing well, not so good for Brits looking to change up their hard earned cash though.

Glad things are good for you babe! Woofy keeps asking after you lot, he really misses Mark, bless im Oh and he wants you to bring your step mum next time you come!! lol Tell Mark Dunc says hello and he misses their old man chats on the phone! he he. Keep safe bird, and can't wait for those cuppas either!!!!!xxxxxx

There is no point looking for a job before you come, because they don't want to give you the time of day if you are not in the country. They like to see you in the flesh. It probably won't hurt to get your name out there and send a few CV's over the net, but don't be disappointed if you get no response. Duncan did get a job before he arrived, but it was a crap company and a crap job he was only there 2 weeks before he found another employer he was more happy with. Be careful if you go down the sponsor route, I think if you get a company to sponsor you are bound to stay with them for at least 2 years and if you get a shite employer then it will be a hellish 2 years. You are better off if you can to go down the skilled visa route that way you can pick and choose where you work. And you don't even have to practice the skill you came out on, you can do a different job if you like.

Hello, just thought I'd mention, we moved here to Launceston in February and my son who was half way through year 2 at the time but only aged 6 was told he would have to go back to the beginning of grade 1. Well he is a bright little thing so I insisted that he be put into grade 2 which they happily did and now he is already doing the grade 3 work. I think it is important that you insist on what is right for your child with the method of schooling slightly different here from the uk in that they sometimes put students up or down a grade according to ability its not too unusual to have a broader age range in a grade. Hope you don't mind me interupting but thought it was important to keep in mind! Good luck Julie

Congrats on the baby news!!! I missed that one!!

Are you going to find out what you are having??? Not that it matters...are you feeling ok???

Lovely to hear from you...must get back to my boiling pot of pasta

Speak Soon xxxx