The weather here is loads better than the UK, we've only been here 3 months and can tell straight away! The summer in the UK lasted about 2 weeks last year. The summer here has been glorious and if anything too hot! Yesterday we spent all day indoors with the aircon on due to temps reaching 37-38c's, it was way too hot to take the kids to the park. Admittedly it is very changeable, but personally I wouldn't be able to stand hot hot hot every singe day, its very refreshing to get a couple of cool days inbetween.

If you want a pool then you can always put one in, lots of people have done it here. You have to weigh up the pro's and the con's, I beleive some one said on here write a list of what you want or the pro's and con's of living in Tassi. Then take it from there. I guess it is vry diffilcult having not visited. But again if it turns out you hate the place (which I doubt) You can always relocate to the mainland if it's really what you want.

We can only tell you how we feel about the place from our experiences, everyone is different and will give a differing view on the place, but I think the general feel from people that are here are that they love it and wouldn;t dream of living anywhere else.

Having doubts is natural, we all had them. But please go and do something, like a good night out to take your mind off it. I found that helped because you can get too wrapped up in what if what if going round and round in your head. You need to do something different that will make you forget about this for a while, then you will have a fresh mind and think about it more positively.

Chin up bird!

Kerry
X

it was one of the things at the top of my list too and there are houses with pools here but they are maybe used for only 3 months of the year?... mind you saying that I've seen kids jump into water that I couldnt even put my toe in its that cold!!

I have seen indoor pools in peoples gardens some very grand others are just inside colourbond sheds.

It is very green here and even though up where we are we are currently in drought its certainly not like like the mainland. The gardens are still thriving we have a lemon tree, nectarines, fig tree, olive tree and even grapes growing though not sure how they will come out! We've even got palm trees

I certainly didnt write my previous post to put you off Tasmania I was just saying its not the outdoor lifestyle of say tropical queensland where your outdoor area is very much part of your home.

Aside from the pool if everything else ticks your box your more than half way there. You need to choose somewhere to start and nowhere has to be forever.

of course the other thing is if you live next to the sea you've got your very own big pool with no costs

Hi here is the info on the London Zoo course

http://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo//n...ers,20,NS.html

Beth,
If you have a search around some of the small towns have there own pool so the kids could go for a swim when they finish school and not spoil your afternoon. There are lots of options definetly don't let this little thing put you off.
As for outdoor life, It depends what you are looking for as there is lots of places go for walks, And lots of kids play areas. I think once the kids come over here they would love it. Take them to see a Tassie devil and even go on a boat trip. I have been here for around 6-7 weeks and still not seen lots of things.
If you need any help looking for things shout up!!!!
Gary and Wifey

I know I cant comment on Tassie as I am not there, but I do know how you feel regarding being unsure etc. We had doubts whether we were doing the right thing. I hate spiders too, couldnt even look at a daddy long legs in the UK. However you do get used to them, I certainly wouldnt touch one but the shock of seeing them does die off. And generally you dont see them running about all over the place, if you go looking under piles of wood etc then you will see them.
There is no reason to panic, its easier to own a bank account here than in the UK, and all banks are similar (robbing b***ards). Renting is not a permanent thing so if you dont like the house you move when the lease expires 6 or 12 months later. We rent at the moment, but have also owned our own home, and again its no drama. This is our 4th time in Oz, went back previously because things were hard and we didnt stick at them, and we got homesick, but this time its worked for us. We came with very little money (all times), only ever bringing approx $7,000. We stayed in a short term holiday let booked via the internet for 2 weeks. Then in that 2 weeks we looked for a proper rental. And we did all this with kids and it was OK. Each time we came we bought a second hand car for about 2k which did us till hubby found work (which he always managed to do). We never brought hardly anything with us from the UK, and just bought a few essentials and then bought more when wages came in.
My kids would have liked a pool too, and believe me the climate in Perth is more than hot enough for one (too hot if you ask me, thats why I want to come to Tas), but I spoke to people who had pools and a lot of them said they would never have one again. Very expensive to run and a huge hassle. You have to test the water quality frequently, buy chemicals etc. Use the beach when warm enough or public pool, they are just as much fun.
I know you might feel like you are letting down your kids, I have felt the same way with mine in the past, but is it possible that you point out other positive things about coming to Australia instead of the pool situation? My girls love it here, (even with no pool), they play out doors more than in the UK, the kids are friendlier, the lifestyle is much nicer and because we are happier they are too.
As I said I am not in Tas, and cant comment on the exact climate there, but Im sure its much better than the UK!!!! And if you do move there and decide its not right for you, then maybe in a year or so you could always move to a different part of Australia?

Cherry x

Awwwwww thanks for the support I totally love Tasmania.......it's my dream place to live. The girls have been told we can't get a pool in Tas......and only one of them thinks it's a big issue now.
I've got this image in my head of seeing a huge spider in Oz.....and I'm brave enough to put a large saucepan over it...........but then the bloody saucepan starts moving....pretty fast too Think that would freak me out too much (faint).
I've reduced my house yet again.....5th time now.......12% off the original asking price so someone will get a bargain :curse:
Also just realised that we're in mid winter here in the UK......and should I sell in the next few months we'd be arriving in Tas in their winter time Double dose of winter.......eeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I also hate moths......almost failed my medical as there was a huge one in the car on the way to the panel doctors. BP was way too high so had to go to my GP to get 3 more readings done.....and I was fine....LOL
Heard the moths are like Batman in Oz.........I'm like Michael Jackson dancing when one flies near me here!!!!
Realise you run slower in flip flops too so god help me in Tas........
Beth x x

Hi Beth

I've been reading this thread with great interest, as we are going to Tas in June, (I know - we'll get 2 winters!) but I'm hoping its not too bad in Tas. I've been worrying myself sick just lately, thinking about everything we've got to do ! Its SO hard is'nt it ? Everyone on here as given you some great advice, and reading it has also helped me to see things more clearly too - So Thanks everyone !
Sounds like there are lots of great people there already or going, can I join in the meet ups please ? I am quite shy when meeting new people, but I have 3 kids and hubby is far more sociable, so I think that always helps to meet others and break the ice!
We have decided to rent our house out for a while and rent in Tas, as we just could'nt sell our house. Hope you sell yours soon, after dropping the price again. Good luck
Carina

Hi Carina......welcome to the Tas thread. The people on here are just brilliant, especially with the support network. I'm finding things a bit hard at the mo (as you know...LOL) and they're always there to keep me going.
I have to sell our house to fund the big move but hopefully someone will buy it soon.
Beth x x

Sorry to hear about having to reduce the price of your house again....
Fingerscrossed you'll get a buyer soon! Must be so frustrating though.
I'm dreading all the house selling hassle in a couple of weeks time...
At least we dont have the initial worry of looking for another house like we would if we were just moving in the UK!
I'm not a fan of spiders - but it is true that the more you see the big ones the less frightening they become - although i haven't been brave enough to hold or touch one! I like Moth's - when i was a little girl i asked my Dad why you mainly saw moth's during the night - and he said think of them as Butterflies of the Night - which has always stuck in my mind as i love Butterflies (have a tattoo of one on my ankle). If i see moth's now i try to see the patterns if they have any on their wings....we back onto fields where we live in Essex and if our bathroom window is open of a nighttime we get loads fly into the bathroom......only thing is the stupid things sometimes fly into the bath or where the tiles are wet from the shower and their wings disintegrate into dust!

Anyway, and just so you know..........you've got to get with the Oz lingo you know..... no calling your footwear flip flops in Oz - i got a load of stick for that from relatives in November whilst in Perth - got to be called Thongs in Oz! although for the rest of my life - Thongs will only conjure up visions of irritating stringy underwear

Hi Carina, welcome to the thread!
We are hoping to attend any meet-ups when we arrive in Tas later this year.
We did visit the Island at the end of Nov 2007 and met up with Kezzabird & her family & also Ian&Helena and another family from the UK ..
Everyone was very friendly and great to chat to. I think everyone that is either in the process of moving or has moved already appreciates that people need a support network of friends as much as you do here in the UK. Especially when you're leaving family & friends behind...
It's great to have people that have "been there - done that" to answer any questions.
I'm a firm believer that you never know who's paths you may cross in life.
I personally love meeting new people - from any walk of life. There will always be some people you may never hit it off with, but for those that you do - in my books you can never have too few friends. I'm desperately going to miss all my wonderful friends here in the Uk when i move but i hope that i will make a new network of friends in Tassie - and hopefully some of you wonderful lot will be included in that...

Me and family are off to SplashLandings at Alton Towers this weekend for two nights - going straight from the school once we've picked our daughter up as it'll take us about 3 hours to drive to Staffordshire from where we live. They're having a "Caribbean" themed weekend there - which should be interesting! Have been before a couple of Christmas's ago and our daughter had a great time in the Cariba Waterpark...... Boy am i glad to escape the wind and rain for two days - at least there we dont need to leave the Hotel at all!!!!

Have a great weekend everyone whatever you've got planned....
I'll be thinking of you all tomorrow when i'm dipping my toes in the warm water......surrounded by 50 shrieking kids having water fights (they have guns etc at the waterpark for them to shot people with! - i remember last time i got hit right in the face!).....oh well - if i have a headache by the evening i'll have to have a Pina Colada or two to make myself feel better!!!!


take care all!

OOOooooohhhhh that sounds lovely Just had my hubby on the phone.......he's cold and wet and plain fed up of working outside with 3 pairs of wet thermal socks on and waterproofs..............told me to ring an auction house to find out how to go about selling the house that way
God this is turning into right fiasco!!!!
Beth x x

Oh we have been exactly where you are !!!

Desperate phonecalls (10 or more) on really cold wet days (hes a builder!) do this,that and the other...see if this will work etc.............Arghh!

We are now over the desperation and are extending the house (well I need another bedroom ) when the market is so CRAP!!so we took the For Sale sign down and breathed a strange sigh of relief as we had 3 offers on it..Great..they had to sell their house ....not Great!! It was cracking us up!!

So just one more hurdle ....get the visas validated...well i have been told not to risk flying and he's going on his own with 3 of our boys so I don't know what i'm going to do about mine but i'm waiting on our agent to get back to us with possibilities..................STRESSFUL all this emigration isn't it

Zoe x

Welcome Carina to the Tassie mob.

Hi to the Tassie mob
I've been keeping my eye on the thread for quite some time, and its been very interesting. Hope we can all be of help to one another through this crazy journey ! Do you know when you are going Teabag ? and where abouts you are heading ?
Carina