Hi all, thanks for the replies about the contact person for the Tas Gov re: relocating. I had a couple of questions i wanted to ask again nearer to the time we are due to come over (whenever that might be ), so thanks!

Sounds like there's a North/South divide pretty much similar to any Island/Country Maybe we should do a survey one day to see where
those from oop North (as Possums would say ), relocated to & the same for any Southerners... I wonder if you naturally drift to the familiar

Hope you've all had good weather on the Island this weekend!
We have had no viewers on the house this week, no surprise there

Have a good week everyone.

Cathy

I was just having a look at the link you put on here. Those life-size carvings
at Legerwood/Ringarooma look really cool.

Hi all, I'm a Newbie to this site, it's a great research tool, enjoying reading lots of posts!!We - my husband, baby son & I are thinking of relocating to Australia / Tasmania from France (we're Brits though!). To me Tasmania sounds the best area for us, as I don't like it too hot, but don't mind the cold! It's not very wet in Tasmania is it? & I take it you don't get the droughts / bush fires like some parts of the mainland get? I keep horses here in France & would want to keep horses in Tasmania (if we decide to move over!), I wouldn't want to worry that they have nothing to eat (grass)! From what I've read so far Tasmania sounds pretty green! Are there any areas which would suit best that anyone can recommend?One of the main things that has bothered me so far is the hole in the Ozone Layer that can pass over Australasia - is it a big health risk (Cancer springs to mind!)?Having relocated once already, we're pretty savvy with the missing family, friends part etc, is it fairly easy to integrate & make friends in Tasmania?Finally, we are hoping to come over in August / September, is this a good time of the year to visit, taking into account we have a baby? How long would anyone suggest we need spend in Tasmania (we want to go to the mainland as well).Any replies will be greatly received!

Hi and welcome!

I can answer some of your questions and I'm sure some of the others could add more.

Tassie is not as hot as most of the mainland and when it is hot, it does not tend to last as long. Winters are not as cold as in the UK (in my opinion) and there seems to be less days of fog and greyness and more sunshine even if its chilly! We arrived in Winter last year and thought it was so much better than our typical English weather which was grey, foggy and damp, certainly in Somerset anyway!

Depending where you are on the island, then rain and green grass (for horses!) can still be a problem. The midlands area tends to be very dry, and over the Eastern shore (Richmond, Sorrell etc) also seems to very dry. We live in the South and the Huon valley area is quite green and I believe many places up North are very green. But personally I haven't seen anywhere in Oz that looks green like the UK!

I'm not sure of the science behind the ozone layer and Australia'a high rates of skin cancer but it is a problem. Even on days when the thermometer is not particularly high, you can really feel the intensity of the sun, and you need to take care, I've been caught out once already!

I think Aug/Sept would be ok to visit, you should get some sunny days, even if cool and there will less tourists around! When we visited in 07, we had 6 days here and it wasn't really long enough but it gave us enough to know this would be our choice, we also visited Adelaide and Melbourne in our visit. We went to Launceston, Freycinet National Park, Hobart and surrounding areas, we would have liked more time but getting leave from work and the overall cost of the holiday meant we couldn't.

Good luck with your plans, we were originally looking at New Zealand but after picking up lots of info about Tas at an emigration show in the UK, we felt that Tas offered us beautiful scenery, wildlife, great local wine and food, and was less isolated that NZ. So here we are!

Sam

Hi Kastell!

I would second everything that Sammy said, but would like to add that Tassie is not immune to bush fires, we have had a few, last year was really bad as it was sooo dry. This year we seem to be getting a bit more rain, but it normally is confined to the more bushy parts of Tassie where all the pine plantations are etc. My OH works in the bush, and hears a lot over the special UHF radio they have out here, and a lot of little fires happen but are usually contained very quickly, last year though we did have quite a few out of control fires that took a couple of days to contain. Tassie's fire dept is magnificent a lot of our crews actually went over to California when they had out of control bush fires to volunteer during our winter their summer. Anyone can volunteer to help out at their local fire station, you get training and all that, and they have a very good social scene. I was going to volunteer this year but then I found out I was pregnant! So decided to wait a few more years before volunteering.

If you have any more questions fire away (oops wrong choice of words considering what's just been written!) lol

Hi All, does anyone know of the ABC Building at 1 Brooker Highway in Hobart? i know the motel we stayed in was based on the Brooker Highway, but cant remember seeing any "big" office type buildings near there...(although i wouldnt have been looking for them i guess at the time!).

thanks
Cathy

HI,
We live in the north of Tasmania not far from Launceston, And round here most of the people seem to have horses. The person across from us has 4 horses and a foal which was born on Nov 9th last year. A lot of farmers round here this year have had two crops of hey so no problems feeding the horses. There is a local horse club which meet once a month down the road from us.
With horse you will have no problem.
As for coming in Sept thats not a bad time, Still lots of things to do and can get some lovely cold nights which are good for sitting in front of fire and relaxing at night.
I think if you come over here you will love it!!! Tassie is a superb place!!!!!
Gary

Hi all, thanks for your replies, very helpful. Sam we were also looking at NZ but came to the same conclusion as you! Does Tasmania get really busy with Tourists? We're originally from Cornwall & the amount of Tourists there in the Summer used to drive us crazy!!! In respect of the sun's intensity I suppose you just adapt & cover up more / slap on the sunblock? I'm probably being over worried as have a fair headed son!!! Kezzabird my hubbie was thinking of volunteering for the lifeboat when we were in the UK, but then we left!! He'd probably like to volunteer in Tasmania (he loves the sea!). What are the roads like in Tasmania? My hubbies also into motorbikes! I must say so far that the North side of the island sounds more appealing to me, more green, etc, Devonport / Launceston area perhaps? Anyone live up there who can tell me what it's like? I was told by someone that it can be quite remote in the North though? We are country / coast lovers & the idea of living in a town / city would be horrible, but wouldn't want to isolate ourselves either!! Integrating & making friends is important to us. Are there many events in Tasmania, i.e. festivals, horse shows / agricultural shows, sporting events?Travelbug, I see you've been trying to get to Tasmania for ages, hope you get there soon!!!!Claire.

Hi Gary, we must of posted at the same time! Thanks for the info, going by your username I take it your a biker? If so what are the roads like? Also are jobs easy to come by up North? Do you have any estate agent links for your area? Must say, can't wait to come over!! Thanks again, Claire.

I think from a keeping horses point of view the North of the island may be greener but then is also depends on what work you are looking for as well. We headed to the South as my husband did not have a job, but had already made contact with some people (who were all based in Hobart!) so we did not have much choice really. Having said that, it's lovely here, we live in Margate which is about 20 - 30 minutes from Hobart, Bruny Island is easily accessible, the sea is never far away, there are lots of water based hobbies if you want to take them up, the Huon valley is very pretty etc etc.

Keep asking away, I'm sure one of us will be able to help.

Sam

Tassie is motorbike world!!! There are sooo many Harleys out here it's not funny!! There are no major motorways, and if you get off the beaten track off season you will find wonderful quiet roads. We once took a road trip in September and didn't see a single vehicle for 1 hour and half!!! There are loads of bike groups to join etc etc. Your Hubby will be in motorbike heaven!! The north is way greener than down here, we live in the country and the farmers down here struggled to get one good crop of hay this year. We are on 12 acres and our land is completely yellow!

Hi Kastell.
Roads over here are ok but some roads change to gravel so need to be carefull if your not sure where you are going. But in general they are good. You need to be carefull speeding as the police sit in places you would never think of them sitting in the UK. (Learnt from experiance!!!) If your husband is looking for a motorbike sportsrider in Luanceston seems a good shop.
As for sporting events there are a few, AFL comes to Launceston a few times, There are lots of country shows which have horse riding at.
We live 26 kms from Launceston and its lovely. There are a few properties around here for sale just go onto www.realestate.com.au The estate agents round here are Elders and Roberts, If you enter in postcode 7267. you will find some nice places. Some with some good land.
IF you need any more help feel free to PM me or ask on here.
Gary Vikky and Hollie

HI sorry, Forgot to put it in the last message, What sort of work is it you will be looking for?? I came over with no job and I got a got with the Commonwealth bank in a call centre and its not a bad job. Pay is $43k per year. They seem to advertise a lot, I love the job never done anything like this before I came over.
Any more things you want to ask feel free.
Gary

Tasmania sounds better by the minute !!! Can't wait to tell hubbie when he gets back from work!! Sounds like there's plenty going on & things to do. My hubbie is a very competent motorbike rider, gravel etc never phases him (he has a DR800), infact I think he likes challenging roads & expect he would be searching for them!! It sounds like the North will be best for us, so will research into property prices etc, thanks for the web links. My hubbie is a builder / fabricator, so am assuming finding work shouldn't be too difficult??? I worked in administration (local council) but am happy to try something different. Gary do you have some photo's of your area which you could post / pm me? Thanks everyone!! Claire.

Hi there - and welcome to the thread
thanks for that - we hope we do too! It is a lovely place...
Good Luck with your move / decision making!

Cathy