Tasmania

[cityboy]

Cheers Colin,

Will do, Tas sounds like a lovely place to bring up kids and the scenery looks spectacular, similar to NZ in many respects. How is the cost of living in Tas compared to UK??

Many thanks,

Cityboy.

[Colin R]

Just a couple of things about Tasmania. I arrived here with my OH and a 16 year son last year. We bought a business and employ Australians . I have used an agency for staff and have found them to be very good. There are not that many agencies really.Our son has got an apprenticeship which was sorted with the help of TACC this was only by them helping as unfortunately new migrants employess do not get the incentives from the goverment for the employer as they would get by employing Australians. But it did not matter that he was a Pom to them. It didnt it matter that I and my other half are Poms. I dosent matter that you are a Pom it matters what type of person you are and whether you want to fit in. Sure they knock us about the cricket but then I didnt like cricket in the UK so anything that is said to me on that subject is wasted. All we want to do and be is Australian work hard and get a better life which we have. And if you are prepared to do that you will be accepted. I will always be British because that is where I was born I can't help that but I can help what I am going to be in the future. Tasmanian(Australian) first . British 2nd. Tasmania is very small and it seems everyone knows everyone else very much like the Town I was born in and lived in until we moved here. The locals are friendly they will do what they can to help and anyway most of them have got relations in UK !
Sally

[patricia333]

senior member that's me by virtue of having been married to guy from gravesend and as I came from tasmania and we planning to move back there I can tell you that it is so much more like england than other places in oz you will love it and perhaps you will be able to work as a fdecorator and the most likely way is to find work by word of mouth because tgasmania is a series of small close-knit communities - - I can tell you such a lot about tas if you would like to know.

[Herbster]

Originally Posted by patricia333

senior member that's me by virtue of having been married to guy from gravesend and as I came from Tasmania and we planning to move back there I can tell you that it is so much more like england than other places in oz you will love it and perhaps you will be able to work as a decorator and the most likely way is to find work by word of mouth because Tasmania is a series of small close-knit communities - - I can tell you such a lot about Tas if you would like to know.

Hi There and WELCOME to PIO! :)
Great to hear you might like to share your Tassie experiences with us Tassie-wannabes. I'll try not to bombard you with too many questions! We know that Kingston & it's adjacent beach sound like a great suburb, but I' m not sure we like suburbs as much as we like the countryside - farm fields, cattle, sheep, perfection would be a far off ocean/water view!
We love the idea of good, healthy locally grown food and good old fashioned values, which sound like Tass. OH works so hard, is a talented young project's coordinator/electrical control systems specialist, great @ IT & SOOooo organised! He is very conscientious and gets along with just about anybody - we've both lived and worked overseas and recognize there is Life beyond UK! & we like that! We're not really looking for a substitute England!
At the moment we are awaiting a Case Officer, which I hope shouldn't be too much longer... We've never been to Oz, but are trying to learn as much about our potential new home, from as many EXPERIENCED people as possible!, and I do have one contact in Kingston, too..... But I'm wondering what things are like on the North NE coast - is Devonport a viable consideration for work - but then there's the weather...

Thanks,
Herbster

[Colin R]

Hi
the North East Coast is beautiful. as is the North West coast. Not sure about work prospects up there as there seems to be more work down in the South . Property is a little cheaper and you do seem to get more for your money in the size of blocks . from Launceston and around the top heading down the East Coast is very rural and unspoilt (at the moment) As for the NW there are Ulverstone, Burnie, Devenport. there is more industrial and of course it is growing and more services are coming in. Further down the Nw there is alot of mining , Queenstown , Zeehan, Rosebury I have to say not my cup of tea due to the mines .
Kingston close enough to Hobart but yet far enough away. Heading down the Channel and along the coast through Howden , Tinderbox, Kettering ,Woodbridge,Cygnet ( all of these are on the realestate website with houses for sale) and the loop around to Huonville all of these places are rural and many have great views. Many people commute into Hobart for work and its not too far. Nothing really is too far over here but we had to really settle in Kingston as that is where our shop is and I fell in love with our house. Also I wanted to have the Mountains and the beach nearby which we have and there is nothing better than looking out of your bedroom window and seeing Mount Wellington loaming up over the top of you Oh and then pinching yourself that you are here. How sad is that ! Dont worry about asking questions if I dont know I will find out there is always someone to ask over here! They do like to chat.
Sally
Sally

[Herbster]

Thank you Sally:

Those are the very same areas that I've been considering, and like you had pretty much discounted the West coast for it's mining (certainly not appealing, although the work seems to be there for those so inclined!) And I guess the weather tends to be rather damp & windy that side too, so I think we'll forget about that area!!
I receive daily e-mail alerts for promising looking properties !! and the Tamar & Derwent River Valley's also look promising. Launceston doesn't look like a bad town, Scottsdale to the NE seemed interesting on paper, but do you know how far they'd be from the beaches? Presently OH drives 20miles (37ks?) to work, about 40+- minute commute, but doesn't mind as it gets him well away from Newcastle city into our peaceful, quiet, neck of the woods & I'm sure would do same in Tass if necessary - but would be BIG +++ if he didn't have to?? So I could see in Tass him working in Hobart but driving towards the coast, for home?? (SE/S/NE?)
Things I wonder about on the cheaper end of property market: is it easy to rehab property,(are there good builder's merchant's/DIY stores or are there lots of rules & regs like here, I'd expect lumber to be cheaper) or if it was a wreck would it be cheaper to raise it & build new?! And what's the deal with electricity supplies, are there weird rules about power sockets & outlets, I seem to see a lot of worrying antique-looking arrangements! Also, I thought it was the rule that you had to have a laundry, but doesn't seem to follow in Tass?! And what kind of property taxes do you have to pay, is there a way to find out on-line what tax band a property is in? I understand that if you have your own water/wells/bores/dams those don't come for free? And do you know how the 1st time buyer's program works? Sorry to bombard you - perhaps you can share out the answers!?
My dream in Tass (secretly) is to have a few acres, as I had in US, for animals & horses, can you keep chickens & ducks,too? I see them in real estate photos? Grow our own garden & have access to locally produced food, cheese, dairy, meat etc., - really secret: home-made ice cream & gooood chocolate! Get to know the few nearby locals (NOT pubs, we really don't drink, either!) & blend in as quickly as possible into the landscape... Mad or doable?!
In spite of some reservations, I'm actually beginning to get excited, as I think we should be getting our Case Officer soon, then I know it'll be a mad panic to move, as it's just us & he won't want to hang around when he'll have the op to move Down Under & he's not done any research in case it all goes pear-shaped & I'll have to come up with all the answers!!

Thanks for being so helpful & kind,
Herbster

[connaust]

Ok replies:

1. Herbster - re. poms that is just standard newspaper fodder :) The best way of finding work (only about 30% are advertised) is getting on telephone direct to companies and offer to send your CV. But, instead of sending drop off CV in person so they can see your face. Australia emailing CVs is not enough unfortunately, often no reply.......Brits are at distinct advantage in some ways because it is assumed you are native speakers. Otherwise on top of technical skills I would stress demonstrating soft skills i.e. good communication, problem solving, responsible, reliable, time management etc.

2. The Cutches - sounds like a business ploy to me......strong demand for engineers so I think it is the employers and agencies are desperate to find engineers, not other way round :) What type of engineer?

PS I am often miss these requests, best to PM mr or email via AIEC

Cheers

[Colin R]

G'day Herbster
I havent got all the answers yet as we have had a Public Holiday today for the Hobart Show! (one of the 100's of public holidays )
It is very easy to get DIY items over here it seems that every town has a Bunnings/Mitre 10 or the like these sell everything wood , electricial fitments, gardening , homewares paint, you name it I think they sell it!! Wood is reasonable over here for all things even for buning in the wood fires.
Most houses do have laundries not sure if it is a requirement certainly most houses built from the 60's seem to have them. Lots of rural blocks have chickens , ducks on them we dont have foxes which is a bonus (although apparently we have and the goverment have spent a fortune on a task force to eradicate them not many have seen a fox )
Plenty of places that you can have your wishes. We have been out for a drive today in the 23degrees, not a cloud in the sky lol anyway we went around the coast road and through to Cygnet have a look at Kettering and Nichols Rivulet Very nice homes and large block around the 2 ha. Horse riding around there is great roads are quiet and loads of places to go off road you can ride on Five Mile Beach which is on the Eastern Shore you can take the horses into the water for about 100 metres it is so shallow . Also check out Sandford once again easy commute to Hobart good houses and land .
There are a lot of builders that renovate and good ones too. There are many homes that could be renovated that come onto the market. But it seems that people over here build new before renovating the old! One of the local builders works on an approxiamate price of $10,000 per square metre ie a 24 Sq house would cost $240,000 to build an top of that you have the land price but there are some good blocks 2/4ha going for about $200,000 you wouldnt be able to buy the house for $440,000.
I have also got a contact for retal in Kingston she is at LJHooker it may help you to get over here and then have a good look around rentals.kingstontas@ljh.com.au I had been over here quite a few times and I was sure I knew where I wanted to live but when we got here it completely changed . Because of the shop it had to be close to Kingston in fact I'm really pleased we only looked at 2 houses and fell in love with one. We had to get FIRB approval but our agent did that for us he was brilliant and it helped that he lived in Hobart and knew lots of people.
I will get the answers to other questions about stamp duty I think that for example a house of $400,000 you would pay about $15,000 to include solicitors fees
$350,000 or less and you would be eligable for the 1st time buyers which I think again is $7500 but that I will check. I didnt think that I would get here but all of a sudden it comes with a rush I thought every day felt like a month and on looking back it took no time at all really Jan 9th 06 visa application received Visa granted 25th June 06 and we sold our house in that time too? It really is worth the wait and the trauma I promise
Sally

[Herbster]

Many Thanks Andrew for your salient advice which it is music to my ears, really.

These are great tips, and I suspect will be advantageous to OH, as he presents very well! (Not biased, at all, just being a pragmatist: he's a true One Off!) He's just won a prestigious award for Innovation & Best Practice (from the Big Guns!) but is very frustrated, as he has sooo much to offer, but is currently spinning his wheels... He;'s a young guy with much ability: a great motivator & proponent of the good Ole Team Spirit (army background) dedicated/committed/responsible, he actually enjoys working - hard! I'm sure he'll be a great success & enormous benefit to any company, as he really gives it his All & is a very fast learner! His foundation/trade is in elec control systems,(guided weapons etc.) but he's really keen on & has proven himself in designing manufacturing systems/capital projects & would love to get involved in CAD & systems analysis for Forward-Thinking-Looking company... AND, he's the BEST at making order & reason from chaos & conflict, and YES! YES! YES! he loves to have a laugh with the guys - misses the squaddie comraderrie...
Not interested in mining, thu!

Many Thanks,
Herbster

[Herbster]

Originally Posted by Colin R

G'day Herbster
I havent got all the answers yet as we have had a Public Holiday today for the Hobart Show! (one of the 100's of public holidays )
It is very easy to get DIY items over here it seems that every town has a Bunnings/Mitre 10 or the like these sell everything wood , electricial fitments, gardening , homewares paint, you name it I think they sell it!! Wood is reasonable over here for all things even for buning in the wood fires.
Most houses do have laundries not sure if it is a requirement certainly most houses built from the 60's seem to have them. Lots of rural blocks have chickens , ducks on them we dont have foxes which is a bonus (although apparently we have and the goverment have spent a fortune on a task force to eradicate them not many have seen a fox )
Plenty of places that you can have your wishes. We have been out for a drive today in the 23degrees, not a cloud in the sky lol anyway we went around the coast road and through to Cygnet have a look at Kettering and Nichols Rivulet Very nice homes and large block around the 2 ha. Horse riding around there is great roads are quiet and loads of places to go off road you can ride on Five Mile Beach which is on the Eastern Shore you can take the horses into the water for about 100 metres it is so shallow . Also check out Sandford once again easy commute to Hobart good houses and land .
There are a lot of builders that renovate and good ones too. There are many homes that could be renovated that come onto the market. But it seems that people over here build new before renovating the old! One of the local builders works on an approxiamate price of $10,000 per square metre ie a 24 Sq house would cost $240,000 to build an top of that you have the land price but there are some good blocks 2/4ha going for about $200,000 you wouldnt be able to buy the house for $440,000.
I have also got a contact for retal in Kingston she is at LJHooker it may help you to get over here and then have a good look around rentals.kingstontas@ljh.com.au I had been over here quite a few times and I was sure I knew where I wanted to live but when we got here it completely changed . Because of the shop it had to be close to Kingston in fact I'm really pleased we only looked at 2 houses and fell in love with one. We had to get FIRB approval but our agent did that for us he was brilliant and it helped that he lived in Hobart and knew lots of people.
I will get the answers to other questions about stamp duty I think that for example a house of $400,000 you would pay about $15,000 to include solicitors fees
$350,000 or less and you would be eligable for the 1st time buyers which I think again is $7500 but that I will check. I didnt think that I would get here but all of a sudden it comes with a rush I thought every day felt like a month and on looking back it took no time at all really Jan 9th 06 visa application received Visa granted 25th June 06 and we sold our house in that time too? It really is worth the wait and the trauma I promise
Sally

Hi Sally

Thanks so much for your help & great advice, I've pm'd you & hope to hear from you soon,
Cheers,
Herbster