escape2oz

This is interesting to know. I'm OK with seconds as long as they charge appropriately! I suspect not though ;-) Not really into the city scene. Got young children and would rather they grew up in nature and fresh air - at least until they are teenagers and want a bit more action. Thanks for sharing your insight...what would be your pick of small coastal towns on the north coast that are commutable for work in either Burnie or Devonport?

Yes, Launceston in particular struck me as very British in character. I was only there for a very brief time though. No doubt the difference emerge the more you get to know it. People say Tassie is cold and wet, but in my experience that's usually Aussies who think anything less than 18C is blizzard conditions! We miss having proper seasons where we live in Townsville at the moment. We've been in northern Australia for three years and are sick of the heat and humidity to be honest. And Tassie in summer is pretty much perfect.

I've actually been looking at the N W Coast. There was a job I was interested in in Burnie, but I didn't apply as we're expecting our third child at the end of the month so the timing's off. I've heard that Port Sorell is nice, and I've read that Wynyard and Ulverstone are also lovely. What would be your pick between Devonport and Burnie? They sound very similar from what I can tell online, but no doubt they're different in real life! How do you find the pace of life on the northern coast? How are the people/sense of community? What's the weather like?

This is disturbing to hear. I haven't looked too deeply into rental prices yet, but I did notice that house prices seemed to be dramatically higher than last time I checked a couple of years ago. I did a bit of online digging and sure enough Hobart is in the midst of a property boom! Just our luck :-( We will now struggle to find something nice we can afford. For example, a couple of years ago if I remember correctly you could get a solid 4x2 family home in Howrah for $300,000 to $4000,000. Now it's more like $450,00+! Same story in Kingston. Are there any good value suburb not too far from the CBD that are safe and pleasant for a young family? I've read about Glenorchy and its surrounds, but I'm not overly keen. The shortage of cheaper houses in nicer areas of Hobart has lead me to look more closely at Launceston where the situation seems to be much better. You can pick up a really nice family home with decent size block in Riverside for $350,000. This is a lot more reasonable, but for me the downsides are less work opportunities in my industry (media/communications/public relations) and not being on the coast. What do you reckon? Keen to get your insight....

I think you re right about feeling cut off being psychological. We don't feel cut off where we live in Townsville at the moment, because we're not on an island. But it's so remote that we rarely ever leave the area. I doubt Tassie would feel more cut off. Understand what you're saying about commuting to Melbourne from Ballarat, but I just couldn't face that and wouldn't do it to my family.

Great suggestion. I’ll touch base with them all a little later in the year once baby 3 has arrived and settled in. Will check my messages - thank you!

On average Tasmania has fewer overseas born than the Australian average: I think it is about 20% v. 35%. However there is a higher concentration around the Hobart area - probably due to the high numbers of international students at the University, scientists at the various oceanographic and Antarctic institutions and medical professionals, including in research. The restaurant industry around Hobart is certainly very multicultural. Thanks Skani. That’s good to know. Learning a lot!

That’s wonderful! Whereabouts are you living? We’ve been looking at Kingston and Riverside in Launceston.

Hi Skani :-) I'm in the media/communications game so I guess that means Hobart is the most likely place where we'd end up. I also understand job opps in this industry could be few and far between in Tassie, relative to mainland state capitals. Your insights into healthcare and public education have largely alleviated my concerns. Thank you. Suits us just fine! Totally agree with you. Sounds eclectic! Can I ask you, how multicultural would you say Tassie is? I've always valued living amongst people from different backgrounds and cultures. Is this a strength of Tasmania? I hope to fall into that category myself. Thanks again for your response Skani - very interesting information!

Thanks for your input :-) I don't think we can go far wrong with Tasmania or Geelong/Ballarat to be honest. Though I must admit, it's the thought of raising our family in Tassie that makes me smile the most!

Thanks for your response! The more I hear about Geelong the more I like the sound of it. I'm not interested in commuting to Melbourne personally, but I understand that limits my employment options and I may not have the choice at the end of the day. Yes, it does seem like money is being spent on Geelong CBD. One criticism I've heard is that the city centre is 'disjointed'. Not sure exactly what that means - maybe a bit spread out? If that's its biggest flaw I'm not too worried, although there must be other drawbacks. There always are :-)

Hi Stayorgo. Hopefully we get some replies. I've struggled to find much info about Geelong that paints a picture of what it's actually like to live there at this point in time. Did you get a feel for the vibe/ambience when you visited? We find Townsville to be a bit lacking community-wise due to being transient. It's also quite bogan, but I'm sure Geelong has its fair share! Property in Geelong is affordable compared to Melbourne, but it seems to be rising. We're looking at Belmont where it's already not exactly cheap!

Torn on Tassie We’ve been living in Australia for eight years, firstly in south west WA, then the Kimberley and now Townsville. It’s been an adventure, but now with two young kids (and another on the way) it’s time to settle down in that ‘forever place’. We’ve decided on either regional Victoria – either Geelong or Ballarat – or Tassie because we prefer the cooler climate. We also spent a few weeks picking apples in the Huon Valley years ago as backpackers and loved our time there, but would prefer a bigger community such as Launceston or Hobart in which to raise our family. But there’s just something nagging at me about Tasmania that’s making me hesitate over the decision. I keep reading about how tough it is to find work there, how the health care system is not as good as the mainland in terms of access to specialists etc and how public schools don’t perform as well etc. I realise that life’s what you make of it and if you’re determined you can succeed anywhere, but like I said it’s making me doubt whether a move to Tassie is the right thing for us. My wife comes from an island (albeit a MUCH smaller one than Tassie) and she often speaks about feeling cut off from mainland Britain, people’s insular attitudes and how young people were ultimately forced to leave to pursue work opportunities elsewhere. Does Tasmania suffer from such drawbacks and to what degree would you say? In what ways do you feel disadvantaged – if at all – by living in Tasmania? My heart says Tassie but my head says Geelong/Ballarat. With Melbourne’s growth going gangbusters and showing no signs of slowing down, the positive flow-on effects for regional cities in Victoria within commuting distance looks very encouraging. While I’ve got no interest in commuting to Melbourne for work, it would be good to have all that life and culture on our doorstep when we want it. And if I ever do run into employment issues then having such a large job market down the road does offer more options to keep the wolf from the door if it comes to that. But I still keep coming back to Tassie. The climate, the nature, the history, the mountains, the forests, the beaches….I feel more inspired by the idea of life in Tasmania than I do by regional Victoria. On other hand, they’re close to each other so we could live in Geelong/Ballarat and holiday in Tassie fairly easily. As you can see I really am torn. If you made it this far down my very long post THANK YOU and please share some advice! Happy New Year ?

Hi guys. We're a family of four (soon to be five!) currently living in Townsville, but looking to move south later this year. It's just too hot and remote here! On paper Geelong looks like it ticks quite a few boxes. It's a similar size to Townsville, which is a plus for us as we like to have stuff happening but nothing too hectic. The location between Melbourne and the Surf Coast looks fantastic as well. What's it actually like living there though? Is it a nice place to raise a family? I'm aware of the downturn in the automotive industry in recent years and the resulting high unemployment rate, but I'm reading online that Geelong is reinventing itself in the same sort of manner as Newcastle and Wollongong. Is this actually the case though, or is that just marketing hype? I'd be looking for work locally rather than commuting to Melbourne. We'll remain on a single (average) income while my wife focusses on looking after our (very young) kids, so we're not exactly cashed up at the moment. Kids will almost certainly go to public schools, so particularly interested in opinions on that. Basically we want a liveable smallish city with a good community feel and (hopefully) a fairly vibrant atmosphere. Does this sound like Geelong at all? I've also been considering Ballarat because property is quite a bit cheaper and I like the look of the historic architecture, but I'm put off by being further from the coast and the chillier winter weather. Tasmania (Hobart or Launceston) is also in the running...