JockinTas

We lived in Mullaloo (Perth) wonderful beach there, then we moved to Sydney and spent any free time in the summer at Balmoral and Manly beaches also lovely. Now we live in Tasmania next to the sea. For the last few weeks children have been swimming and playing on the beach every day. The weather is lovely and of course the sea isn't as warm as mainland beaches but that doesn't stop us from going for a swim WITHOUT a wet suit. The best thing is the lack of crowds.

I doubt very much if I would have been interested in coming to Australia but I married an Australian and even though I was homesick for a while I settled here happily. This was over 30 years ago so it's my home now. Mind you, I could just as happily go back to live in Scotland for 9 months of the year. I don't think I could put up with the winters anymore though. I've got soft over the years :laugh:

That really is so awful! According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, lightning accounts for up to 10 deaths and well over 100 injuries annually.

I worked for a large company in Sydney and many of the people I worked with emigrated to NZ as it was a lot easier than Australia. These people were mainly, Indian and Chinese. They stayed in NZ long enough to gain NZ citizenship then moved to Australia.

Neither of us have health insurance. We rarely see a doctor but a few years ago I had to have an op (in Sydney) and was in hospital after a wait of 3 weeks. Very good care in the hospital so I have no complaints at all about the public system. We pay each time we visit the dentist and luckily we both have no problems with out teeth otherwise it could be expensive.

^^^^ That's a lovely photo! Just had an email from a friend in the Midlands and she said it's snowing heavily there too.

Sounds like you've packed a lot into your first year here :smile:

^^^ Australia is definitely my home now but I will always have a very special place in my heart for Scotland. Prior to marrying my Australian husband I worked for 18 months in Belgium, 2 years in the US and 1 year in Switzerland. We met when we were both working in London. We set up home near Liverpool and lived happily there for a couple of years until he decided he wanted to go back home to Australia. So here we are after 33 years on the mainland and now very happily enjoying life in Tasmania. I remember how easy it was to get a job when I first arrived. I did admin/office work and if you didn't like your job, you left it on Friday and had a new job to go to on Monday. I was in my last job for 21 years so I was obviously quite content with that job :wink:

Hello Skani! Thanks for the welcome. Yes, we used to come on holiday to Tasmania and I always wanted to live here but both of us had good jobs in Sydney so waited until we retired. Hobart is just the loveliest wee city. Been here nearly a year but haven't made it to Hobart yet (stayed there on previous holidays though). We will get there one of those days. Just enjoying living right by the sea and going for long walks with my wee dog and doing a lot of exploring of this lovely island.

Well, unlike most of the other folks posting here (new members), I've lived in Australia for 34 years but just found this forum and it looks very interesting so I'll join in when I can :smile:

^^ It's a lovely wee place :smile: I don't think I could take the UK winters now. The winters here are chilly but we didn't even have a frost last winter. Inland is a lot colder.

I retired to Tasmania last year. I chose to live in Devonport on the north coast. Love it here. I came to Australia from Scotland 34 years ago and never liked the heat of the Australian mainland summers. Sydney and Brisbane both too humid though I did like the dry heat of Perth WA. The summers here are lovely and I enjoy having four proper seasons again.