Toots

Continuing with the cost of electricity in Tasmania ............................ according to this, Tasmania is cheaper than other states. Who to believe??? https://www.premier.tas.gov.au/site_resources_2015/additional_releases/tasmanians-get-the-lowest-electricity-prices-but-only-scare-tactics-from-labor#:~:text=The independent Tasmanian Economic Regulator,regulated electricity prices in Australia. Because all of Tasmania's electricity is produced by hydro power station, Tasmania is now 100 per cent self-sufficient in renewable energy and is the first state in Australia to be so.

According to this, Tasmania's electricity is more expensive than most other states. As I said our bills aren't high as we have solar panels but the three girls who share a small house near us had a bill of $250 for 3 months. It will probably nearly double during winter. They are out at work all day so won't being using power then. I don't know why your bill is so much higher.

Yes, that house is round the corner from us and the owners have been trying to sell it for best offer over $1,600,000. Obviously no takers so they are renting it out in the meantime. The owners have moved to a smaller place. Good, decently priced rentals are like hen's teeth. There is a bit of building going on plus more state housing is being built so hopefully that will make a bit of a difference. The log burners for heating are quite common here. Mind you the cost of good firewood is quite expensive unless you go foraging for it yourself.

A lot of that has to do with the socio economic thing. I see them at the shops buying greasy, fatty garbage and a trolley full of unhealthy stuff. Probably shuffle from the house to the car to the shops and shuffle back home again. BUT there are also a lot of fit, healthy people. There are 10 gyms/fitness centres in Devonport. I pass 2 of them most mornings at 6:30 to 7 am and they are busy then. People are out running and cycling. I don't go to a gym but I do keep fit. I walk for miles and swim regularly. Even just working in the garden and faffing about with the horses helps. I used to be able to eat what I wanted and didn't put on weight but now I'm a bit more careful. I do still like a slice of cake with a cup of coffee and love chocolate but now have to ration that a bit. I've noticed the younger people are a lot slimmer and fitter than the older generation.

There used to be a Target in Devonport but it closed. There is a large Target in Launceston and another one in Burnie We really could do with an Aldi but Aldi doesn't exist here. The electricity bill is fairly low for us as we have solar panels but I know a family of 3 who just received their bill and it was $250. They have no solar panels and we don't need air-con on the north coast. Of course the bill rises in winter due to heating the house. Some privately owned houses have radiators like the UK homes but very rare in rentals. At the moment a decent rental is pretty hard to find and rents aren't cheap either. You get what you pay for. Most rentals have a heat pump but the insulation on some of the rentals is just about useless. 2 bedroom rentals available in Latrobe just as an example. https://www.realestate.com.au/rent/with-2-bedrooms-in-latrobe,+tas+7307/list-1

In Devonport there is a Coles, Woolies, Kmart, Harvey Norman, Bunnings, lots of small shops, cinema, butcher, greengrocer etc. For BigW you'd have to go to Hobart. Don't know why there isn't one in the north.

Latrobe is very nice. Good school, shops, and a hospital.

We drove from Sydney to Melbourne and got the ferry from Melbourne to Devonport. We shipped quite a bit of our stuff and from memory I think it was just over $3000.

Have a look at what's on offer jobwise in north west Tasmania. Plenty of fruit/veggie picking and packing jobs but that's fairly seasonable. https://www.seek.com.au/jobs/in-Devonport-&-North-West-TAS Launceston and Hobart probably have more to offer. Fruit/veggie picking and farm work all over Tasmania. https://au.indeed.com/q-farm,-picking,-fruit-l-tasmania-jobs.html?vjk=0d3359aaf31f1df8 Hospitality https://www.seek.com.au/jobs-in-hospitality-tourism/in-Launceston-&-North-East-TAS

Are you retired? There are quite a few people who retire here from the mainland. If you aren't retired, employment can be a problem. We retired from Sydney 9 years ago. We came to Tasmania often on holiday and I always had a hankering to live here. No regrets. We get nice warm summers. The weather doesn't really settle until round about Christmas time and we do get the odd hot day but as the weather is changeable the hot weather doesn't go on and on. Today was cold, windy and wet. Any questions, just ask.

I remember lovely summer days in the UK as a child and beyond. We used to cycle to the beach and swim in rivers. Most of the school summer holidays were spent outside. I also remember my younger sister being put outside in her pram no matter what the weather was like even in winter. Not in the rain though. In Nordic countries it's quite normal to let babies take a nap outside in their prams even during winter and it must have been much the same in the UK in those days. I also remember hearing a rumble and my Mum dashing outside as the rumble was snow sliding off the roof onto the pram!! My sister was none the worse.

I really dislike hot weather too. Apparently Sydney is forecast 35C today. Here it will reach 20C. I think our hottest day this summer was 27C and that is plenty hot enough for me. No air-con necessary here. Just open the back and front doors and the breeze keeps everything cool. UK summers are getting hotter. Last summer some places reached 38C.

Yes, the only quarantine facility in Australia for cats and dogs is in Melbourne (Mickleham). The minimum cost for quarantine for one cat or dog is approx. $2000. All up with fares, it's a costly price to pay.

This info was in our local paper but it may be old news by now. Seems awfully short notice. Hundreds of pet owners seeking to enter Australia with their pets have had their plans thrown into disarray by rule changes that is making it all but impossible to bring their dogs and cats with them. The changes which take effect today mean that the validity of a test showing that an animal has been vaccinated against rabies has shrunk from 24 months to 12 months and that dogs and cats have to be identified by official government vets. If these requirements cannot be fulfilled, animals need to spend 30 rather than 10 days in quarantine on arrival but with quarantine spaces booked out for months many pet owners are now unable to travel with their pets.

You could try this. https://www.internations.org/sydney-expats/british

Yes I think you're right. My husband seemed to have no problem making friends. I made my friends when we first arrived in Sydney when I started work. This was over 40 years ago and work was pretty easy to find in those days. Hope you find it easier to settle once you start work. It's not easy on your own.

This info may be useful if @Ceebs-x is a bloke. There are quite a few bars in Sydney for UK travellers and expats interested in watching EPL and rugby. Might be OK for meeting people. https://bbmlive.com/nsw/wheres-the-best-pub-in-sydney-to-watch-epl-live/

Lovely to hear from you Sarah! Always enjoyed your sense of humour in spite of your struggles when you arrived in Darwin. Can't believe it's been 7 years since you landed there. Good luck with your move to WA.

A heritage/heirloom seed is seed from a plant that has been passed from one generation to another, carefully grown and saved because it is considered valuable. The value could lie in its flavor, productivity, hardiness or adaptability. Many heritage/heirlooms have been grown, saved and passed down for more than 100 years.

I'm sure some folk look at me when I make a foray into Coles after I've been mucking out stables and doing a bit of fence repairing - wearing wellies and ripped jeans, hair all over the place. Probably think poor old soul.

You have to admit 2 weeks isn't long enough to explore the island. Most people head off to Hobart and the south but there is so much more to see.

I don't know if you walked along the pathway beside the river which is across the road from the hotel where you stayed? We live about 10 minutes from there in the direction of the sea. We can see the ferries going to and fro from our kitchen window.

I've driven right down the west coast in my elderly Corolla no problem. The roads do make you concentrate on your driving but I take it slowly and stop often to admire the different scenery. It is very different to the east coast. Parts of it remind me of the area of Scotland where I was brought up. https://lapoftasmania.com.au/places-to-visit/west-coast-tasmania/

@InnerVoice I wonder what you thought of the east coast. You made it to Swansea on your exploration. I much prefer the west coast. The east coast has lovely beaches but is so dry and brown (during summer) compared to the west coast. I have a friend in St Helens (east coast) so go there to visit and enjoy the town and surrounding area but I couldn't live there. The west coast appeals more to me because of the wilderness, forests and lakes. I also find the small towns more interesting. Yes, it rains more there but that doesn't matter to me. We were in Launceston yesterday for a bit of shopping and it was much hotter there than breezy Devonport.

@InnerVoice Just outside Ross is the Ross Female Factory which was originally built to house the convict chain gangs who built the bridge in your photo. Later it was used for female convicts and their babies. The buildings were converted from a chain gang station and extended to include a chapel, dining rooms, hospital, nursery, solitary cells, dormitories and an outer courtyard. The women were taught how to sew, clean, cook, launder and care for their children. The site also served as a factory as well as a hiring depot, and overnight station for female convicts travelling between settlements. Life was very harsh for all convicts in the mid 1800s It closed in 1854.