Moving to Tasmania

[Jfin]

:arghh:

Hi All,

 

New to site and looking for Help / Information. I have been offered a new position along with 457 sponsorship in Tasmania. It has been a dream of my wife and I for over 15 years to try live in Australia. We lived in the UK for an number of years and when we decided to leave we followed our hearts back to Ireland rather than head off to Australia. If we went then (15 years ago) cost of living would have been ok.

 

What I am looking for is some honest information concerning life in Tasmania (Launceston). I can clearly see the quality of live is very high and the people are very friendly. What I need to know is how much of a salary is required to live a good life style on the island. As we are coming from Ireland I would like my children (13 and 7) to attend a catholic school. St Pat and St Anthony's look good. Cost per year for both are about $6000. Am I mad to think like this. Are state schools as a good?. What other costs should I take into consideration for a family of 4.

 

What type of salary do you require to live. Rents for the areas we like range between $350 - $400 per week (People say Ireland is a rip off). From reviewing online papers etc, they paint a poor picture as far as the economy is concerned, I would like to know if it is a bad as they claim. My wife is a draught persons and has a lot of experience of working in busy architect's office. Is there any work in this field.

 

Are there any other Irish or English families who have made the move in the past 12 months and any advice you could offer would be very much appreciated. I have until Friday to confirm the position so time is of importance.

 

Thank you all.

 

A confused Irishman.

[coleraine64]

Hi there, I am an Irish woman living in Perth at the minute. Moved here almost 6 years ago. The cost of living in Perth is becoming very high and we are considering move to Tasmania but have been warned that the economy is really bad and trying to find a job may be difficult for my husband. Petrol prices and cost of living in Tasmania is quite high but if you buy your food in the local markets its much cheaper. Rentals are expensive too and I am not sure how easy to come by they are. We are taking our second trip to tassie next month, but heading to Hobart as we weren't keen on Launceston after our visit las November. Not sure if any of that helped but good luck whatever you decide. Anne

[Jfin]

Hi there, I am an Irish woman living in Perth at the minute. Moved here almost 6 years ago. The cost of living in Perth is becoming very high and we are considering move to Tasmania but have been warned that the economy is really bad and trying to find a job may be difficult for my husband. Petrol prices and cost of living in Tasmania is quite high but if you buy your food in the local markets its much cheaper. Rentals are expensive too and I am not sure how easy to come by they are. We are taking our second trip to tassie next month, but heading to Hobart as we weren't keen on Launceston after our visit las November. Not sure if any of that helped but good luck whatever you decide. Anne

 

:chatterbox:

 

Thanks Anne, You have validated all I have heard. When you say you are not keen on Launceston, any reasons why. What type of salary would you expect is required to keep a family going in Tasmania.

 

Jay

[runslikeafish]

I can't give you much detailed information on Launceston but I know there are lots of beautiful areas to live around there. The whole of Tassie is pretty beautiful to be honest.

 

It's very difficult to say how much salary is needed to live comfortably without doing some pretty detailed analysis. What I would say though is that the highest median household income in a Tasmanian suburb (Taroona in Hobart from memory) was around $60k PA. In theory then, anything above $60k would be comfortable and I would think that a draughtperson would earn more than that themselves quite comfortably.

 

I know that's a bit glib but I would say a joint income greater than $100k would mean that you could live reasonably comfortably.

 

As far as jobs are concerned, there are a lot around - although I'm based in Hobart. You'll often find that jobs aren't advertised and are A LOT easier to get once you're here and know a few people. I would recommend getting in front of an employment agent as soon as you arrive.

 

Also cost of living; I wouldn't say it's high at all. The petrol is slightly more expensive than "the mainland" but not by much but other things (houses for example) are cheaper.

 

As far as catholic schools are concerned, sorry I can't help you there. You can have a look at the top schools in Tasmania to give yourself an idea of how state schools compare (I've linked to secondary but primary are on the same site). Quite a few of the best schools are state schools.

 

Sorry I can't give you much specific help! Papers will always say the economy is bad, especially around election time! In my experience the economy is a lot better than in the UK although I can't comment on Ireland.

 

Good luck with whatever you choose to do. If you have any more questions just ask

[coleraine64]

I agree runslikeafish, economy in Oz is definitely better than UK. Cost of living in Tasmania, I have been told, is cheaper than Perth where I am. Personal preference between Launceston and Hobart for us, people seemed friendlier when we were there on holiday and there seems to be more to do in Hobart. Mind you we are in our late 40s/early 50s and will be looking for totally different things than someone with a young family. Employment agencies will definitely be the way to go for us, I am a nurse and should be ok for a job, but my 54 year old husband is worried that he won't get anything, but hopefully as runslikeafish says, it isn't always what you know but who you know when looking for a job, so think we will be networking as soon as we can. We will make a decision about a move after our second visit next month, Perth or Tassie. Good luck with your decision, would be interested to know what you decide. Anne