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Where would you live in Tasmania?


Wanderer Returns

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9 minutes ago, Wanderer Returns said:

I visited Tassie 20 years ago but can't remember too much about the place, other than I thought it was nice - and a bit chilly!

If you were thinking about retirement where would make the best base - Hobart, Launceston, or Devonport - or maybe somewhere else?

Somewhere in a coastal hinterland would do me.  The Freycinet area on the East Coast offers a very nice lifestyle at Bay of Fires, and St Helens. The west coast is very nice, but In think I could easily live in the hills behind Hobart. I had friends that retired and moved from Sydney to Marrawah up in the North West and they loved it.   

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30 minutes ago, Wanderer Returns said:

If you were thinking about retirement where would make the best base - Hobart, Launceston, or Devonport - or maybe somewhere else?

Depends what sort of retirement lifestyle you want.... relaxed coastal -  Bicheno, St. Helens etc on the east coast (the warmest and driest part of the state);  ....relaxed rural - north west coast from Port Sorell westwards....or easy access to lots of activities  - Hobart area.  Or a combination  of coastal/rural with easy access to Hobart - the Channel or Huon Valley or the Tasman Peninsular.   So many different areas each with its own personality (and own microclimate) - it just depends on one's personal priorities.  

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7 minutes ago, Skani said:

Depends what sort of retirement lifestyle you want.... relaxed coastal -  Bicheno, St. Helens etc on the east coast (the warmest and driest part of the state);  ....relaxed rural - north west coast from Port Sorell westwards....or easy access to lots of activities  - Hobart area.  Or a combination  of coastal/rural with easy access to Hobart - the Channel or Huon Valley or the Tasman Peninsular.   So many different areas each with its own personality (and own microclimate) - it just depends on one's personal priorities.  

If I was moving to Tasmania the main problem would be that I am spoiled for choice, really. 

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16 hours ago, Wanderer Returns said:

I visited Tassie 20 years ago but can't remember too much about the place, other than I thought it was nice - and a bit chilly!

If you were thinking about retirement where would make the best base - Hobart, Launceston, or Devonport - or maybe somewhere else?

Hobart and Launceston are the best places for employment.  Both very nice places.  I'm in Devonport and have settled here happily.  It's a big sprawled out town and some areas I definitely wouldn't live in but that's the same as most large towns.  I really like the part of town where we chose to live.  I also like that Devonport is a wee bit gritty.  Devonport is an active seaport that handles much of the movement of produce from the farms and fisheries of Tasmania.  Ships arriving and leaving regularly - I like to watch the tug boats going out to the Bass Strait and escort the ships up the river.  

Devonport is the main shopping hub for the surrounding farmers so can get pretty busy.  There is very good soil in the area and the farmers seem to be able to grow almost anything.  I particularly like the climate.  The north west coast doesn't get as cold as Launceston and Hobart during the winter and not as hot during summer.

The east coast is nice to visit but I couldn't live there.  It feels quite remote and it's a bit too dry and warm for me.  Everything is brown and dry looking as it doesn't get much rain.

There are many very nice little towns dotted all over the place but I don't know if I could live in them.  We have good friends who  have moved to Tasmania recently and have no regrets at all.  Take today for example   ................  it's 40C in Sydney  ........  here it's 20C.  I know which I prefer.  It also rained overnight so everything is fresh and green.

My biggest gripe about Devonport is whoever the town planners were over the past few decades didn't have a clue what they were doing.  There is too much of a mish mash of small shopping centres and nothing seems to be co-ordinated.  The council is doing a lot of building near the town centre and it's to be hoped it's all worth the money that's been spent on it.

 

cement.jpg

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We spent 10 days on the west coast and south west coast including the Huon Valley.  Just beautiful.  Loved Bruny Island.  Friends moved from NSW to the little town of Dover in September and are loving it there.  I hiked with other friends in the area of Tullah and Lake Rosebury for a couple of days.  Gorgeous!  Shopping malls, crowds etc do absolutely nothing for me so I was a very happy person.  Next trip will be to the south east of Tasmania. 

I've been noticing lots of car number plates from NSW, WA, ACT and NT around and about again.  👍

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1 hour ago, Toots said:

We spent 10 days on the west coast and south west coast including the Huon Valley.  Just beautiful.  Loved Bruny Island.  Friends moved from NSW to the little town of Dover in September and are loving it there.  I hiked with other friends in the area of Tullah and Lake Rosebury for a couple of days.  Gorgeous!  Shopping malls, crowds etc do absolutely nothing for me so I was a very happy person.  Next trip will be to the south east of Tasmania. 

I've been noticing lots of car number plates from NSW, WA, ACT and NT around and about again.  👍

Thanks to everyone for their input, especially @Toots 🙂 

We're on the Sunshine Coast at the moment, and I love it here (and love Queensland in general), but my wife thinks it's too hot - which is ironic considering she's from a tropical country! She's already quite grumoy and we're not even in December yet, which isn't a good sign! That said, we were in the UK for the last 5 years and she only arrived here in July, so it's probably take her a bit longer to adjust, as I've been here since January.

I'm thinking about 7 years from now when I'll be 60, and we should hopefully have enough to retire, so work won't be an issue. I gather property and the cost of living are cheaper in Tassie, so hopefully my pension would go a bit further down there.

I'm still quite active (running, cycling, swimming, and surfing), and we both love country walks, so anywhere there's easy access to public footpaths would be high on the list. Making the move from Queensland, I'd prefer to be somewhere on the island that wasn't too chilly. I know you don't get day after day of sunshine like you do up here, but moving to somewhere with a climate similar to Britain would be a depressing thought, to be honest!

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We're hoping to retire to the Huon Valley next year but finding a property is going to be tricky as it's very popular and real estate sells very quickly.

Property in Tasmania has been increasing markedly in value over the last few years, it's no longer the cheap State especially around Hobart.

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3 minutes ago, Drumbeat said:

We're hoping to retire to the Huon Valley next year but finding a property is going to be tricky as it's very popular and real estate sells very quickly.

Property in Tasmania has been increasing markedly in value over the last few years, it's no longer the cheap State especially around Hobart.

Prices have risen quite a bit here since we arrived nearly 7 years ago.  People we know are building a house in a very nice street (behind us) here in Devonport.  In the meantime the house they currently live in is for sale.  Just put on the market last week.  I was quite shocked at the asking price of $1.4 million.  😮  They are building their new house just a bit further along the street.  This is the house they are selling.

https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-tas-devonport-134789358

The average house price in Devonport is $310,000.  The cost of living is much the same as the mainland.

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11 minutes ago, Toots said:

Prices have risen quite a bit here since we arrived nearly 7 years ago.  People we know are building a house in a very nice street (behind us) here in Devonport.  In the meantime the house they currently live in is for sale.  Just put on the market last week.  I was quite shocked at the asking price of $1.4 million.  😮  They are building their new house just a bit further along the street.  This is the house they are selling.

https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-tas-devonport-134789358

The average house price in Devonport is $310,000.  The cost of living is much the same as the mainland.

Wow, that is expensive. I believe it is on the best street in Devonport? We think we'll probably buy something while we build, as I have a horror of cold houses and we'd like something with a passive solar design.

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11 hours ago, Parley said:

Too cold in Tassie for my liking.

Depending where you live in Tassie it won't be much colder than Melbourne during winter.  Of course in the high country the weather can be pretty rough - snow etc.  It can also get very hot in the south and east coast during summer.  That's why I like the north west coast.  It doesn't get too hot or too cold.  Mind you when the wind is howling off the mountains or the Bass Strait during winter it does feel  a tad icy.  Brrrr. 

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25 minutes ago, Wanderer Returns said:

@Parley having just had a quick look on Domain, your figures look more accurate. Where did you get them from? Looking at the one's I got it looks like they mixed up Canberra, Hobart and Darwin!

https://www.domain.com.au/news/property-prices-rise-in-every-capital-city-in-november-corelogic-1011093/?utm_campaign=strap-masthead&utm_source=the-age&utm_medium=link&utm_content=pos1&ref=pos1

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2 hours ago, Wanderer Returns said:

@Parley having just had a quick look on Domain, your figures look more accurate. Where did you get them from? Looking at the one's I got it looks like they mixed up Canberra, Hobart and Darwin!

Those figures look better.  Canberra has been the second most expensive for some time.

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Tassie's great, cost of living is not as cheap as some people might have you believe, very comparable to the mainland and a lot of things have to be freighted down, but it's a wonderful thing. 

One thing to be mindful of, is that if you end up going at all rural, access to health services as you age can be quite limited. Hobart and to a lesser extent Launceston have all the things you'd need, but don't move to the east or west coast and expect easy access to services. 

Overall, I love Tassie and I'd recommend it to anyone. 

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