Want To Visit Tas - Questions? (Bonus Questions About Life In The South)

[No Crust Racing]

It's been on my list for a while so I'm thinking about organising a trip down south later this year.

We have a 9mth old (she'll be 1+ by the time we get down there) so the trip will not be a Targa assault on the awesome driving roads, but more of a family trip.

What's some of the must sees if we had say 1-2 weeks up our sleeve?

When is the best time of year to go weather wise? I like the cold but my daughter has to be considered too.

Anything I should know that's not obvious?

Bonus questions for those who live there.

What's it like for the most part and where are you (generally not your address).

How is it trying to buy cars/get packages sent/buy shit online etc.

Best and worst things?

As for context, I'm 31, work in IT, into cars naturally, live in North East Vic (it'll be in the 40s again here this week).

Tas has always been one of those places I had on my list of potentials to move to even though having never visited - good tourism marketing...

[Clandestine]

I'm 26, was born and raised in northern Tasmania, then moved down south when I was about 13 for college, university and eventually work. I've been living in Sydney for the past year and a half, so I hopefully have some idea of where you're coming from.

Tasmania is a great place to live, and a fantastic place to visit, but also has its downsides when staying long term. The main downside is jobs, wages and expense of living. I'm in IT also (Software Developer) and almost tripled my wage when I moved from Tasmania to Sydney, the work itself is infinitely more interesting and the culture cannot even be compared. Rent is higher in Sydney but petrol, electricity, food (supermarket/bought), clothes and just about anything else is cheaper. It pretty much balances out for costs, but there's a large difference in income between the two states, you're paying a premium to be in such a beautiful place.

Winters in Tassie are generally pretty miserable, the temperature isn't generally a concern but the lack of daylight through mid winter is a massive cause of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder). If you're working a full time job you don't generally see daylight except on the weekends for a couple of weeks through the middle of winter.

On the flip side, the summers are absolutely fantastic with amazingly long days and friendly BBQ's every second day. Keep in mind a lot of older houses in Tassie weren't really built with keeping heat in/out in mind, so although I live in Sydney now, I find the summers up here infinitely more bearable than the hot sweaty nights I used to have in our old place back in Tassie.

Best things about Tasmania are: the people, fantastic place to raise children/grow up, the laid back attitude on the roads, the beautiful scenery, the fact you can buy a house without being in debt for 3 generations, and the driving roads.

Worst things about Tasmania are: the people, launceston, short days in winter, lots of drizzle but very little rain, cost of living/wage, job satisfaction (though you could strike lucky with the last two!)

As for places to visit, you can pretty safely do the entire east coast run, down to Hobart and surrounds, then back up through the central plateau and through to Devonport (assuming you're taking the boat). I would suggest late summer or early autumn, there's a lot of beautiful lookouts in Tasmania but a whole heap can be ruined by drizzling rain which is relatively frequent during the winter.

If you go on any sort of hikes more than a few hours, make sure to bring gear for almost an eventuality, 4 seasons in a day is relatively frequent and you don't want to get caught out with a child in driving rain. A family friend always said he takes more gear when hiking in Tasmania than he ever did when hiking through the himalayas. Also, remember sunscreen! It may be cold but the sun burns horribly down there.

Cars in Tassie are generally more expensive, but it's relatively common to do a trip to the mainland to pick one up and move it back. One major benefit is that you never have to do a pits pass unless your rego expires, and the cops are very laid back about modifications. There's a whole heap of pretty heavily modified street cars which still have full registration around Tasmania.

Hopefully this small essay is remotely helpful, I'm still tossing and turning on whether or not to move back myself.

Jay

P.S. Although people will defend it, Launceston is a shit hole. Don't bother stopping there.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Clandestine

[No Crust Racing]

Appreciate the honest reply.

Sun is an issue, I'm a day walker (pale) so do not like high UV.

We used to hike a bit, me breaking my leg a year ago and us having a baby has slowed us down so any look outs will be accessed by car

I think my partner has done the east coast once before, without me, and is keen on seeing the west coast. How do they compare?

Oh sidebar: I was born and raised her in Wodonga but did a 3mth contract stint in Melbourne (my choice well above Sydney) but would not consider moving to either city to raise a child - no offense to those who make it work, it's just not for us.

Having 6 car spaces, plenty of storage and enough room for the dog and child is easily worth a few bucks less in my pay, especially given how cheap it is to live here comparatively.

Edited January 29, 2014 by ActionDan

[Clandestine]

I'll let someone else comment on the east coast vs west coast, I personally haven't spent much time on the west coast since I was a kid and never really went to 'see the sights'.

The sun is completely different in Tasmania, definitely bring a heap of sunscreen. I haven't been burnt once in Sydney and spend a fair amount of time in the sun, used to burn easily in Tasmania even with sunscreen, it actually has a burning feeling rather than a warm feeling when it's bad.

Tasmania is great for raising kids as I said, having space and time for family is pretty great. I'm relatively close to Sydney city (3 stops on the train) and would never have pets here as it's pretty cruel with the hours we work. I don't have kids so I can't say for certain, but I'd assume if we had kids here it would just be a very different upbringing to mine (with its own set of positives and negatives) as I'm surrounded by parks, schools, heaps of small markets which have a really strong family atmosphere. There's a hell of a lot of places in Sydney I wouldn't live, and even more that I wouldn't even consider bringing up children though. We'll cross the perilous bridge when we come to it though

[trustr32]

Hi Dan I can agree with most things Jay has said other than the cost of living because I haven't lived in Sydney and I also don't work in IT.

I moved over here from Adelaide with my parents and brothers and sister 10 years ago now and I haven't looked back. Tassie is an awesome place it definitely has its positives and negatives but for me the good far outweigh the bad.

I don't work in the same field as you guys but since I've been here I've had no trouble finding work. I've worked at a salmon hatchery, Assistant manager at a BWS, done a vehicle painting apprenticeship and now work for Jim's mowing. I think Tassie has some great opportunities out there and I also think it's Australia's best kept secret. Whenever I go back to Adelaide I enjoy seeing family but I could never live there again. Here life is so laid back everything is close and your surrounded by some of the worlds most beautiful scenery.

As far as East vs West coast I'd say they are both as great as each other but for totally different reasons. Where the east coast has some lovely long beaches and is warm and sunny and makes you happy the west coast is rugged and dramatic and makes you want to drink stout by the fire while watching the thunder and lightning. If your here for 2 weeks I'd recommend doing both. If your here for 1 I'd recommend choosing one part of Tassie and having a really good look around that part then do another part next time.

Also realestate is very cheap down here. Well affordable compared to the mainland. And the sun will kill you. Because of the angle of the sun you get absolutely fryed in about 8 minutes in summer and I'm talking 3rd degree burns and in winter even if it is sunny you don't get the vitamin D fom the sun because of the angle of it so you can get a case of SAD as Jay mentioned. But if your smart with your sunscreen (I'm pale too but work outdoors everyday) you can avoid having a hard time just don't get tricked even when it's cloudy.

Edited January 29, 2014 by trustr32

[No Crust Racing]

Interesting about the sun.

I wonder why it's so harsh? Does the angle affect the ability of the ozone to deflect UV or something?

I always wear a long sleeve king gee shirt when working outside, wide brim hat, decent shorts and hairy legs cover the rest.

[zoidbergmerc]

Maybe think about an easter trip? Good holiday times.

Or if you don't like tonnes of people in all the tourist traps, I'd come the week after.

I haven't lived out side tassie my whole life, but I noticed that life here is a lot slower than it seems on the big island.

Up north is pretty chill but it's also a little more agricultural, focus on the cultural part of that too

South is my favourite part though, you can be in the heart of Hobart and it's not unlike most other cities around the place, but you venture not 45 mins from the town center and you're in the country side and a totally different world.

I work in IT at Port Arthur Historic Site, shoot me a PM if you're interested in visiting ;)

[jangles]

Hai Dan.

West Coast is an epic place, but best to be seen in 4wd to get the most out of it. The whole east coast is much more user friendly, but with two weeks you could definitely circumnavigate your way around the state.

You definitley should see Swansea and the likes, go see Pete too, he makes nice wallets.

Job wise, I'm not in IT.

I have done a couple stints here and there ( big island ) and feel it was enough to determine where i would rather be at.

I could walk into a job on the big island, but choose not to as imo, they would have to pay me quite a bit more to make the move worthwhile.

That being said, if i lost my job here i wouldn't really have a choice.

So many people move away for a 'better' life because of no work blah blah..... they usually work in McDonalds still, just in another state, paying higher rent.

The Sun/Heat situation has to be experienced first hand. Ive worked with copious ex mainland people and they all get burnt because of ignorance. 'its only 23, its not hot' ....
In the heatwave of 2009 record temperatures were hit, 39 in Hobart I think.... I was changing my shirt half way through the day on the NW, went straight to Rockhampton for 3 months for work and the first two weeks were 40-42.... I wasn't sweating as much as the locals.

Also, never look at Devonports temp as an indictaion. Its at the airport, right off Bass Straight. Basically 5km away from it and you can add 5 degrees.

You're not just going to spontaneously combust though. Just be sun smart. Im a day walker as well, as you put it.

[No Crust Racing]

All good info, thanks mate.