37 replies to this topic

[006mel]

Hi everyone
I'm sure you have all heard the questions and statements of people wanting to move to Tassie.

What Im looking for is if there is anyone out there who can give me an honest insight into living in Queenstown.

Any feedback would be fantastic.

Thanks Mel :-)

[Mystic]

Hi Mel, and welcome.

It is always a good idea to use the search before asking, but the posts/topics here and here will get you started. If there is anything specific not already covered in those places, feel free to ask.

[006mel]

Mystic, on 18 January 2011 - 12:25 PM, said:

Hi Mel, and welcome.

It is always a good idea to use the search before asking, but the posts/topics here and here will get you started. If there is anything specific not already covered in those places, feel free to ask.

Hi
Thank you so much for your help, Im not very good at this stuff :-)

[Mystic]

No problems Mel. Both Shane and I live in Queenstown, so we feel pretty confident about answering any questions you might have

[Shane V]

Hey Mel and welcome to Real Tas. Like Mystic said...if you have any questions that have not been covered, just give us a hoi and we'll see what we can do to answer them

[006mel]

Thanks guys I really appreciate it :-)
I only have one question maybe 2. Do you really enjoy living there and should I be ignoring all the horror stories out there that pretty much trash the place to be honest?
Because from my research it seems to be a reasonable place to live and not as isolated as people seem to make out

Mel xox


Sorry using phone :-(

[Mystic]

I would be curious to hear the "horror stories" you mention.

When I moved here, I needed to find a new place and had always thought Queenstown was one place I would not live. I must admit, that within a couple of weeks of living here I was very surprised, especially with the people and the atmosphere of the place. Yes, it is a small town, and in many ways there are the things that go with small towns, but overall it is far better than many other small towns I have lived in. Spend a couple of weeks in the town yourself, experience the people, the friendly stores, the general laid back lifestyle, and you will make your own mind up.

Yes, it is isolated, no denying that. But, as long as you have your own transport, and can use the internet, then it is not as isolated as you might think, besides, sometimes it is that very isolation that makes a place great.

[Shane V]

Yep agree with Mystic. I love this place. The people are great, well the ones I've met anyway, always friendly and willing to help out in any way they can if asked. the surrounds are absolutely beautiful despite it being a mining town, I think that adds to the charm of the place. I reckon it will suck you in, it has me

Would also like to hear the stories you have heard.

[006mel]

Hi Guys
Thanks again for your help I will be heading over in a few weeks, really excited to check it out:D

Does it have much in the way of tourists going through?

These are some of the reviews and stories I came across while researching.


I would'nt live here!”
An exteremely picturesque and quiet town with rough looking and noisy mining laborers dominating the pubs. It really has nothing going for it as its freezing by the night and raining during the day, everyday! Very isolated and part of Tassie, There's got to be somewhere else where you could be happier in this great country.






A backwards town...”
Great place to live if you like limited employment opportunities and freezing weather... otherwise, try settling somewhere else.



an absolute shithole surronded by mines!



queenstown tasmania has absolutely no redeaming features what so ever,rollercoasters have less twists and turns than the road to it. when you see it for the first time you wish you were still car sick.



stories of inbreeding, disappearances and the entire place has a feeling of sheer wrongness about it.
A friend's Melbourne school group spent a night there and the council threw a disco for them but had to personally escort all these 15 year old girls into the town hall to ensure they didn't get hassled by the locals before leaving them to sit on plastic chairs around the edges of the hall. These same locals then threw rocks at their departing bus a few hours later. The place is just odd in a bad bad way.

[Mystic]

I think that if you come and spend a little time here that you will find a very different place to what some of those descriptions suggest.

Just to address a few things though... Miners get randomly drug and alcohol tested, and some are tested before every shift. As a result the pubs here are generally pretty quiet places. But I love the way the comment referring to the noisy miners starts by saying...."An extremely picturesque and quiet town..." but then goes on to say "...it really has nothing going for it.." That seems a massive contradiction. What I have found is people who like bright lights and crowded bars, lots of department stores and such nearby find spending any amount of time in a small town very difficult. Each to their own. I read a report somewhere once, written by a person who claims to be a photographer who said that the trip between Queenstown and Zeehan was totally boring with nothing to see. I can, and have done the run hundreds of times, and always manage to waste an hour or two stopping to take photo's.

You gotta love 99 bends (the road in from the east), it is a fantastic stretch of twists and turns.

The place is quite busy with tourists especially during the summer months, still a few around at other times of year, but it is the same all over Tassie during winter, people think it is a very cold place, but I have lived in MUCH colder climates on the mainland.

Thanks for the links and info above.Interesting to note that the overall ranking on that site placed Queenstown at #17 of the top towns in Tassie. Each to their own.

[Shane V]

.....love the stories...no wonder no one comes here to live. To be honest the first time I came through, I thought it was a dingy little place and not that beautiful, but after moving here I have discovered it's beauty. I think a person really needs to see the place for themselves and make their own judgement on it. It's tourist season now and there are quite a few of them wandering around the place.

Let us know when you're coming over and we can meet up for a coffee or something stronger

[dave]

sounds like a typical "Facebook" comment to me, made by people who have never been there or anywhere else for that matter,

we have "done" Tassie" half a dozen times now, weeks at a time, in many and varied ways, we have never stayed in "accommodation" always in free or low cost camp grounds or bush camps, in all our travels (and we travel a hell of a lot all over australia) we have never seen a more friendly, picturesque, easy going place to stay,

we did the strahan to Queenstown railway journey (absolutely adored it), had a meal at the pub straight across the road from the terminal, then had a camp just outside Queeny, loved the locals, had a great laugh in the front bar with the local id's, never felt threatened or unwanted in any way shape or form

in short, i would live there in a blink of an eye, but we have a cerebral palsy son who needs daily care that cannot be provided for in a small town and our work does not allow us to persue such a lifestyle but believe me if I could I damn well would!

don't listen to folks who wouldn't know their a$$ from their elbow, go and see for yourself!

[Shane V]

Well said Dave

[Mystic]

Very well put Dave. I should add that I have often wandered the streets here late at night, and never felt safer, and for the past 12 months I have never locked my house up when I went out either.

And, besides everything else...we have the best pizza place in Tassie

[006mel]

Mystic, on 19 January 2011 - 01:15 PM, said:

Very well put Dave. I should add that I have often wandered the streets here late at night, and never felt safer, and for the past 12 months I have never locked my house up when I went out either.

And, besides everything else...we have the best pizza place in Tassie

Thats it im sold best pizza in tassie! What more could you ask for?
Thank you to you all I am very excited to be coming over to have a look for myself.
I think I agree about people from the "cities" ha ha driving along heyyyyyyyyy where did all the pweety lights go?!?
I have lived the city life and the country life, I currently live in a little country town which I enjoy, I enjoy the peace and quite and I believe you find more constructive things to do with your time and get out there more and make your own fun and explore.
I hand make candles, soap, body scrubs all that kind of stuff which I love doing, if I had of stayed living in the city I would never have done that or discovered hiking or growing vegies or going for a jog down the river with my dog. Just enjoying the simple FREE things in life , that do not require a maxed out credit card

[Cascade]

006mel, on 20 January 2011 - 08:37 AM, said:

Thats it im sold best pizza in tassie! What more could you ask for?

That's only Mystic and Shane's opinion. And as far as I'm concerned not yet proven..... (Try the "Red Grasshopper" in Ulverstone).

But, I will let you know for sure in a week or so after a personal taste test. (And anyway............. I think they get paid to say it).

[Shane V]

cascade...nah don't get paid. They do make a great pizza. You'll see when you come down then the Red Grasshopper will get the flick I reckon Will have to try that one if I get up that way.

[seachangegirl]

006mel, on 19 January 2011 - 11:22 AM, said:

Hi Guys
Thanks again for your help I will be heading over in a few weeks, really excited to check it out:D

Does it have much in the way of tourists going through?

These are some of the reviews and stories I came across while researching.


I would'nt live here!"
An exteremely picturesque and quiet town with rough looking and noisy mining laborers dominating the pubs. It really has nothing going for it as its freezing by the night and raining during the day, everyday! Very isolated and part of Tassie, There's got to be somewhere else where you could be happier in this great country.






A backwards town..."
Great place to live if you like limited employment opportunities and freezing weather... otherwise, try settling somewhere else.



an absolute shithole surronded by mines!



queenstown tasmania has absolutely no redeaming features what so ever,rollercoasters have less twists and turns than the road to it. when you see it for the first time you wish you were still car sick.



stories of inbreeding, disappearances and the entire place has a feeling of sheer wrongness about it.
A friend's Melbourne school group spent a night there and the council threw a disco for them but had to personally escort all these 15 year old girls into the town hall to ensure they didn't get hassled by the locals before leaving them to sit on plastic chairs around the edges of the hall. These same locals then threw rocks at their departing bus a few hours later. The place is just odd in a bad bad way.

:)Hello everyone,
It was interesting to read all the differing comments about Queenstown. I was reluctant to mention my impression of Queenstown when I visited about 12 years ago, in case I offended someone (!) but I thought it seemed a rough, quite unsafe town. However that is a long time ago and those of you living in Queenstown obviously like it and feel safe. Must visit again when I come over.

[Mystic]

Be curious to know what gave you that thought seachangegirl? Was it any actual threat or act against you personally, or was it simply the rugged landscape and way that people dressed? Folks around here don't have as much pretentiousness as those living in major cities, they get about their business in work clothes or jeans, and may look a bit scruffy. Some of the best books I have ever read had the absolute crappiest covers.

We have pretty thick skins and are not easily offended.

[seachangegirl]

Mystic, on 21 January 2011 - 09:25 AM, said:

Be curious to know what gave you that thought seachangegirl? Was it any actual threat or act against you personally, or was it simply the rugged landscape and way that people dressed? Folks around here don't have as much pretentiousness as those living in major cities, they get about their business in work clothes or jeans, and may look a bit scruffy. Some of the best books I have ever read had the absolute crappiest covers.

We have pretty thick skins and are not easily offended.

Hi Mystic,
I am trying to remember why I thought that. There was no actual threat - it may have been the people I saw in the street looking pretty scruffy and maybe loud?. Having said that I don't want to seem stuck-up cause I don't think I am. I live in a small district now where there are very few pretentions, but I just remember I was glad to leave Queenstown. Definitely time I had another visit!