7 replies to this topic

[Daviesgang]

So my husband and I are planning to move to Tasmania in 2012 and due to children being in school and Tafe we were thinking of looking around the Hobart area to buy our new home. I am happy to be up to an hour out of Hobart even though my husband wants to be little closer. Can anyone please help by letting us know what the different suburbs and areas are really like?

I have seen a house in Primrose Sands that would suit our needs but i have no idea of the area. The reviews I have read have said that it was a little seaside holiday town but now more people are moving there permanently and that it is lovely and quiet......is this true? I have seen another property in Geeveston but can find no reviews on the area. I was looking into a few houses in the Bridgewater area but then I read that it was a very low socioeconomic area with a low employment rate for its residents....does anyone know if this is true?

We currently live in Bayswater/Morley (WA) but we are having more and more issues with crime in the area so we are wanting to avoid similar areas if we can help it. Can anyone give us their experiences, views or advice please?

[dave]

if you are dinkum about moving to Tassie then would you please accept a little bit of advice.................go over there first!!!!!............take a look around, look at the areas that you are interested in, look at the houses

[midgetyone]

Huon Valley is a very nice quiet place it is where I grew up. Only trouble is if you travel to Hobart every day the mountain road tends to ice over and can be dangerous. If you have not been used to driving in ice probably wouldn't recommend it. If you want peace and quiet Fern Tree, although with peace and quiet you get snow in winter and fire danger in summer. I lived in Fern Tree and I love the place to bits. If you are after a bit more suburbia then Lindisfarne was a nice place I have also lived. Only place (me being a country boy) could justify living in the city. I am now currently living basically on a bush reserve in Taroona. By the sound of things the stereotypical places you would like to avoid (no offence to anyone as this is simply what I have heard on the vine), Bridgewater, Gagebrook, Rokeby, Clarendon Vale and Chigwell.

I agree with Dave, it is essential that you come and visit before moving. What line of work are you in?

[Daviesgang]

dave, on 30 March 2011 - 03:08 PM, said:

if you are dinkum about moving to Tassie then would you please accept a little bit of advice.................go over there first!!!!!............take a look around, look at the areas that you are interested in, look at the houses

My husband and I are coming over for a week to ten days in June or July to have a really good look around. We wouldn't buy without doing that first. I moved about 100 odd times growing up so I am totally over it, but in saying that, I would be willing to move over there and rent for 6 months while looking around for the right area but my husband wants to make one move and I have to admit I would prefer that too.

[Daviesgang]

midgetyone, on 30 March 2011 - 04:17 PM, said:

Huon Valley is a very nice quiet place it is where I grew up. Only trouble is if you travel to Hobart every day the mountain road tends to ice over and can be dangerous. If you have not been used to driving in ice probably wouldn't recommend it. If you want peace and quiet Fern Tree, although with peace and quiet you get snow in winter and fire danger in summer. I lived in Fern Tree and I love the place to bits. If you are after a bit more suburbia then Lindisfarne was a nice place I have also lived. Only place (me being a country boy) could justify living in the city. I am now currently living basically on a bush reserve in Taroona. By the sound of things the stereotypical places you would like to avoid (no offence to anyone as this is simply what I have heard on the vine), Bridgewater, Gagebrook, Rokeby, Clarendon Vale and Chigwell.

I agree with Dave, it is essential that you come and visit before moving. What line of work are you in?

We are definitely coming over to get an idea for ourselves before we buy but I always like to hear others peoples thoughts and experiences as well because word of mouth is very powerful and helpful in this sort of situation.

The places you mentioned Bridgewater, Gagebrook etc are all places we have been warned away from in the last two weeks, so it is good to get some more feedback regarding those areas. The thing is, even in some of the supposed "bad" areas, there are usually some lovely people and the area just cops a bad reputation because of a few bad apples, it is such a shame. I have heard good things about the Huon Valley. Do you have any idea of the sort of travel times from the Huon Valley to say central Hobart? We currently have a toyota landcruiser and we are both reasonable drivers although ice would be something new for both of us. I will go and have a look at Fern Tree and Lindisfarne as I haven't seen any houses in those areas, thanks for the suggestions.

To be perfectly honest I would happily live hours from anything and anyone as I love peace and quiet and can spend months without seeing another person and be perfectly content, but we realise that with our kids getting older and needing to get jobs soon as well, that we will need to be closer to a town/city. Also because of the need for schools and Tafe we need to be closer as well.

My husband and I are not employed at the moment but we are both going to be attending Tafe with the hope of getting back into the workforce once we get over to our new life. I have spent the last 17 years raising our kids, while my husband used to manage a precision sheet metal company and the stress of that combined with an evil ex partner ended up being too much and he has been off work ever since. He has now got to the point where he feels ready to work again and has been looking into courses he can do at Tafe to better his chances at getting back into the workforce. Luckily he is one of those guys who can do anything he puts his mind to and he does it well, so once he is back in the workforce he will just go forward in leaps and bounds. I think with the stresses that are here in Perth behind us we will all thrive. This will be our fresh start and we can't wait!!

Can anyone tell me anything, good or bad, about New Norfolk? Please?

[Mystic]

Seems you have been given some good advice above, and I will second the warnings given by Chris. Huon Valley is about a 30 minute drive to Hobart, and a very nice drive as well.

Have not lived in New Norfolk, but it does seem to be a nice area. Getting a few reports of vandalism and the such hitting th papers in recent months from there, but you only hear about the bad stuff in the news, and I would imagine there is far more good happening in that area.

If you want a semi rural setting that is close to Hobart there are some nice areas around Lauderdale such as Sandford and Acton Park. I lived in Sandford for about 18 months and it is a very nice, quiet area. Hard to believe it is only about 30 minutes ut of the city centre really.

Best of luck with everything. One word of advice though... when you come over here in winter bring plenty of warm clothing, which is something most in WA tend not to own I have a friend coming down from over that way next week and it is already starting to get quite chilly in the mornings.

[Daviesgang]

Mystic, on 31 March 2011 - 10:06 AM, said:

Seems you have been given some good advice above, and I will second the warnings given by Chris. Huon Valley is about a 30 minute drive to Hobart, and a very nice drive as well.

Have not lived in New Norfolk, but it does seem to be a nice area. Getting a few reports of vandalism and the such hitting th papers in recent months from there, but you only hear about the bad stuff in the news, and I would imagine there is far more good happening in that area.

If you want a semi rural setting that is close to Hobart there are some nice areas around Lauderdale such as Sandford and Acton Park. I lived in Sandford for about 18 months and it is a very nice, quiet area. Hard to believe it is only about 30 minutes ut of the city centre really.

Best of luck with everything. One word of advice though... when you come over here in winter bring plenty of warm clothing, which is something most in WA tend not to own I have a friend coming down from over that way next week and it is already starting to get quite chilly in the mornings.

Thanks for that mystic. I will look into those areas. It is a shame a lot of communities are only in the news when bad things happen.

I have plenty of warm clothing actually as last winter it got down to a lovely -1 on a few mornings.....only a few though unfortunately. I was born in New Zealand and I love the cold as does my ex-Pom husband, hence our preference for Tasmania. We are totally over the constant, unrelenting heat of Perth. I have never been a fan, but it is just getting progressively hotter and it is impacting our family healthwise so it is time to relocate.

[midgetyone]

That's a good suggestion Mystic. I think Lauderdale and Sanford sound like they'd suit you really well. Quiet, bushy, beaches near by, short drive into the city and on the warmer shore (we have local jokes about the weather being better on the eastern shore ) Really lovely place