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Having been involved with international tourism for the previous 25 years, in 2007 our family of 4 decided to move from the Caribbean to Tasmania. Our original motivation to choose Tasmania as our new home - good business opportunities in a safe and friendly environment of great natural beauty - was reconfirmed soon after our arrival.
Whereas it is never an easy step to leave your home behind and venture to a different world we have had a very pleasant transition to our new lives.
There are certainly good business opportunities, especially in the tourism sector. The creation of a company involves surprisingly little red tape and governmental offices are, compared to so many other places in the world, very efficient and helpful.
The quality of life is exceptional, especially to the person that likes the proximity of nature and enjoys outdoors activities. Food and wine are of high quality and fresh local produce is easily available. What adds to this quality is that we do not have a long commute from our busy office in Hobart to our peaceful home amongst the gum trees out of town. The views from there are fantastic.
Last but not least, the kids are happy and quickly made new friends at their schools.
And what about the weather...? No, it is not as warm as in the Caribbean, but who would care in such a wonderful place!
Peter Ernst (Germany)
I have to mention that I have travelled quite a bit and lived in a few places before I came to Tasmania. None of them offered me the sense of freedom I have found here. I tried to go back to Europe before I settled here, but the fast pace left me exhausted and unhappy. I come from Patagonia, one of the wildest places on earth and a land rich in history and natural beauty. I found a very similar place in Tasmania so I must admit I have felt at home since day one. But Tasmania also offered a few other features I was looking for at this stage of my life, a sense of order, safety and space. This is a place of opportunities for personal and professional development and a place where you can still experience a sense of community. Lots of Tasmanians do not realise how lucky they are being part of a place offering them so many guarantees - the individual freedom being the main one, you can be whatever you want in Tasmania!
I have been accepted and supported, even helped by Tasmanians who have opened their hearts and homes for me, I couldn’t ask for anything else.
Marta Vergara, Environmental Research Scientist, (Chile)
We moved to Tasmania in October 2005. The weather is cooler and more temperate than some other parts of Australia, but it doesn’t bother us. The fact that our lifestyle in Tasmania is of such quality now is wonderful. The children are so happy at school, the benefit to them amazes us. The conditions at my husbands’ work as a panel beater are fantastic and he loves his job. My children walk three or four minutes to their local primary school and I work 15 minutes away. A real plus about Tasmania is that it is so clean and great and the environment for us to bring up our children is very safe. The Tasmanian people are extremely friendly and have treated us really well. We have been made to feel very welcome and part of life here.
Ajit (Panel Beater), Sangeeta, Nic & Loreen Singh, (Fiji)
We are the De Vreise family. Julie, Ian and our two children Oliver, 10 and Gabrielle, 7, landed in Hobart on 3 October 2005. Our three cats and one dog arrived in early November. It was difficult to find a rental with all our animals, so we bought our property in 'Garden Island Creek' about an hour south of Hobart. We have beautiful water and mountain views and two paddocks at the front of the 25 acre property. Our son Oliver has commandeered one of the paddocks to practice his newly found love for golf. We have placed luminous markers all over the grass for him to see how far he is hitting the balls! From the house, we can see the water colour changing with the weather and Oliver often comments as to how beautiful it looks.
The beaches where we live are lovely and sandy and we see the odd seal and dolphin. We all have fishing rods now as the fishing is out of this world. Another really big difference we have noticed is the quality of the food and how healthily we are eating. The meat from our local butchers is so good it just seems to melt in your mouth!
When we go shopping or to the city, our drive through the Huon Valley is incredible and with no traffic - we see a continuous line of fruit orchards which look so pretty. In the summer months, you often see the large cruise ships docked in the city and you think 'wow!'. Where you would see such outstanding views in a city?
Our children go to a local school in the nearby town of Cygnet and have settled very well making lots of friends and adapting perfectly which we were concerned about. We have also realised that a scholarship is possible for our daughter in an excellent school in Hobart which is an opportunity you just would not get in the UK. Gabby has been excelling particularly in ballet and dance and we even received a letter of commendation in the mail the other day from her principal for her effort at school. The principal invited all the children doing well into her office for a special morning tea as well!
You really can live a good life here, as we have seen so far. There is absolutely no comparison between where we lived in the UK and here in Tasmania. The advantages that we have already seen for our children in such a short time are truly amazing.
Ian De Vriese (Carpenter), Julie, Oliver (10), Gabrielle (7), (UK)
We recently migrated to Tasmania under the State/Territory Nominated Independent Visa (STNI) skilled migration visa category. Having backpacked around Australia years earlier, we fell in love with Australia and always hoped that one day we would call it home. Tasmania is a great place to live. Hobart is a lively city and the waterfront area is a good place to meet friends and eat. The National Parks are excellent for camping and bushwalking and the weather is usually sunny and dry.
Every morning we open the blinds and watch the sunrise behind the distant hills and feel so lucky to be here. Within six months we have secured good jobs, bought a great house with awesome views and have a really nice social life.
If you love the great outdoors and have had enough of traffic congestion and rain you will love Tasmania. What have you got to lose?
Robert Garrad (Carpenter) and Laura Roberts, (UK)
Arriving in Tasmania was like our dreams coming true. It was the opportunity waiting for us. Almost immediately after arriving, thanks to the help of our resettlement officer, I was contacted by The Engineering Company in the State’s North West. As CNC machines are my specialisation, I was offered a position immediately.
The job aside, I also found such amazing, friendly people, a beautiful natural place, plus many hands ready to help my family and I. We are so happy to have found this place amongst people who are so proud on their multiculturalism.
Rupesh Kulshrestha (Mechanical Engineering Tradesperson), Rashmi, Subham (8) & Arpit (4), (India)
We are Peter and Debbie Worley who migrated to Tasmania from the UK in August 2004 along with our two daughters Helen (now aged 13) and Kate (9). We were looking for a new life away from the inescapable treadmill that we had found ourselves on in Southern England. Our quality of family life seemed to be ebbing away as we spent more and more time worrying about the things that don't really matter, ever caught up in the manic, hustle bustle of everyday life striving for the unreachable and the unnecessary.
So Tasmania, Australia's best kept secret beckoned, and here we are fulfilling Peter's dream of dairy farming on the North-West Coast. We can't say that it has all been plain sailing, but the challenges we have faced have given us all confidence, courage and strength as a family - qualities that we believe will hold us all in good stead for the future. Helen and Kate have the childhood that every child deserves. We have never seen them so happy and contented in both their school life and their home life - they are actually having the chance to be children and, what's more, are living in a safe, beautiful, clean environment! We have found the Tasmanian people to be a very welcoming and friendly community who have time for you. Their whole pace and outlook on life is more relaxed, although they don't realise the luxury of this! Our quality of life has increased ten fold since we moved here and we have re-discovered the values that really matter in life. Long may it continue!
Peter, Debbie, Helen and Kate Worley, Dairy Farmers, (UK)
Our family came to Tasmania in April 2005 under the Tasmanian State Government Sponsored Business Migration Scheme. I am involved in a tourist accommodation business at Cradle Mountain National Park, an area renowned throughout the world for its natural beauty.
I previously worked at a large Korean finance corporation for 15 years and did ‘paper work’. Now I carry out many outdoor tasks in a remote area and wild weather conditions. Sometimes, I cannot believe that I am in a different world and have adjusted to the new environment.
The Tasmanian house prices are very low in comparison to the ones in major cities on the mainland. We bought a large house with a garden. It is so lovely sitting on a rocking chair in front of our fire place looking out into the rose garden.
I have two children of 9 and 10, Jane and Harry. They walk to school from home. The school was excellent by providing extra English language tuition to my children when they first came. The teachers and class mates showed so much interest in them that Jane and Harry are extremely happy at school and are also doing very well. My wife and I are very happy with Jane and Harry as the teachers complimented on them so often as “Wonderful and fantastic students”.
We have also found Devonport Baptist Church and made so many friends at church, too.
I feel that I am lucky to be here in Tasmania. I lived in a large city, Seoul before but I now enjoy very much this rural life; sheep, horses, goats and cattle on grass paddocks everywhere around us. Other advantages we enjoy are the low cost of living with stable price level, natural environment, school education and the friendly people here. So far, many people assisted with us in the settlement here and we do thank them for their support and kindness.
Gun Hyun Kim, Tourist Accommodation, (Seoul, South Korea)
