Tasmania tops population growth . Now 4th ranked economy .

Seems a bit far fetched as Sydney and Melbourne are not standing still but growing faster. And speaking generally population predictions compared to reality in recent years has shown that the reality has surprised to the upside.

 

Some great comments here.

I think we need to recognise Hobart/Tas is almost incompareable to the other eastern states in almost every way.

What I mean is...

To those who say theres nothing to do there, sure as a Millennial-aged go-getter you might be bored living these years of your life there when compared to action/pace of Syd/Mel. But as life-stages move on to the 35+ (usually as kids come into the picture) and certainly 40s, 50s, 60s+; your interests start to change. The noise, crime, and rush-rush-rush of the big cities starts to fatigue people. That tree-change generation is probably the one that has the greatest interest in moving there. I'm 36 now and still love big city life but I notice my interests changing. More often my weekends are spent out hiking in the blue mountains; going to more cultural events, and spending time in the outdoors in general. That tends to bring me a level of peace that my busy mon-fri doesnt. So in that way, to say Tas is boring is a complete lie! So many trails to hike, mountains to climb, beaches and rivers to run, and berry/chocolate/winery etc. farms to drive around and visit on lazy sundays. But, each their own.

The other thing is money. You'd be a fool to think your big 6 figure flashy city jobs are readily available anywhere in Tas. Those who Ive spoken to whove moved there have not only seeked out a tree change in lifestyle, but also in job. They throw in their high paying high-stress high hours sydney job, and yes they get a much lower paying tas job but the stress anf hours is expotentially much lower too. Plus, if theyve cashed out of sydney they tend to buy their tas ppor cash-outright, so a smaller annual salary is incredibly comfortable for them when only bills need paying and not mortgages. Also, for some, when they career-change in this particular way it is usually consciously to also pursue a passion-based job instance of a money-chasing one.

One couple I met did this and traded their sydney jobs (he a finance analyst; she a media/advertising manager); for completely different and very modest jobs. He, a jims-style lawn/garden business; she a registered carer/nurse. Less hours for both; less stress; and both feel like their jobs are somehow more meaningful to those customers they serve.

Oh, and with the house owned outright they only spend about 8 months of their year working/living there, then traveling domestically and internationally which sounds like where their real life passion is!

 

As per my previous post, I admitted that if you enjoy hiking, bushwalking etc and enjoy a slower life or unambitious then you may enjoy Tassie. Please note that it doesn't mean that you'll escape the traffic congestions as the third worst in the country.

Congrats to your friends! I can't imagine living my life like that but if they can then good on them. I can't see how they'll go once they're unable to work when they're older as they'll need to live another 20 years after retirement so they'll need funds for that. Your anecdotal story is just one example - if you look at the absolute numbers in terms of interstate and international migration to Tassie, it's still a very small number which means that the lifestyle is very niche and not all that common.

Being from an Asian background and like most Asians, I value the cheaper restaurants Sydney has compared to Tassie and more variety of Asian food. The everyday living cost like groceries, petrol, meal out, cafes etc are much cheaper. With my job I leave at 4:30pm 90%+ of the time and at 5pm 99% of the time before hitting the gym with my wife and then going home where we pay just $350/week. Living in Sydney is pretty easy for us. Our life wouldn't be any different in Tassie except it'll be more expensive. Sure you can buy a house outright but I don't see the point in doing that if I do not know that's where I want to be for the rest of my life so renting close to amenities suits us perfectly until we find an opportunity elsewhere.

 

it is so larrylarry.

 

is Hobart really comparable with Sydney or Melbourne? population, employment, wages, housing, lifestyle .........

they are in very different categories

 

I see both yours and @C-mac's views as being equally valid. You have different preferences in life to C-mac, and I'd say its partly due to life stage.

I like the idea of slowing down, taking it easier, and any Australian location (barring Melbourne) must be slower than Sydney.

I think the people he spoke about might already have a lot of money if they sold out from Sydney and had those jobs, so they may already have their retirements figured out.

Personally, I think Tasmania is too small and too boring for me - Canberra the same. Nice for a visit but I don't think it has enough going on to interest me as a long term home.

I think Brisbane and the SE Qld/Northern NSW region is still affordable, can provide a good lifestyle, isn't as fast as Sydney or Melbourne, has plenty of things going on, is more connected for flights out of Australia than Canberra or Hobart, has a decent diversity in inhabitant backgrounds...
Or it might be nice to say, live in SE Qld during the winter and then Christchurch for the summers.

Horses for courses.
We are not trees

 

No it's not . That's the attraction . That's what every tassceptic totally misses ....

Every day , working on Sydney's Northern beaches , I meet people who complain of the cost of housing , the traffic and the work demands of living in Sydney .and questioning the wisdom of their lifestyle .

I can afford it because I started investing in property 20 years ago and I maintain my sanity by having a weekender up in Port Stephens and can get away from Sydney on a regular basis .

If I hadn't done that , Hobart would be an attractive option . I could easily afford a nice house there and also a unit in somewhere like palm cove for the winter for less than half of the price of a house in Sydney

Cliff

 

Hobart traffic congestin is bad but do you want a 5km journey with traffic or 30km+ journey with similar traffic. Even with traffic, I used to get to work in 15 minutes driving about 5 years ago in Hobart. While it would take me 45-60 mins now in Melbourne. Public transport would be 1h15mins. Moreover, as others point out Hobart is very diff to Syd or Mel. For some, it is boring while for others it is perfect. It is all up to personal choice.

 

How does Hobart compare with places in New Zealand? E.g. Wellington? Anyone spent much time in both?

 

How Hobart became a mainlander’s dream

 

I spent about 3 months in Christchurch and 1 month in Wellington while having 4.5 years in Hobart. All I can say from my limited exp is Hobart is less modern/active/busy than Wellington and is similar to Christchurch. Lifestyle is quite similar

 

It's freezing in winter, the below freezing kinda weather, I'd rather be in sunny Qld, or for most people nsw/qld weather seems to be the ticket.

 

And... I agree. I like Sydney weather all year round except for perhaps June and July.

 

It is personal preference. For some like me it is much better than the hot, humid weather in QLD which make me sweating all the time. In a cold climate, I just need to wear more and thicker clothes. With hot weather, u cannot do much thing outdoor without sweating like hell. Hobart winter is not much diff to Mel and not as cold as ACT. But I can understand why a lot of people like warmer cities.

 

Yeah, Syd waether is nice for at least 80% of the time. That's one of the main reasons it is the most exp city in OZ

 

I don't drive in Sydney or when I worked in Melbourne I drive once a week in Sydney (to do groceries) so I don't experience the traffic congestion problems at all. Door to door I get to work in 35 mins in Sydney and 30 mins in Melbourne using the tram (quicker on the bike). The trouble is that the premier is trying to lure Sydney people to Hobart and only offering a underground bus network as a key infrastructure - traffic congestion is not going to get any better in the near future, yet he wants to keep increasing the population. Another thing is the weather, like Melbourne it's got that wintery weather which means that it needs indoor entertainment. But due to the smaller population and less competition it is very expensive to do these activities compared to Melbourne. For the same reason, everyday expenses like power, groceries and petrol are more expensive as well and you have to manage this on lower wages too. If they have a mortgage then consumer spending will be low as well so businesses will suffer too. As a result there is very little to do in Tassie. Canberra is the same (lived here for 3 years) with regards to weather and living expenses though they have much higher wages (highest median in Australia).

The only people attracted by Tassie are unambitious people, retirees who are interested in outdoors. I obviously rate that they will still be the highest performing state in 2018 due to their low base but once investor sentiment changes when they realise that renters are unable to pay the amount they need to make the investment worthwhile i.e. they are bleeding cashflow at the same time prices are no longer increasing as locals can't afford either the wage or the rent. This caps out at a much lower level than many other states.

 

50 per cent of Tasmanians illiterate - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

@Pentanol I tend to agree.

 

Funny article but it does make a point Tas is basically surviving of the back of other states.

http://www.news.com.au/finance/econ...e/news-story/935267ae4a5b83228227d76112190b14

 

I fully agree with you that short term Hobart is good but not for long term growth. Just want to point out that to live within 30 minutes by tram to Mel CBD now you will need to pay min 1mil for a house or 800k for an unit/town house. So even you have a higher wage in Mel than Hobart, you may end up saving less. But it is about owning a house. If you are happy to rent then Mel is not actually more exp than Hobart.

 

You didn't happen to notice that article was written two years ago ....??

Like many opinions around here and in general about Tassie and Hobart , It's out of date ....

Cliff