h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi. I'm thinking of moving. Tell me more about Hobart. I'm an American, very poor, 18yr f. How will I fare? Tell me about the campus. Can you link me to a university site? How difficult is employment, taxes, everything!
I'm dying to go, can't bear to stay state-side any longer. Tell me-- is it the place of my dreams?

Hi Petunia
Well ... it is certainly the place of many people's dreams, but that really depends on what you are after. To get a more detailed feel for the reason why I live in Hobart, have a look at the original Hobart entry that I wrote off my page.

There are a number of reason why people move here - the most common ones are: the easier pace of life (it is an island state, so you do get the feeling of being separate from the rest of the world), the scenery and outdoors, the pleasure of living in a smaller place, etc. People don't come here for a raging social life, or a huge cultural life, but I find that I can't keep up with what's on anyway. We moved here about four years ago from Queensland for the weather (temperate), and the history (not that old but compared to the rest of Australia), and the slower lifestyle. The place is safe and friendly. We live about 15 minutes drive from the CBD, and can walk to three beaches in about 15 minutes. Our house looks out over trees to the mouth of the Derwent river. FABULOUS!!

Employment is not fabulous, as we are in a bit of a recession. It really depends what you want to do. The downside of a small place is that it is often who you know rather than what you can do that gets you places. The University has some excellent foci: environment, Antarctic research, history (my area), fine arts, etc, etc. The website is: www.utas.edu.au/

We have had quite a few US students come over for a semester or so, and they all seem to love it. You should be able to get info off the uni website for overseas students.

Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.
Bran.

If you are young,don't go to Hobart!!
Tasmania in general has an ageing poulation.People like myself have left the state after 24 years.The current rate is 44 people per week of people relocating to other mainland Australian states!
The jobs that are available pay very poorly in comparison with Melbourne and Sydney.
Development in Hobart is hindered by the small town mentality of the politicians.The place has no culture or anything to do on weekends, except if you are a bushwalker! Too bad if you do not like bushwalking!
Better bring a few pairs of tracksuit pants because that is the uniform of Tasmania.
Yep, I regret living there for as long as I did.
Let the old people have their state!

If you think it has no culture and nothing to do on weekends, I suspect you aren't looking in the right places. What you like about a place is almost totally determined by expectations and tastes - I am aware that "young" people leave at a high rate. But not so older people like me (35yrs) have moved here. Horses for courses ...

weeeel, though I missed Tasmania; i heard only the best about Hobart!
teh only problem to move there permanently might be the really strict immigration clauses Australia has! I tried, but simply couldn't afford it - and they didn't want a know-nothing-yet-student... but it could be worth it for a semester, I guess
Another thing: Do you know a bit about the unique wildlife there? I won't mention the tasman devil - but I heard the marine wildlife is supposed to be very special, due to some antarctic curreant going along there... and you have special penguins, too, or am I mistaken?
anyway, thanks for the cafe/bar/pub-listing - now I know where to go when I get there
k*

Researcher 102288 said:

"Development in Hobart is hindered by the small town mentality of
the politicians."

This is something I've been dealing with in my own hometown (Corpus Christi, Texas, USA) since I moved here a year ago. Corpus Christi was a small town for a very long time and has only become a middle sized city (pop. 350,000) in the last 10 years or so. People that have been here a long time are against any sort of growth, and as a result it takes a long time for anything to get done. Having lived in a bigger city previously (2 million), I'm very frustrated every time I read about a plan for a new project - nothing ever gets finished!

Then again, if I had lived here all my life, I'm sure I would be completely opposed to growth as well. It's all a matter of perspective.

-TVF

I thinks we have fairy penguins here kats-eyes, but I might be corrected on the type ... we definitely have penguins, though!

The small town thing can be a bummer Frink. We used to live in Brisbane, a city of about 1.2 million, in which development is now running riot. Here in Hobart ... not so much, but I'm not exactly sure why. It might be the mentality, but I think geography also has a lot to do with it. As we are on an island some distance from the mainland, shipping costs are higher, and it is more of a psychological effort to get here. I reckon we could make more of tourism though ... the natural environment here is incredible, 1/4 or so of the state is world heritage listed! Still, things are changing, albeit slowly.