Moving from Dallas TX to Hobart TAS in Late Jan 2016

Laxlfan on 31/12/2015 - 18:01

Hey guys,

I am moving from TX in the USA to Hobart TAS in about a month. I have found a new job there and I am a permanent resident. So I am taking this leap of faith and doing the move.
I have been in the US since the last 8 years. Over time I got very used to great discount prices and deals here in the US which I think may not be the case down under.
There is this famous website slickdeals.net which I am part of. I initially felt disappointed abut the lack of such a website for Australia but then I found OzBargain and I am beginning to feel good.

I saw some pretty good deals here so that's geat! I will be a close part of the forum. I have not yet explored if Hobart and TAS based local deals are posted here too but I hope to make some great friends here and find and share some good deals with you guys. I would greatly appreciate any tips about the move down under.

Introduce Yourself

Comments

  • Clear on 31/12/2015 - 19:14

    Tassie is a great place for the most part. I've lived a good portion of my life in Hobart. You'll be in for a culture shock especially in comparison to larger cities like Melbourne and Sydney.

    A lot of the deals posted here are for the big national chains (Woolworths, Coles, Officeworks, DSE etc) which are in Hobart, so you'll be all good.

    • captobvious on 31/12/2015 - 21:03

      Hobart like smaller cities such as cairns and darwin will always lack stock of items discounted and posted on ozbargain. Free freight deals oz wide usually excludes some areas in tas, fnq, nt and regional wa. So just a few things to look out for

      On the bright side of the spectrum there have been occasions the rest of the country has run out of dick eneloops but regional areas will still have stock. Thats if you are really a true ozbargainer you would have at least a pallet of eneloops by years end.

      • Clear on 31/12/2015 - 22:23

        Quite the opposite actually. Often there is an abundance of stock at our stores. Take the recent Dick Smith sales for example. While everyone was complaining about no stock and orders being cancelled, there was plenty of stock at the stores here. This is particularly true if you go into one of our smaller cities like Launceston and Devonport especially.

        In the 4 years I've been coming to Ozb I've yet to see any notable deals that exclude free postage to Tasmania. Considering that about ~400k of the ~500k live in either Hobart, Launceston, Devonport or the Burnie region that leaves a very small amount that can't get door to door delivery by Auspost. The distance between these towns isn't like WA or NT anyway.

        • captobvious on 31/12/2015 - 22:36

          Dont get me wrong i did mention in my post that not all items get sold out in shithole australia.

          I do notice the tassy postcodes on some free freight and bulky items exemptions. Tassy to australia is overseas just like darwin must aswell be in indonesia and fnq is the sticks.

          Bad example but the only thing i could find without effort - dealsdirect.

          The following postcodes have delivery exclusions on bulky products for all shipping promotions.
          4694, 4695, 4697, 4699, 4700, 4701, 4702, 4703, 4704, 4705, 4706, 4707, 4709, 4710, 4711, 4712, 4713, 4714, 4715, 4716, 4717, 4718, 4719, 4720, 4721, 4722, 4723, 4724, 4725, 4726, 4727, 4728, 4730, 7431, 4732, 4733, 4735, 4736, 4737, 4738, 4739, 4740, 4741, 4742, 4743, 4744, 4745, 4746, 4750, 4751, 4753, 4754, 4756, 4757, 4798, 4799, 4800, 4801, 4802, 4803, 4804, 4805, 4806, 4807, 4808, 4809, 4810, 4811, 4812, 4813, 4814, 4815, 4816, 4817, 4818, 4819, 4820, 4821, 4822, 4823, 4824, 4825, 4828, 4829, 4830, 4849, 4850, 4852, 4854, 4855, 4856, 4857, 4858, 4859, 4860, 4861, 4865, 4868, 4869, 4870, 4871, 4872, 4873, 4874, 4875, 4876, 4877, 4878, 4879, 4880, 4881, 4882, 4884, 4885, 4886, 4887, 4888, 4890, 4891, 4895, 7000, 7004, 7005, 7007, 7008, 7009, 7010, 7011, 7012, 7015, 7016, 7017, 7018, 7019, 7020, 7021, 7022, 7023, 7024, 7025, 7026, 7027, 7030, 7050, 7052, 7053, 7054, 7055, 7109, 7112, 7113, 7116, 7117, 7119, 7120, 7139, 7140, 7150, 7155, 7162, 7163, 7170, 7171, 7172, 7173, 7174, 7175, 7176, 7178, 7179, 7180, 7182, 7183, 7184, 7185, 7186, 7187, 7190, 7209, 7210, 7211, 7212, 7213, 7214, 7215, 7216, 7248, 7249, 7250, 7252, 7253, 7254, 7255, 7256, 7257, 7258, 7259, 7260, 7261, 7262, 7263, 7264, 7265, 7267, 7268, 7270, 7275, 7276, 7277, 7290, 7291, 7292, 7300, 7301, 7302, 7303, 7304, 7305, 7306, 7307, 7310, 7315, 7316, 7320, 7321, 7322, 7325, 7330, 7331, 7466.

        • Clear on 31/12/2015 - 22:41

          @btdroppedbox: I just reread what you said… free freight. That makes sense, because Bass Strait is probably the most expensive shipping lane in Australia. You can import shipping containers full of stock from Indonesia to Australia and the most expensive part of the trip is getting it through the strait.

          This is why I prefer going through JB, DSE, TGG etc as they're able to get the products shipped over from Melb for free. Probably half the reason why those stores never have stock ;)

    • axlfan on 02/01/2016 - 15:55

      Thanks appreciate it…I amlooking forward to living in HObart..Have read so many great things…My job in the US too me to most of the US cities..but I loved my quiet old suburb near Dallas…So I think Hobart should suit me fine..I have visited Perth before a few years ago and found that to be a great place too…

      I may send you a few pms with your permission..Could definitely use advice about cars, internet, mobile phone plans etc from you in case you still in in HObart…I have done quite some research..but can use all the advice I can get.

  • tassieeagle on 01/01/2016 - 09:14

    Good luck with move, Tassie is a great place to live. Just a note on your personal items in your move: freighting items from the US will cost you an arm and a leg and expect numerous delays until you get them. Unless you are totally loaded with cash my advice would be to carry as many sentimental items with you as possible and freight the rest as a LCL. Sell all your furniture, cars etc and buy new ones here.

    • axlfan on 02/01/2016 - 16:04

      Thanks…yes I am not planning to getting anything major….the only additional stuff apart from clothes, personal stuff and tech items will be my playstation 3 and guitar…

  • try2bhelpful on 01/01/2016 - 10:34

    The other thing to keep in mind is our voltage is different to the US (we are 240V) so, I presume, most of your appliances will not work out here unless you get a transformer. You are in for a shock if you buy things like the Vitamix or KitchenAid appliances we are a lot more expensive than the US. (Things like laptops etc tend to work across the spectrum but double check before plugging in and be aware we have a different plug as well so you might need a converter). You are also going to miss things like Amazon free shipping and some brands, e.g. Levis, do not allow American shops to ship to Australia.

    On the plus side Tasmania has a lot of attractions.

    The weather doesn't get very hot, but it can get cold when the wind comes from the South.

    I hope you have a great time while you are here.

    • axlfan on 02/01/2016 - 16:00

      Thanks and you wont believe I have met some ppl whose sole reason not to move to Australia even they could land plum jobs is that there is no amazon…to be honest..even I am so used to it…almost same day shipping or 2 day shipping for amazing products at an amazing price…In fact I buy so many household stuff from there…It will be hard to get used to it for sure…I hope they come to Australia soon. Is there any other Aussie website that comes even close?

      But I guess thats what happens when you go from a 300 million population to about 25 mill…you just cannot subsidize and make a good profit.
      I got my first shock seeing video game prices LOL…but its all good..I think I will get used to it…Hoping things do get a little cheaper.

      • try2bhelpful on 03/01/2016 - 10:11

        There are a number of online kitchen supply places, I've used House, Everton and Kitchenwaredirect and all have been reliable - but the best thing to do is search online for what you want in Google and then look for the sale prices when they come up. You may have also noted our obsession with price matching at Office Works - it is something to keep at the back of your mind before buying something. Ebay is also pretty good in Australia as we are on the doorstep of Asia so postage can be quite cheap.

        You can get Amazon to ship most things to Australia, it is just that the shipping costs add up and you need to watch the voltage issue; also the "pacific peso", as our currency sometimes gets called, isn't doing so well at the moment so you need to be aware of the conversion rate.

        Remember the rest of Australia is only a plane, or ferry, ride away. Come up and visit us sometime. It is an interesting place and not everything is trying to kill you. (Just keep in mind the snakes when you are hiking - but there are hardly any fatalities given the reputation).

        • axlfan on 08/01/2016 - 09:10

          Thanks….Hope is slowly but surely returning! :)
          ABout the snakes and creepy crawlies, yes my co-workers had nice fun ribbing me about it…To make matters worse there was a news article featuring a guy who happened to see a gigantic lizard on his door…that thing was almost covering it.

          But in all seriousness, my job may give me an option to move to the mainland after a few months so lets see how things pan out.

  • gasman70 on 01/01/2016 - 11:13

    Hope the cost of living here doesn't come as a huge shock to you.

    • axlfan on 02/01/2016 - 16:02

      I have made my peace with it :) Some things are not all that expensive…I think I will feel the hit the most with cars..I drive a 2015 Lexus IS250 here…and I cannot dream of affording it there…

  • Lysander on 01/01/2016 - 13:45

    If you were a permanent resident but have lived 8 years outside of Australia you are NOT a permanent resident anymore as it lapses if you are not in Australia.
    Check whether you can actually come here and work here - otherwise you will get a nasty surprise.

    • axlfan on 02/01/2016 - 15:56

      Thanks for the concern…My PR was issued in 2012 and is valid until 2017. Did a check recently…But I will do my due diligence again..doesnt hurt to check.

  • camdman on 04/01/2016 - 00:01

    Tassie is a wonderful and beautiful place, you can almost drive to any location in the state in the one day. EDIT (apart from some of the islands)

    Everything here is generally more expensive than our mainland counterparts (Damn you Bass Strait!) such as petrol, food etc. Although you can get cheap stuff if you look around and the abundance of cheap fruit and veg being sold on the side of the road is definately not uncommon especially down that way.

    If you like your bargain (of course you do)as mentioned before most of the big chain stores are located in Hobart that arn't anywhere else in the state such as the Good Guys JB Hifi, Big W and Super A Mart and you can easily price match unlike in the other cities (Launceston, Devonport and Burnie) where there is only 2 or 3 retailers and they do not match unless there is stock at the other store which are usually sold out on the good items.

    Apart from that Hobart is a great little city (when you know your way around and you're not lost in the maze of one way streets lol!) and is slowly progressing like the bigger cities on the mainland.

    • axlfan on 08/01/2016 - 10:08

      Thanks it sure does look like a great place no doubt. I might move to the mainland but I want to give Hobart a shot. I like staying away from the hustle and bustle of a large city and Sydney and Melbourne are pretty happening cities by the looks of it.

      Will definitely look out for bargains from you guys and hope to share some as well. The other day when looking at a map I found a $2 store which sells things like pack of 10 coat hangers for $2. :) That's not to bad to start off with.

      Looking forward to the abundance of fruit and veggies which are locally grown. speaking of which, would you know if we get Guavas in Hobart…They are like m favorite fruit. :)

  • axlfan on 31/01/2016 - 00:10

    Just wanted to post an update. I am in Hobart now…Reached last sunday and getting settled in. Wow renting a place is definitely harder than I thought but I signed my first lease here.

    • GameChanger on 31/01/2016 - 15:37

      What sort of work you do?

      • axlfan on 09/02/2016 - 13:29

        I am a software developer. WIll be working as a lead/manager for a team of developers.
        I am currently into cloud technologies primarily Salesforce.

        • Donaldhump on 16/02/2016 - 12:25

          tell me more, I'll come work for you. I do this line of work, and would love to live in Tasmania

          Where in Texas are you from, I am a spurs fan, and cowboys fan

        • axlfan on 20/02/2016 - 20:42

          @unclesnake:

          Sure will pm you when we have openings…right now most of the team is in Melb and Syd and we will soon start ramping up folks in Hbart….Need to train folks as Salesforce developers,,one of the most lucrative job markets in the world for programmers!

          I live in Dallas (Euless) for close to 6 years..2 years before that in Arlington and spent time in Boston, Chicago and Madison.
          I literally saw the Cowboy stadium being built..but never went there…
          I am not a huge sports fan lol….only love the wwe!

        • axlfan on 03/03/2016 - 17:54

          @unclesnake: Also dont come work for me my friend..come work "with" me. We need developers for salesforce projects…traning and guidance will be provided…a good opportunity.

        • Donaldhump on 04/03/2016 - 00:43

          @axlcalvin: i just got retrenched tuesday:)

  • ISO9002 on 01/05/2020 - 22:31

    Hey mate, good to see someone like me. I just moved from Houston, TX to Hobart, Tas here 3 months ago.

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