New Beginnings

jubjubhomestead


The missus and I have recently moved to Tasmania and purchased a lifestyle block of 5 acres with a nice 4 bedroom brick house on it. We paid $365,000 for the place. It still blows my mind that we got it so cheap.

We're in a little town called Lachlan (pronounced lak-len, not lock-lan how it should be) which is about 7 minutes drive out of New Norfolk in the Derwent Valley of Tassie. It's about 25 to 30 minutes from the outskirts of Hobart from our place (depending on the traffic, as Tasmanian's are notoriously slow drivers).

We moved out here for many reasons, so i'll list a few of the main one's:

*Climate: We both like the cold and hate the humidity. It still gets hot here, but its dry heat, and rarely over 35 degrees C.

*Housing: $365k for a 4br brick home on 5 acres of fully fenced pasture with a dam, a bore and only 30 minutes from a capital city, 45 minutes from an airport. Show me where you can get better value for money than that.

*Community: I actually know my neighbors for the first time in my life. There are so many clubs down here. 4X4ing, stand up paddle boarding, fishing. You name it, there is a club for it.

*Nature: We're surrounded by trees, water courses, bird and animal life of all sorts. Multiple Wallaby's feast on our grass, along with Hares and Rabbits. The fishing is awesome and so is the hunting.

*Cost of living: We're reasonably conscious of our spending habits. for two people, our electricity bill is about $100 a month. Fuel is cheap at the moment, so is firewood for the wood heater. We try our best to only buy stuff that is on special at Woolies. We rarely spend over $100 a week on food for both of us. At the same time, we don't deny ourselves some luxuries. I love Smoked Salmon and Pepsi Max.

*Work: There is plenty of work available around Hobart, especially in healthcare. Lots of entry level unskilled labor work as well.

*Health: We both try and live stress free lives, me especially. Having a lifestyle block has literally changed my life when it comes to my mental health. There is something about gardening and working your own land that calms you. A feeling of being at ease.

*Looking to the future: We want kids in the next few years. The thought of sending them to an over-crowded public school in a city just doesn't appeal to us. We're yet to decide on what type of schooling our future children will have, but there are plenty of options available down here.

*Self Sufficiency/Homesteading: Grow our own food, generate our own energy and be as self reliant as possible. Not because we fear the end of the world, but because its healthier. We want to be producers in the sense that we supply most of our needs whilst having a surplus to sell/trade/give to others.

This last reason, Self Sufficiency and Homesteading is what this blog is going to be about. I'm going to detail our projects, the transformation of our property from a blank canvas to a thriving self sufficient Homestead. 

I hope that in doing this, I may inspire others to take up this lifestyle so they may find some peace in their own lives.

If you're interested in what we're doing, I'd encourage you to follow our blog and leave me a comment or question.

Cheers,
Tom





Location: Lachlan TAS 7140, Australia

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