Brand Tas

With chocolate in their hearts but no real-world experience, even a test holiday, the family moved from Swansea (old Swansea, in the UK) – to Tasmania. Lisa’s husband initially worked at the Mersey and is now at the Latrobe Family Medical Practice; Lisa is a Clinical Nurse Educator with the Department for Education, Children and Young People.

The main difference between life in the UK and Tasmania, apart from chocolate and other good food, sunshine, and better pay, is that the family has more time to spend together. It was more hectic back in the UK. Lisa and her husband both worked in the local emergency department, often working opposite shifts.

“There was less family time,” says Lisa. “Between shift work and children starting school the day after their third birthday there was little time for enjoying life. Life in the UK runs at a different pace, people’s priorities are different. In Tasmania people prioritise having a great work-life balance and I think that’s wonderful.”

They arrived in Tasmania in 2012, with a four-year-old and an 11-month-old. “The hospital gave us a house to stay in, they paid our rent for the first three months, and filled the food cupboards. They were so supportive and welcoming; they made the move easy. We stayed in that first house for a couple of years, then we moved to a second rental, and then we were able to build a house in Latrobe. Now we live on six acres, with dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens and of course the very welcome native wildlife. Living this way in the UK would likely have always been out of our reach.”

There are cultural and community differences between the UK and Tasmania that weren’t easy to navigate at first.

“It took a long time to adjust to the slower pace of life and the friendliness,” says Lisa, “we weren't used to the friendliness. In the UK we lived in a city. The population of Swansea was roughly the same as the whole state of Tasmania at that time. You didn’t really talk to your neighbours. But here we had neighbours bringing around veggies from their garden, and just generally being so friendly that it felt odd to us. The lady I bought our first car off said to me, ‘There's a rule around here that in the side streets you have to say ‘g’day’ to everyone.’ It was all so alien. Even the teenagers say hi.”

We’ve travelled all around Tasmania since arriving and we’re always blown away by the raw natural beauty of the place. There’s nowhere we’d rather be.

Lisa grew to love the weirdness. And so have her daughters, who are now 13 and 17. “At first, for a few years, my daughter used to say she wanted to go back because she missed the family, but they're very grateful to be in Tasmania now. We go on holidays every two years and its lovely to visit but were always grateful to return home to Tassie.”

Working as a nurse isn’t always rainbows and sunshine. There are always problems to solve, and they can be harrowing. But Lisa has always enjoyed working with children and feels like she is doing meaningful work with the School Health Nurse Program. This includes training for school health nurses and school staff at the Northwest Support Schools. Lisa facilitates the education and development of School Health Nurses to ensure the health and wellbeing of students across the northwest coast.

Crucially, she likes the people she works with.

“We've got a great team. They're so wonderful, I've got a lovely manager, and we've got some really positive, enthusiastic team members that I've just been out visiting today. You just know that they're out there doing really good things with the students and making a difference.”

For Lisa and her family, Tasmania is just what they were looking for.

“We think it's the greatest place to be. It's just perfect. You can let the kids go out on their bikes and be riding around the street, and you know that they're safe, and if they need anything because it’s a beautiful and small community there is always someone around to help.”

Lisa and her family could go anywhere in Tasmania, Australia, or much of the English-speaking world. Everyone needs doctors and nurses. But they’re committed.

“We’ve travelled all around Tasmania since arriving and we’re always blown away by the raw natural beauty of the place. There’s nowhere we’d rather be than our quaint, welcoming, beautiful little town of Latrobe.”