An Unlikely Ambassador

If you can discount the 16 hours that I lost when traveling, I left the USA 1 week ago.  I wasn't able to really put this whole relocation into perspective before I left, when something this big goes into motion I certainly did the best I could to understand my reasons for doing it, and once that decision was made, I got busy making it happen, regardless of the potential misgivings I may have felt after settling in here. The reality of what it means, or how it will effect me only comes slowly with time, as I realize what parts of home I miss, and what parts of my transplanted life I really enjoy.  The downside caused by the apprehension of making such a large shift in my life was equaled by the positive side of the empowerment that comes along with taking such a risk.  Not everyone gets a chance to live so far away, and I've always tried to appreciate the positive.  My first week away has helped me to breakdown what I love about home in the USA and see what is maintained here in Tasmania, and what is truly 10,000 miles away. 

My opinion will forever be biased, of course. I married a Tasmanian, and my initial impression of it was a wild and rough land that was at first very mysterious and intriguing. Now that I am a resident I can see close at hand the differences to living here versus living in the United States.  Firstly I have to state that the process of migrating to Australia was 1/10th as difficult and confusing as it was to move Lucy to the USA.  Both countries requires essentially every major document you've ever had, combined with every type of background check you can imagine.  Documents are documents, and they are always difficult to get if you don't have them, but the instructions, and the level of support available to you is much different when undergoing migration to Australia.  When Lucy and I had questions regarding US immigration we called the help line, where we would be forced to wait for a long time until we were able to finally squeeze an answer out of the person on the other end. It was time consuming, and required constant repetitive questioning and verification.  It happened several times where the representative of the US Government told us the wrong information, causing us delay, and increasing an already large expense.  For immigration to America it was in our interests to get attorney which cost us several thousand dollars, we were able to do the the Australian immigration on our own.  Australian immigration took 6 weeks from start to finish, the US immigration took 9 months.  When I sent in my paperwork to immigrate I received an email from an agent, and was instructed to inquire with him about any questions I might have.  I couldn't believe it. I had a phone number and an email address of one person who was tasked to help me, whereas if we had questions we had to call the US government, and if we called 20 times, each time we would get someone different.  There is an accountability that you appreciate with such a one on one type of transaction.  It would be unfair of me not to mention that the number of people immigrating to Australia is significantly less than those attempting to move to America.  I don't believe it is only a question of volume however, but symptoms of a massive system that isn't geared toward resolving problems, but towards sustaining itself.  Enough about immigration, what is it it really like here?

Tasmania, I have found is populated in large part with the same kind of people I have seen almost everywhere I have lived or traveled (with the exception being major metropolitan cities), they are conscientious individuals focused on their own lives, and working towards modest goals, and to improved their lifestyle. The people aren't vastly different than they are in a similarly sized city.  Tasmania is an island, and therefore a bit isolated. You don't just show up here on accident, you arrive here on purpose, either by ferry or by jet.  Tasmania's populace is affected by its isolation, and in large part a more condensed version of the Australian Persona at large.  Australians love Australia, and Tasmanians for the most part love Tasmania.  It isn't assumed that you belong to a specific political party if you wear the national flag. Being proud to be an Aussie is a feeling claimed by all types of people. Tasmania shares a lot of similarities with Maine, the state in the US where I grew up.  Tasmania has always had a bit of a frontier feel to it, like Maine, it has always been out of the way of the normal modes of traffic, also like Maine. Australians travel quite a bit, and Tasmanians do also.  Like Maine the youth tend to leave and explore before coming back and settling in their home state.  Once you leave you get a sense of what else is out there, and you generally realize how unique your background is.  I assume this is the same for a lot of people (with Detroit being the obvious exception). Tasmanians like Mainers appreciate the solitude and isolation they once escaped. 

The footprint of life here is smaller.  I have been here for 5 days and I haven't generated 1/10 of the garbage I would have in the states.  I've used less water, driven less, and even consumed far less electricity.  I'm not sure what this means yet, I'm still wrapping my head around the implications of doing things a bit differently.  Cars are generally smaller, the suburban streets are wide, clean, and the lawns well manicured (albeit not as green).   In town, parking is still an issue, and I have to admit I was kind of hoping it wouldn't be.  The Economy here is better than the states, there is business all around, and since there isn't a pool of immigrant labor to abuse you pay more than you would for services, but they are well done and you don't have that big box store feeling that you are paying in to some huge collective, but to a craftsman. I can't help but think how far things have gone in the states when it comes to big business. I don't know if that means that in 10 years there will be Wal-mart on every corner here, and a Home Depot also, but I certainly hope not.  There are so many small business's here and the community seems to be far better for it.  YES, you do pay more, but as stated above, it goes to someone who might be your neighbor, and not siphoned off to an account overseas. 

My Father-in-law has a garden, and I couldn't believe how sweet the cherry tomatoes were that came out of it.  I can now understand that a tomato is actually a fruit. In Tasmania a good part of the fruit, vegetables, and meat that you see at the store are from the island.  They cost more, but they are made here under the same conditions that we live in.  This is massively appealing to me. 

I miss my friends and family of course, this goes without saying, but so far, I kind of like how they do things here. The few issue's I've run into that aren't great are the taxes, and of course the way they limit your broadband connection to a certain amount.  Right now we have used our 5GB/month plan in the first week.  Lest you think I would be throwing away my US Passport, remember that this is.. a huge difference to what we have in the states.  I cannot watch many video's online, post all my images, or unconsciously browse all those facebook photos that people post. I hope this part of Tasmania gets better... and soon.

Matt