I came to Tasmania with a distinct fascination for locals that have decided to stay here. In my European head, I just can’t grasp the idea of living on an island, part of an even bigger island, that is so far away from everything else, hrm Europe that is (and no, New Zealand is not close, it’s 5h away by plane).
It has been for a very long time completely impossible for me to understand why anyone would decide to live in a distant corner of the world map. Some would call it ignorance, I just thought it was because they didn’t know better.
Obviously I’m prejudice, on occasions more than would be healthy (although as my very wise friend Michal says, it is what keeps us humans going (don’t know if I hundred procently agree, but there’s some kind of truth in lying it)
I’ve always thought of which place I would call my future home and I have obsesively focused on which spot on the world match which would best match the attributes of future high-life. Where would I be able to live my life as it was taken straight from a feauture in Vogue of the latest carista-with-cool-style-a-trendy -home-and-the-coolest-cat-in-town?
No place has so far ticked the long list of boxes.
However when thinking of where my home is, I know two things: one of them is that Sweden is automatically qualified (based on the sole reason that it’s the place where I’m born and raised) and that I know at least hundred places I would never wanted call my home. There are country’s and places, that for different reasons, I would never even consider to live (based on prejudice and own experiences).
And due to its remoteness, lack of any kind of trendy attributes or rich history (sorry I just can’t consider 200 years old), or lack of fashionable boutiques, Tasmania was definitley on the never-ever-list.
However, after long discussions with locals, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s pretty cool that any place in the world can be called your home based on the simple fact that your home is where your heart is. Evrything else is secondary.
No, Hobart or Tasmania in general is not a trendy place, the boutique shopping is not endless or even existing, and the chances are very small that anyone covered by Vogue would live here. But that doesn’t really matter because Tasmania is great, people are friendly and creative and not even close to being as remote as I’ve pictured it.
Not saying that Tasmania is my home. Let’s be honest, I’m deeply Eurocentric and need to have a selection of various countries 1h away from where I live, but that’s perhaps because I just don’t know any better.
My Maddy Travel 