Why do Tasmanian's make life hard for outsiders?

That is because, ur an intruder, they are all related :p

Very interesting questions, with cultural discussions, too. I look forward to reading the answers.

personally i loved tassie and have been there 4 or 5 times but maybe you were unlucky and only got to see their bad head and not the other one,theres always that risk when you are dealing with people who have two heads.

that's because they are jealous mainland envy suffering backward thieving inbred freaks!! I went on a holiday there for a month, it was the biggest waste of money in my life talk about over rated over priced crap hole!!! I really wish Tasmania could be disowned from the rest of the country. in saying that we did met some nice people but the funny thing is most had moved there from the mainland

Local shop for local people threre i s nothing for you here

Tasmanians tendfind the attitudes of mainlanders to be arrogant, and have a very Melbourne-centric or Sydney-centric view of the world. Most of them come to Tasmania with the idea that it is some kind of hillbilly backwater, and tend to treat the locals like they are idiots simply because they don't live in Sydney or Melbourne. The people from Tasmania know that mainlanders make jokes about being inbred and having two heads etc, and they usually just shrug it off, but when confronted with a rude individual who assumes they are somehow a more "enlightened" individual simply because they are from the mainland, they would understandably be less than cordial . That is why I would imagine you probably didn't receive a particularly warm welcome, if your attitude was one of unnecessary superiority simply because you come from the mainland, your phrases like "have they lost touch with the modern world etc" are a clear example of this. You assume simply because people in Tasmania don't appreciate your smug superior attitude that they must instantly be backwards and out of touch. Perhaps you could try being open, and accepting, and not bring your narrow-minded assumptions about people when you meet them. Cause if you are arrogant, and assume you are somehow superior simply cause of where you are from, people aren't going to like that. The basic message is, No Tasmanias aren't out of touch with the modern world no matter how much people from the mainland like to imagine they are in an attempt to fuel their own self satisfied delusions of superiority. And regardless of where you are, if you act like a smug dick, people aren't going to be friendly, they'll treat you like the dick you are. That goes for everywhere, not just Tasmania. Edit - I don't know where that guy gets his information, but Tasmanians do not recieve $10000 for a baby bonus, it's $4000, increasing to $5000 just like every other state. It's a federal government initiative, all people get the same allowance in that respect.

It is getting better there now, the last few years the place has opened up a little and there are a lot more people in Tassie from the other states. But I agree, not all but some locals are very stand offish when it comes to being befrended, its allmost like a threat or something. Many people say Tasmania is full of friendly people in the retail sector but I disagree, I find more friendly people in N.S.W and QLD in the commercial sectors, if you are a tourist. There are wonderful people in Tassie, but I think they need to get it together when it comes to friendly outgoing service, instead of some brain dead hollow looks when you want something in a shop. Atleast down there they get $10,000 for the baby bonus instead of the normal $5,000, thats a plus.

Try asking a Venetian for directions, or striking up a conversation with a car mechanic in the Centre. Those people are totally fed up with tourists, and I imagine the Tasmanians get just as fed up. I've been to Tasmania more times than I can count, and have had only friendly exchanges with the local people. Of course, if you go into some of the mining towns and start talking about trees, you're asking for trouble!

mmmhhhh....... Perhaps there are some truths in stereotyping Tasmanians as being conservative, but that's that's just a stereotype. In contrast, I find the people there to be friendly, warm, less in a hurry, and just laid back (not like the pseudo-laid-back myth that people tend to imagine Queenslanders - they are not really). It may take some time for people to get rid of their suspicions on newcomers. I think this applies not only to Tasmanians, but also many rural places in mainland Australia and, ironically, big Australian cities. Heck, I would hardly call Sydneysiders the most friendly people that are ready to jump into the wagon and make friends with you. Quite the contrary. Seriously. And yes, I would say that the mainland Australians should get to know Tasmania more. I can safely say that a good, healthy portion of mainland Australians have no idea what's life like in Tasmania, except those totally unjustified myths. Two heads, get real! And no, this is not an Australian-sense-of-humour as some of you will say. I think it is quite a bad-taste joke.