stealthpooch

On the right side of the hill, Lenah Valley soaks up the northern sun, which is a huge advantage in southern Tasmania.

The suburb edges onto Mount Wellington and has a number of great parks, including the dog off-leash John Turnbull Park, which doubles as a sports ground. The park also has a community garden, in which locals can apply to have a patch; and it has a community hall which is used by martial art groups and after school care (it's opposite the school) .

The community association, Lenah Valley Links, has a gardening group with free workshops, such as 'how to keep backyard chickens', and has started holding markets in the community centre.

Crime appears low, and the neighbours are friendly - a lot more so than in other Hobart suburbs I've lived in. Lots of people have dogs, which could be due to the fact that there are so many dog walking areas; however, there's no problem with excessive barking around my house at the moment, so people obviously know to train them well.

The public transport is relatively good (for Hobart) during work days, but is a bit sparse on Sundays and public holidays. That said, it only costs $10-15 to catch a taxi from the CBD, and it's a 5 min drive, 15 min bike ride or 50 minute walk into town (from where I live in Lenah Valley anyway).

The Lenah Valley shops include a couple of chemists and pizza restaurants, two doctors surgeries, a post office/newsagent, bakery/cafe, a couple of corner stores, a Sri Lankan restaurant, and a great deli/shop called the Foodstore, which has good quality and reasonably priced fruit and vegies and deli items (cheaper than Woolies for fresh items, more expensive for things like toilet paper). On Creek rd there's also a Chinese restaurant called Castle Zayee, which despite its novelty shaped building and suburban setting is very good.

In short, Lenah Valley is still in the Hobart City Council area and thus is close to the city, but far enough away to be a chilled out place to relax and enjoy being at home.