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22 June 2006

Accommodation advice to an arriving overseas student.

I assume you are on a low budget, in which case a "hostel" will probably be the best place for the first few days while you sort out something else. That is unless you have a close friend or relative you can stay with. I just had a quick look for temporary accomodation for you. These two websites http://www.hostelz.com/hostels/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne
and www.hostelmelbourne.com have plenty of options & the rates are what I would expect. You would be sharing a room there & don't expect security to be fantastic, but they are cheap, convenient & you'll get to know your way around. If you're going to be studying at Caulfield, the hostels in the Melbourne city centre are the most convenient, at only a 15 minute train ride away. You should be able to book a hostel online before you arrive, & then sort out your permanent accommodation when you get here.

If you're going to one of the universities which has on campus accommodation, I would suggest you try that first...I was an OS student in London & the experience of on campus accommodation when I first arrived was invaluable. Monash Clayton, Melbourne Parkville & La Trobe Bundoora have on campus accommodation. Gets you orientated & u get to know some people. For example, places like University College or Mannix College.

Other than on-campus accommodation, your second best option for permanent accomodation will be to band together with a few other students & rent a house or flat.
If you find friends who want to rent a flat or house with you, then you can look on www.domain.com.au eg:http://www.domain.com.au/Public/SearchResults
or http://www.domain.com.au/Public/SearchResults

Shared accommodation in an existing household is a cheap option, but more difficult to organise before you arrive. You'll get a quick guide to prices and availability here:

www.flatmatefinders.com.au

www.flatmates.com.au

http://au.easyroommate.com

www.2share.com.au

www.flatmatesdownunder.com.au

www.domain.com.au

http://www.realestate.com.au

Most of the Universities have online facilities to help you find somewhere to live. For example, you could try the Monash off-campus accommodation listing http://www.mrs.monash.edu.au/off-campus. Once you're here and enrolled, there will be student noticeboards you can check for shared accommodation.

2 comments:

Michelle said...

The Monash University off-campus accommodation database is at http://www.monyx.monash.edu.au/mrs/search/search_tac.cfm?CFID=59185&CFTOKEN=82273806
If you have trouble finding it from the Monash website, try an external search engine. I searched for it & used it today.

Michelle said...

Scrap that last comment. I just found out why my ad hasn't got any response. The database hasn't been operational for the past year.

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