Anyone from or been to Australia??

[zdomerr]

I am considering studying abroad in Australia and was wondering if anyone has any information on what part of Australia is the best place to stay.

Also, are there any reasons why I should choose Australia over any other place?

[cela]

This thread may be of interest to you, zdomerr.

You'd need to be more specific with your questions for any further help, I think!

All towns and cities have their pros and cons. There are a few of us on the boards from Melbourne, and we can all vouch for it being a pretty good spot to live.

[silicon toad2000]

yeah it really depends on what you want out of your experience.

I live in Adelaide and enjoy that. I travel to Melbourne a lot on business and that's not too bad either.

I would suggest in winter visit the north, like Darwin or the gold coast, In summer visit the south like melbourne or even tasmania.
You can travel from end to end on train, that would be a great experience. and I would suggest seeing the centre of australia, alice springs, eyers rock and coober pedy.

but all that being said I think that was more my wish list than relevant advice to a traveller. It really depends what you want to experience.

[zdomerr]

Silicon and Cela,

I think you guys are right, I should probably ask more specific questions. I've seen pictures of Australia and it looks like a beautiful island. I haven't done too much research, but I was wondering if you could answer these few, more specific questions.

If I do travel to Australia I will have take that train from end to end!

Is the culture fairly diverse there? The college I am currently attending as well as the area around here is not very diverse at all, but I would rather it be more diverse.

What is the weather like near Sydney?

Are the people there friendly?

I've heard Australia is a lot like the US. Is this true?

[cela]

zdomerr,

1. You can get around Australia the same way you get around the US - planes, trains, automobiles! An example: Melbourne-Sydney by plane = 1hr 20min, Melbourne-Sydney by car = 10-12 hours

2. In the major capital cities, yes, the culture is diverse. All depends on what you'd like to experience!

3. Sydney weather: Google is your friend. Summed up: "Sydney’s climate is pleasantly moderate". From here.

4. Sure, the people are friendly! But I find people are friendly just about everywhere, so maybe get a second opinion on that.

5. Australia is a lot like the US, in the sense that any Western nation is, but I have not been to America, so I can't give you any more specific info. I'm not sure what you mean exactly. Do you mean culturally, geographically, climate-wise?

In my searching, I found this website: Study in Australia - I think it might answer a lot of your questions, but keep asking here if you need anything else!

[Jae]

If you wan't to study, I'd pick one of the major universities. There are several in most states. If you want to get around regularly and see places, unless you have money to spend on lots of airfairs/plane trips, sticking to the East coast (Melbourne/Sydney/Brisbane) would probably be your best bet. Adelaide would be workable as well depending on what you want to see (it tends to be quieter than the other cities from what I've found but if that's what you're looking for might be worth a look). Again will depend on what you're looking for, for example Tasmania has beautiful wilderness areas, white water rafting, historic areas etc so yeah if that's what you want to see might suit you.

One thing I've found a lot is everyone underestimates by a large margin just how big the place is. Melbourne to Sydney really is a 10-12 hour drive (if you drive straight there with no detours) and that's probably not even 1/3 way up the side of Australia and traveling on decent roads, so how much time you have for traveling and how much money for things like airfairs/petrol etc can be important.

Also consider the climate you want, as silicon was saying North is lovely in Winter, and stays hot in summer but also gets very humid at times. South can be a cold and wet in winter (but it's not too bad, rarely snows at sea level) and gets plenty hot in summer.

Have a look though the university sites. Many have an international student's page that will tell you what to expect about the city and student life in general. Different universities have reputations for being better at certain things than others, and also having different approaches to teaching, so knowing what you want to study then asking around may also help. Sorry most familiar with the Victorian Universities so I'm sure I've missed a number of them, but some larger ones include The University of Melbourne, La Trobe University, Monash University, Deakin University, RMIT, Swinburne University (Victoria), University of Sydney, University of Queensland. (I'm sure I've missed a number in the other states but that's a start)

It should be fairly easy to get around, although word of warning, the public transport system is probably not nearly as good as what you're used to from what I've been told, however it's workable, and if in doubt ask, people are generally pretty approachable as a rule. *laughs* as Celia says probably ask a second oppinion on that, I'm probably biast since I live here.

Australia is and isn't like the US. I haven't been to the US so I'm going off what I've been told and know of the two places. Have to be a bit more specific as to what you mean. We have a number of similar things such as food places, TV shows, clothes brands etc. There are similarities but also some distinct differences in the culture as a whole. For example I've been told our sense of humour can sometimes be a bit wierd, there's some odd slang and I'm sure a few other things nothing too drastic.

Anyway hope some of that helps

[zdomerr]

Cela - Your link to the weather page was very useful. It appears to very similar weather conditions compared to where I'm from, so whatever snow or humidity they throw at me should be fine.

I'm currently attending a college that is situated in a very rural area, so being in or near a culture diverse city would be great. I actually don't like cities too much, but living near or in one for a semester or two would be fine. It would be a great experience as well.

You're right about everyone being friendly everywhere. (what was I thinking) Some places tend to have more rude people, but I won't have to worry about that I don't think.

I think what I meant about Australia being similar was the culture. Like Jae began to mention.

Jae - I like hearing that Australia has the same clothing brands and TV shows. I also love hearing the differences in humor and slang.

I'm not looking to spend much money at all. So, your tip about the East coast will be a great deciding factor. Tasmania sounds great too though. I actually never knew there was that little island there until just now (google maps).

I knew it was big just not that big. Like I mentioned earlier, the weather seems quite similar to where I'm from, which I had no idea of. I see one of the first colleges you mentioned was Melbourne. I picked up a brochure for Melbourne which sparked my motivation to study in Australia. I will definitely look into that college as well as the others you've mentioned much more.


Ahh. I also see that that one US dollar= 1.10424028 Australian dollars. That shouldn't be a problem then. Would you know if most Americans convert their cash when they get there?

Thank you so much for your help! This information is really helpful and it gets me thinking about it which is really good.

Thanks guys.
Zack