How to choose a city to study in Australia?
Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Gold coast, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin, Newcastle, Wollongong, Cairns.
Which city should I study in?
You might have the same sort of question in your mind!
Here are some factors you need to consider before choosing a city to study in Australia.
1. Course availability
lf you want to do a specific course, you need to find out if that course is available in the city you’re planning to study.
So here we are taking an example of a course which is Bachelors of Marine and Antarctic Sciences. This course is available only at the University of Tasmania on their Hobart campus. It’s not available in any other city in Australia.
If a situation is like this where the course that you’re planning to do is available in only one of the cities then you have to choose that city.
But if the course is available in other cities as well, then you should consider other factors when choosing a city to study in Australia.
Let’s move onto to our next factor.
2. Employment opportunities
How many jobs are available in the city you’re planning to study in Australia?
This makes a huge difference because you have to pay your bills and, as astudent,t you may not have that much saving up your sleeve.
So, it’s a very important to find if there are part-time and casual job opportunities available in the city that you’re planning to study.
You should consider doing research on different job websites to see what sort of and how many jobs are available in the city that you’re planning to study.
There are some very popular platforms you should consider searching on, like seek.com.au
You can also choose to search on a student job specific website like studentjobboard or some other job websites as well.
This will help you to understand how many job opportunities are available in this specific city that you’re planning to study and that will hopefully help you to decide whether to study in that city or not.
3. Cost of living
How much it will cost to live in that specific city?
The cost of living varies by the city. According to Numbeo, Sydney seems to be the most expensive city to live in Australia and is followed by Darwin, Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne.
Hobart seems to be the least expensive city followed by Newcastle, Canberra and Gold Coast.
If you want to know more about the cost of living in Australia, we recommend you to check this video out. Here we explain the cost that you might pay as an international student in Australia.
4. Lifestyle
What sort of lifestyle do you prefer to have?
It’s quite obvious that everyone has a different lifestyle. While some people like the hustle and bustle of the cities, other people may prefer a quieter lifestyle.
It will depend upon your personal choices.
Lifestyle does include having a lot of options for cafés, restaurants, shopping centers and other leisure activities and how accessible other amenities are.
Larger cities would usually have more amenities, more options for shopping, eating outlets and other things, while regional towns and smaller cities may not have that many options.
As an individual, you have your own preferences when it comes to lifestyle. So consider that as well when choosing the right city for you.
5. Safety
Generally speaking, Australia is a pretty safe country.
It ranks among some of the most safest countries around the world.
But if you look at the ranking given by the Numbeo, Cairns seems to be the most notorious city with higher crime rates than other cities in Australia, followed by Darwin, Wollongong and Geelong.
If you look at the most safe cities, that includes Canberra, Adelaide, Hobart and Sydney.
This ranking gives you some idea of which city seems to be more safer than the others.
Obviously, each city is different and there are pockets of areas that you should avoid in each city.
It goes without saying that you need to use some common sense to avoid getting unwanted attention, especially from people who could pose some threat to you and that’s applies in any city you’re living in.
6. Weather
The weather in Australia varies a lot from one city to another.
So, if you like cooler weather, then you might like to choose Canberra, Melbourne or Hobart as your study option.
But if you like warmer weather, then Sydney, Brisbane, Gold coast could be a good fit for you.
Again do some research on the weather in the city that you’re planning to study in and does that meet your preference or not.
7. Migration opportunities
Did you know that studying in specific cities in Australia gives you some additional points for your migration purposes?
You might have heard about it that studying in regional towns or regional cities gives you some additional benefits that include additional post study work visas and some additional points for studying in those cities for your permanent migration.
If that is one of your career goals, then this is one of the most important factors you need to consider when choosing a city in Australia for your studies as an international student.
Your primary goal is to study, but if you choose a city that might give you additional migration benefits, then choosing that city might make sense.
Again, do your own research on this or speak to a registered migration agent for further details.
8. Friend or family
Let’s say if you have a family or friend who’s already living in Australia, then coming to that city might make more sense to you as you have someone who can guide you better, who’s already living in that city.
Even if you don’t get to live with them, they can still help you settle in the new city.
Once you have decided which city you want to stay in, the next thing to do is find a home away from home!
Amber provides thousands of accommodation options across the world! You will find homes right from student homes in Manchester to student housing in Glasgow. All homes are updated with the newest covid protocols, and you can get your house hassle-free!
So, these are the few factors you need to consider when choosing a city in Australia for your studies, and we highly recommend you to do more research on all these factors.
It will make your life way easier when you come to Australia for your studies.
Want to try our quiz tool to find which Australian city suits you better? Try here.
