Hello all,
Hopefully everyone, having their holiday (or those, like me, who have to stay on and continue doing work :() are doing well! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
So, as the new academic year (one of them that is, there is also a July intake) is approaching, new students will be coming into Melbourne. One of the most asked questions in our Facebook group is concerning accommodation. This post will focus solely on this so it can be referred to if anyone else asks about it.
Right, first time going away is hard. It is reasonable to panic but don't! There are a lot of options you can choose from in terms of accommodation;
1. Living with friends or family (that you actually know before you arrived in Melbourne)
2. Flat/House-sharing (where you share a place with other people looking for accommodation as well)
3. Living by yourself.
Also, please check your university's website for housing options. They will be able to provide a formal explanation on what to expect in terms of housing and rent. But if you have any doubts about the places they have suggested, please feel free to ask us. We might be able to give a more personal account of those places if one of us happens to have stayed at the said place.
There are a number of sites that you can check for houses.
for living by yourself or with your friends or family, there are real estate websites that lists down empty apartments (sometimes furnished/more often not) along with their prices so you will be able to choose between them.
some of those websites are:
http://www.realestate.com.au/rent
http://www.domain.com.au/?mode=rent
please make sure to search within Victoria - be it Melbourne, Caulfield, Carlton, Hawthorn, etc., depending on where you want to live. Most people choose to stay near their campus so transportation won't be that expensive. However, other people also choose to stay in the city (Melbourne) even when their campus is not based there because it has easier access to a variety of shops, entertainment and necessities.
To calculate the price per month for a 12 month lease is...
the price per week x 52 weeks (the weeks in one year) divided by 12 months.
so if the advertisement says that it is $600 per week, the calculation for one month's rent would be 600x52/12.
For house-sharing, there are a number of places you can check. Again, please check your university website's housing options as they might provide a flatshare system where you can find other people who are looking for housemates. For example, in RMIT (where i go), there is a housing site within the university website that allows me to check for those looking to share a place together.
Other places you can look for this is:
http://melbourne.gumtree.com.au/ (under flat share/house share)
Please be careful with these advertisements. Do not give any payments unless you have seen the place yourself and are sure that they are the actual tenants/owners of the place.
From personal experience, when i first got to Melbourne, I stayed at a hotel for a few days to give time for me to inspect for a place. Although this is a bit risky, rest assured, it can be done. Also, if you have friends or family staying in Melbourne, i'm sure they won't mind giving you shelter for a few days before you are able to get up on your feet (But please, ask first :P).
Anyway, that's all I can really think of at the moment. But any questions, please ask away on our Twitter or Facebook page.
Thanks!
