Living expenses

Living expenses are very individual and depend on what kind of lifestyle you were used to in your home country. The wise habit of most students is “to save money wherever possible”. This is particularly important for Sydney conditions where every-day expenses are slightly higher then anywhere else in Australia.

Everything has its advantages and disadvantages

Public Transport

Public transport expenses depend on area where you live and obviously on your destination. You can choose from various means of transport such as trains, buses, light rail (similar to a tram), ferries and monorail which is railway built above the street level. Various travel passes and discount tickets are available throughout the  whole Sydney area that is divided into travel zones. Students usually buy tickets for combined transport covering both train and bus, which cost around 30 AUD a week.

Accommodation

The prices for accommodation depend on area and the kind you are looking for. Students usually share accommodation with other students of different nationalities to improve their fluency of English.The rent in the City or its surrounding costs around 100 AUD per person per week. Accommodation in the suburbs of Sydney (that are only about 20 minutes away by train) the price may as low as 50 AUD per person per week. The average price is around 80 AUD per person per week.

Food

To take meals here in Sydney might be expensive but might be also cheap, depending on your choice of cuisine and the standard. Obviously cooking at home is cheaper than having meals in restaurants. If you prefer home cooking you might find very tasty 2 minutes noodles, pasta, beans, sausages, salami, frozen vegetables etc. Besides regular classic food you can also buy very cheap so called “low price” products that are of the same quality but in cheap packaging such as Home brand, Savings, No Frills, Farmland etc. and they are half priced.

For fruit lovers there is very popular and famous Paddy’s market that has a great variety with a predominantly Asian style. There you can buy cheap fruit and vegetables from Thursday to Sunday. The most convenient time to go shopping there is at 5.15 p.m. on Sunday. At 5.15 p.m. there is fierce competition for really good bargains. The sellers shout “One dollar, One dollar, One dollar a box…” and people run and buy everything they thing they need before it goes rotten. You can pay one dollar for 8 oranges, a big watermelon, rock melon or 12 apples. Does Australia seem to be expensive country?