My experience as an international student in Australia
Before I start, I should do some housekeeping. The main thing is that I only have been here for like a couple of months so, all thing what about say is can be subjective to change in the future. Okay now, that is out of the way, I would like to share my experience.
The first thing is that, if your parents don’t have a lot of money, the first few months are going to suck, especially if you are in a regional area. I know, how I start my essay is not the best, but this is the truth. One reason is that you don’t have the experience of how to handle life. If you are someone like me who came from South Asia, lifestyles are drastically different from Australia. So, if you just drop on to this new country and new lifestyle, it is going to suck. You have a lot of things to worry about, make food or do everything your parents did for you, you have to do alone. Even though life sucks at first, after you adapt to this lifestyle, things are going to little bit better. Of course, there are exceptions to this scenario but for the majority, this is the reality.
The second reason is the job opportunities. I think this is only true if you are planning to live in a regional area. The truth is that the jobs are somewhat rare in regional Australia. That does not mean that you can find a job. It means that it is hard to find it. Somehow if you manage to find a job, the income from that job is somewhat sufficient to survive there. One reason is that the rent of a room for a single person is low compared to a “big city”. Another thing is that because regional cities are smaller, traveling expenses are going below. On the other hand, there is a lack of public transport mediums in a regional area when compared to a big city. Even though some expenses are low, other expenses can be high compared to a big city. A good example of this is a car. They are sooooooo expensive compared to cars in a big city. If you need to buy a new car, go to a big city and buy from there.
The third is that having a partner is so helpful. I mean it is not a mandatory thing but it can have one that could be the difference between life and death. I am not saying that you should get married and stuff. I mean if you can find a reliable partner, your expenses are going to decrease. At the same time, expenses are going to go high, but the benefit is that you can share your expenses. That is a huge thing. Meantime, responsibilities also going to be divided between each other. Obviously, not all the responsibility, but things important for day-to-day activities will decrease. In long term, you might think that this is a burden. In the short term, it could be useful.
These are things I learned in the first few months in Australia. I hope this was useful when you first arrive in Australia. I don’t want to scare you anyway. You have to know the truth when coming here. Trust me, Australia is not the country that you dreamed of. From my experience, if you can put in the work and the effort it can be your dream country.
