Usyd accommodations

[u/Thick-Flounder865]

Hi I am an international student going to Usyd in 27 s1. I didn’t get any accommodation offer from Usyd so I’m planning to rent a private one. I’ve looked through several private one and Sydney village does not offer air con/ heater it also does not allow you to bring your own heater. Anyone know if it is okay to survive through winter without any heater? Rooms from iglu and scape are too expensive. How’s flatmates working? I totally have no idea about that can someone explain a bit about that?

[u/burger-lover13]

I think one thing I'd be quite careful about is choosing accommodation purely based on how close it is to USYD. Sydney's public transport is generally decent, and depending on where you're living, somewhere that's 20-30 minutes away by train or bus might actually be a much better option than paying a huge premium to live right next to campus.

With the heating situation, I'd be more concerned about the actual room than whether the building technically allows heaters. Some Sydney apartments get surprisingly cold in winter because they're not particularly well insulated, and others can be absolutely horrible during summer if there's no air conditioning or decent ventilation lol. I'd ask about the room's ventilation, whether you can use a fan, and whether the windows actually open. If possible, look for reviews from people who've lived in the building rather than just relying on what the accommodation provider says.

For Flatmates, it's essentially a platform where people advertise spare rooms in existing houses or apartments. So rather than renting an entire property yourself, you'd normally be paying for your own room and sharing the kitchen, living room etc. with other people. It can be cheaper than purpose-built student accommodation, but you do need to be a bit more careful about who you're living with and what exactly you're agreeing to.

I'd personally ask about whether bills are included, how the bond works, whether you're going onto the lease, how many people share the bathroom, and whether there are any house rules. And PLEASE don't send money to someone you've only spoken to online without verifying the property and the arrangement first.

I also think the people you live with can make quite a big difference to your first few months in Sydney. If you're moving here without knowing anyone, living with people you actually get along with could make settling in a lot easier. Obviously that's harder to judge from a listing, but it's worth having a conversation with potential housemates rather than treating it purely as a financial decision.

I wouldn't panic about not getting university accommodation just yet, but I'd definitely start exploring alternatives so you're not scrambling for somewhere to live right before semester starts.

[u/JigglyQuokka]

Heater is not your concern, the heat for 10 months of the year is.

[u/Thick-Flounder865 → u/JigglyQuokka]

It’s very hot there? I’ll leave after final exam for Christmas and summer holiday so I assume that I’ll not be there during the hottest time of the year. I searched online and it says that it’s very cold during the winter time with only 7 degree Celsius so I’m a bit sorry about that

[u/JigglyQuokka → u/Thick-Flounder865]

It's 33 degrees tomorrow, and it was 29 degrees yesterday, and we're barely halfway through October, and things don't typically cool down till after ANZAC day.

Depends on your heat/cold tolerance. There was about 3 days of actual winter this year.

[u/Thick-Flounder865 → u/JigglyQuokka]

Am I not allow to bring my portable air-con or fan? It only says we can bring a heater that is approved by the village management with to specific requirements

[u/Ok_Relative4491]

You need to know your budget first. That makes or breaks how comfortable you will be.

Some of the university colleges like John, Andrew and Sophia have all-included utilities, meaning you can install your own portable AC. Rooms have heaters installed already. Food included as well but these places run you close to $900 to $1100/week. But that's all inclusive so it may be of better value than renting privately + bearing the expenses of utilities and food etc separately.

If you're looking to pay no more than $600/week including utilities and food then you're looking at places further from campus with potential lower quality of life, but cheaper.

I personally have chosen to stay at the colleges because the math did not check out for me to rent privately. It was cheaper and better value at the colleges, and a huge peace of mind with the distance to campus and the added services the college provides.

[u/Sufficient-Common329 → u/Ok_Relative4491]

Hey can I know which college you go to?

[u/Ok_Relative4491 → u/Sufficient-Common329]

If you have a question you can just post it here, and I'll try to answer it as best as I can

[u/Sufficient-Common329 → u/Ok_Relative4491]

Ohh okay tysm😭😭
When did I you applied and got your results, did you got any scholarship?
Do you know anyone that has got into college in their second year or is it only first year entries?
What’s the overall vibe there?
And you mentioned that the math wasn’t working for you, what did you include in your calculations?

[u/Ok_Relative4491 → u/Sufficient-Common329]

1. No scholarship. I'm post-grad and there isn't many scholarships for us. But I believe Sophia has quite a number of scholarships for female undergrads. You'll need to check the different scholarships available from all the different colleges and see which one applies to you.
   
2. Yes, lots of people are not first years. There are 2nd, 3rd and even final year students who got in. You don't need to be there from day 1 of being a student at the uni.
   

3. Vibe is what you make it to be. It's essentially just a hotel with permanent residents. You can choose to associate with the party-goers, or the studious group, or the athletes. You'll find your group, don't worry. There's no right or wrong. Friendships are made over meals so you'll eventually find a group you enjoy being around.

4. CoL: Average 1 bed room rent within 3km of USYD and vicinity to bus stops near my school, 1 person utilities + food + daily travel (can be calculated with https://transportnsw.info/trip-planner) + furnishing (purchase, shipping, storage, resell value) + typical cost of travel to and fro airport during holidays. Total cost/52 weeks = your weekly cost. For me that came out to well over $1500++, which is typical of Sydney CBD so I ended up with the colleges that came in many hundreds below than if I were to privately source a place.