Conor Fallon, Macquarie University Spring 2024
I came to Sydney financially unprepared. I should’ve saved up more money, done more research on Sydney from a financial perspective, and enforced better personal spending habits sooner. Sydney is one of the most expensive cities in the world. The most expensive aspect of Sydney is the housing, which is another thing I should’ve been more proactive about. Finding housing in Sydney is extremely challenging. One of the reasons I struggled with finding housing was I didn’t know that Australia used this app called Flatmates for finding housing. For future students going abroad, it would be a good idea to become educated on popular apps in the country you are going to.
The location of the university I attended in Sydney was another issue. I knew I wanted to be in Sydney, but I didn’t know how large Sydney was, so I figured any university located in Sydney would suffice. Turns out that Macquarie University is a rather inconvenient distance from downtown, which is where all the beaches, nightlife, day markets, attractions, and culture are.
It’s hard to pinpoint one thing that surprised me the most with my study abroad experience. I didn’t prepare much for the experience, so I didn’t have a ton of expectations. As controversial as it may sound, part of the fun for me was throwing myself into a completely new environment and figuring out how to adjust to it. I’m not here to say whether that’s a good idea, but this study abroad experience was successful based on my own personal standards.
On a more positive note, one of the things that surprised me was the traveling aspect. I figured I’d do some traveling from Sydney, however, the amount I’ve done since actually coming down to Sydney exceeded my own expectations. Come to think of it, that’s probably where a lot of my money was spent!
Some of the places I went to include Byron Bay, Melbourne, New Zealand, Bali, Thailand, and Malaysia. Regardless of where you study abroad too, I recommend exploring other places beyond the main spot that you’re staying at. I feel like some people really want to focus on delving into the culture of one specific spot when they travel abroad, but I think with proper time management that can be accomplished with some time to spare. The study abroad experience certainly feels like the proper time to dedicate oneself to the exploration of many new ideas, places, and cultures!
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