Best Australian university/city with best citylife and country/culture?

Question

Hey there, I know that there was another question like this, but I am looking into studying abroad in Australia. The program I would take part of gives me options at ANU(Canberra), UofMelbourne, Monash u(melbourne), UofAdelaide, U of s.wales(sydney), UofWallongong, U of Queensland(Brisbane), UofSydney, UofW.Australia(Perth), and Uof Tasmania(Hobart).
So far I have liked what I have heard about Melbourne, Perth, and Brisbane. I enjoy beaches and beautiful scenery, and I also love the city vibe. Weather really isn't an issue. But what about the schools and how they fit in their many locations? Thanks to anyone who helps me out, and I no matter where I go, I know its going to awesome!

Hey there, I know that there was another question like this, but I am looking into studying abroad in Australia. The program I would take part of gives me options at ANU(Canberra), UofMelbourne, Monash u(melbourne), UofAdelaide, U of s.wales(sydney), UofWallongong, U of Queensland(Brisbane), UofSydney, UofW.Australia(Perth), and Uof Tasmania(Hobart).
So far I have liked what I have heard about Melbourne, Perth, and Brisbane. I enjoy beaches and beautiful scenery, and I also love the city vibe. Weather really isn't an issue. But what about the schools and how they fit in their many locations? Thanks to anyone who helps me out, and I no matter where I go, I know its going to awesome!

update: I am a psychology major, which im sure gives me many options. I am also from the San Francisco Bay area, California....if that helps. Thank you guys soo much for your help! i didnt think i'd get this much response, so thank you, thank you!

Answer 1

G'day,

As you can see, all answerers are backing up their cities. Now I'm a Melbournian like Walter and I used to be an international student as well. Now this is what I can say abt Melbourne from an ex-international student point of view:
1. First of all... some people do not like the weather in Melbourne (you can have 4 seasons in one day). However, if you read the second weblink from The Age newspaper, you will find out that the weather is still more preferable than the other cities. Sure you can have 42C day in summer, but almost immediately you'll get a much cooler weather pretty soon afterwards. It is very rarely that you got 2 or 3 consecutive days of hot weathers (unlike Sydney, Brisbane or Perth).
2. Melbourne is a city of diversity. If you are a newcomer, and you do not look 'Anglo-Saxon', you do not feel like an 'alien', since you can find almost every race in the world walking in the city. They are both immigrants and overseas students.
3. THE FOOD!! Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Thai, All-you-can-eat, African, Lebanese, Mexican, Sea Food... anything else? All available and lots of them in a very-very-very affordable price
4. Pretty good public transport system. With one ticket, you can switch from train, tram and bus. They do not always come on-time, but still reliable and improving (www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au). Good for students, since not all can afford car.
5. SHOPPING!!! Original branded clothing sold very cheap. There are even shopping tour, where the participants are taken to retails outlets just for shopping. Big temptations for ladies.
6. Crime rates... just read the third article on the bottom.
7. Night Life... hmmmm... I'll say the centre of nite activities will be Crown Casino and Docklands. Altho there are still plenty of cafe's and clubs scattered around the suburbs as well.
8. Tourist attraction. This is the area that I think Sydney is better than Melbourne, since it has most of it's attraction within its suburbs. Most Melbourne attraction are pretty much out of Melbourne, such as the gold mines in the cities of Bendigo and Ballarat, The Great Ocean Road, Lakes Entrance, Grampians, skiing in Mt. Buller etc.

Hope this helps. Good luck on your studies & welcome to Australia :)

Answer 2

When looking at which university you wish to attend, it would pay to look into which has a top reputation for the particular field you wish to study.
With Law and Medicine I would say Melbourne and Monash in Melbourne, Uni of Sydney and Adelaide. I am unsure of Uni Queensland.
For Asian Studies (which is my field), Monash then ANU, then Melbourne then Uni of Queensland.
I do not know what are the better unis for other areas of study.

As for Social Life, I would say Melbourne is better. The Food is better and more diverse in Melbourne and it is also considered the Cultural Capital of Australia. There are number of good beaches around Melbourne to visit during summer and only a few hours drive to the Snow fields in winter.

Sydney is a very fast and brash place, and more expensive than Melbourne or most places in Australia. Some of the beaches in and around Sydney are good.

Canberra is very cold in winter and hot in summer. There is very little social life available. It is only a short trip to the good snow fields during winter and about an hours drive to Woolongong for the beach.

Adelaide is a nice place to live with a pleasant climate. The city is smaller than most. It is the "City of Churches" and has a small, but nice Social Life.

Perth, in West Australia is considered a very nice place to live with excellent weather. I do not know about the social life, but believe that it is increasing. Beaches are supposed to be excellent.

Brisbane is beautiful with good weather and the university of Queensland is a short distance from the CBD and has a nice campus. The beaches in Southern Queensland are excellent.

Answer 3

My little brother goes to the University of Sydney. He seems to enjoy it. Most of the campuses are either in the city or not far from. So transport wouldn't be a problem. The only faculty that is a little further out is the veterinary science and agriculture (65 kms out from the city). Sydney is nice although I am biased as I was born there. If you like big city life then you would enjoy Sydney.
I live in Brisbane now and I think you might like it. The University is in a lovely suburb (St Lucia) only about 3 kms from the Brisbane CBD. If you decide on Brisbane I'd be happy to show you around Brisbane if you like. You can message me if you want to :)
Hobart is a nice place but honestly if you want a bigger city experience just go for a visit and live in one of the other cities. I have friends in Tasmania and I go there sometimes and while beautiful you just won't get to see enough it's a small place.
So yeah if you want to know anything in particular about Brisbane or Sydney message me. I'm sure where ever you go you will be welcome! ;)

Answer 4

Hi there.
People will argue about this, but probably the two "best" universities in that list are ANU and USYD. Unfortunately, ANU is in Canberra, which is a heatless place hours from the coast with horrible weather.
USYD is in Sydney. Sydney is everything people say it is and a hundred things more. It's a beautiful city with great beaches and bustling nightlife.
If you want something a little more laid-back, however, University of Wollongong is also very good, only about an hours drive down the coast, on the beach, and with very good resources. It's also a million times cheaper to live in Wollongong as opposed to Sydney which is not cheap. It's definately a smaller place however. I live there. :)

Answer 5

Melbournites cling to their silly idea of being the cultural and restaurant capital of the country. It was true, perhaps thirty years ago but no longer. The best restaurants in Australia are in Sydney these days. That being said, all the universities you mention are good. Some are better in some areas than others. My university is Sydney which is a wonderful university with a great social life - but all the universities have those.

Tell us what you are studying and we could help you better as each of those universities is very strong in some fields but not all - and their strengths are different.

Answer 6

Perth is the best in my opinion!! I live in WA and attend Murdoch University in Perth.
Perth is a smaller Australian city with a very laid back life style. The beaches are fabulous and everything is fairly close.
If you like a city that is clean, sunny, vibrant but not congested, cluttered or hectic then Perth is the place for you.

i enjoy Murdoch University but cant speak for UWA but it has a very good reputation. I think you will really like it.

Answer 7

I have a number of friends that go to UWA(perth) they love it and it is regarded as a great Uni here.
As for Citys, Perth and Queensland have have the best Beaches, but perth is closer to great beaches(10min drive from UWA), where as Brisbanes nicest beaches are about 1 drive away
Obviousley Melbourne and Sydney have bigger citys and more shops, but Perth and Brisbane are still big great Citys

Answer 8

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