Student’s Guide to Travelling and Living in Brisbane on a Shoestring
Home to reputable universities, such as the University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, and Griffith University, and is one of the cheapest major cities in Australia, Brisbane is the ideal place for students to study and live in.
It’s not every day that you’ll find a wonderful combination of excellent academic options and low cost of living.
Still, student living Brisbane Australia offers need careful planning and budgeting if they are to succeed in living comfortably well without spending more money than what they have.
What should a student like you need to do then?
How to Live and Study Affordably in Brisbane
Live in affordable student accommodation
With a wide range of student accommodation Brisbane has, expect to find one that will suit your budget. How much you will pay will depend on whether you want to live on or off campus.
To give you an idea of how much you’re likely to pay for student rentals Brisbane offers, check out the list below. Take note that the estimates are on a per-week basis and for fully catered accommodation.
- Single student on-campus: $480 to $645
- Single student off-campus share house: $120 to $215
- Single student off-campus apartment: $165 to $440
- Family (two adults, one child) off-campus apartment: $350 to $600
If you want to live in the inner-city of Brisbane, one of your best options is Student One, a premium student accommodation provider of single or shared apartments that are within the city and close to cafés and grocery stores.
Shop for food at farmer’s market
Once you’ve picked one of the student apartments Brisbane offers, the next thing you need to work out is the cost of your meals.
It is highly recommended that you cook and eat at home than dine outside. Shop at the city’s farmer’s market for the freshest products at affordable prices. Although you’ll need to do your shopping on a weekly basis, the savings you make will make the trip to the market worth it.
Of course, if you and your friends want to dine out, Brisbane has no shortage of restaurants with delicious mains that cost less than $20. You just need to look for them.
Buy clothes at opportunity shops
Known as op shops for short, opportunity shops have the clothes you need at a cost you can afford. They carry second-hand clothes, shoes, furniture, household items, and books.
With new stocks coming in every day, you should visit more often. Make it an early trip so you get first dibs on the items on sale.
Some of the op shops to hit include the Salvation Army, RSPCA, and Lifeline.
Optimize your student card entitlements
What makes student living Brisbane Australia has vastly different than in other countries is the huge number student discounts available. Simply present your student card and you can save big on the following:
- Public transport
- TransLink offers students a 50% concession rate if they have a TransLink concession go card or a valid full-time student card.
- CityCycle, the self-service cycling community in Brisbane, offers students 25% off their subscription if they sign up for an annual membership. What is even better is that the first 30 minutes on the bike is free.
- Fun activities
- The Australian School of Meditation and Yoga offers students a cheap yoga class if they purchase a 5 or 10-class pass.
- Riverlife takes $15 off abseiling and kayaking, $20 off rock-climbing, and $25 off stand-up paddle boarding for students with a full-time student card.
- Victoria Park allows students access to the driving range and unlimited putt putt for just $10 every Wednesdays from 4 – 9pm. For $15 more, they can get dinner from the bistro menu.
- For only $16.50, students can ride the Wheel of Brisbane and enjoy a 360-degree view of the city from South Bank.
- Movie and culture
- At the Cineplex, tickets for students start at $5.50.
- At the Event Cinemas in the Myer Centre, students who are members of CineBuzz are offered tickets at just $6.50.
- The La Boite Theatre Company offers students who are concession card holders discounted tickets for 3 and 5-play passes and $25 student tickets on selected plays.
- The Queensland Theatre Company offers students under 30 50% off play packages in three, five and eight.
- The Musica Viva Australia allows students to pick up an under 30s ticket for only $30 that will give them passes to watch world-renowned music ensembles at the Griffith University, Queensland Conservatorium Theatre, and QPAC.
- QAGOMA, the largest modern art gallery in Australia, offers concession tickets for paid exhibitions and a number of free exhibitions.
You can even get discounted haircuts from Elysium Hair and the Brisbane School of Hairdressing.
Make sure to ask the university you’re enrolled in for a list of retailers and institutions that offer concessions and student discounts.
With all these discounted options to go with your affordable student accommodation Brisbane offers, studying and living in this part of Australia would be less stressful to your pocket.
So what are you waiting for? Get ready for an epic stay in Brisbane.
If you’re looking for information on affordable travel tips and tricks, check out the rest of Affordable Travel Plan.
