How to find long term and short term accommodation in Australia
The first step, many of us start after moving to Australia is finding the accommodation. Finding the right accommodation is a tedious process. Remember! You are not alone in this process. Every student or migrant go through this phase after moving to Australia. With some planning and networking, you can find some temporary accommodation. After you arrive, you can look for better accommodation that suits your life style and preference.
How to find accommodation in Australia?
There are number of ways to find the accommodation. I will provide you in detail the tips and tricks in finding good accommodation to make your life easy in Australia.
What should you take into account when choosing your accommodation?
There are various factors to consider depending on preference, life style and the suburb you want to live in. The below are important factors to consider:
Price: How much money are you willing to spend? This will determine not only the place you should look, but the type of accommodation you can afford. Also, keep in mind the rents are paid weekly in Australia unless otherwise stated. The weekly rent provided may not include other bills like electricity, water, gas etc. It is always better to confirm before finalizing the deal.
Location: Where you want to live? Your budget mostly determines your location. If you are migrant or student would like to stay closer to the university or work; the rents may be expensive than the farther suburbs. It is like anywhere in the world, the closer to the city the higher the rent for accommodation. It has its pros and cons and neither is better than the other. Just they are different with different features.
The bond or Advance: In most of the houses, you are asked to pay an advance or bond before started living in. This is usually between two to four weeks. And this bond is refundable upon completion of your tenancy. Only thing you have to make sure is the house is kept clean as it was before you moved in.
Unfurnished or semi-furnished: In most of the cases, unfurnished rooms are available for rent. And remember furnished rooms are bit pricy than the unfurnished ones. It all depends on your preference and lifestyle. When I first took my house, it was unfurnished. Later, I bought used necessary goods like bed, Fridge and washing machine.
Not all the furnished rooms have necessary things needed, you can buy used things on websites like Gumtree or Facebook Market places. During Christmas time, people give away some house hold goods for free. You can avail that option too.
What types of accommodation are you going to find?
There are many types of accommodation in Australia, one for each type of person. Assume yourself living in all of them. Which one makes you feel comfortable is yours!
Residence for international students:
Some Universities and institutions offer housing options for their students in residences. The price of this accommodation is usually higher than renting a room in a shared apartment. If you need it for a short duration until you find the accommodation of your interest, you can opt for these residence. They are safe and reliable.
Shared accommodation:
This is the preferred option for those who come to study and work in Australia. It is good to opt if you have plan to stay longer than 3 months in Australia. The rents of the house or apartment vary depending on the location. It works as in any other city, close to bigger city the higher the rent and vice versa.
Backpacker Accommodation:
You can find hostels or backpacker dormitories almost anywhere in Australia. They may be preferred option for the first few days until you find your desired accommodation. The price starts from $23 per day for shared rooms depending on the location. Hostel World has 35% cash back offer from cash Rewards. If you register to cash rewards here, you get $5 bonus in cash rewards account.
Living with an Australian/migrated family:
If you like family environment, this might be your option. It has its own pros and cons, if you are very independent this may not be your choice since family life implies a series of obligations. If you are ok then its a good start. My first accommodation was with a migrant family, I enjoyed living with them.
Renting the house/apartment on your own:
If any of the above options do not appeal you. Then this is another option for you. You can do this in two ways; one is transferring lease from someone already living in the place and the other is search for your desired place by visiting the real estate websites. However, there is a procedure for renting an apartment/unit in Australia; you need to pay 4 weeks bond in advance and show the evidence of your income for the past 3-6 months.
The 3 best websites to find accommodation in Australia
There are some websites that gives you the best outcome and strongly recommended:
Gumtree:
One of the famous websites that helps you to find a room in Australia. You can contact the people who are already offered to share their apartment/house or you can add a post with your requirements.
This is another well-known website with the list of all potential tenants.
This is one of the major real estate websites in Australia. This provides the information of houses/apartments for rent,share, buy and sell houses.
Facebook Groups:
You can leave a post in one of the face book groups of your interest. This also helps you immensely to find one.
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When to start looking for accommodation?
It is always good to start as early as you can. Below are some of the tips to make your life easy after you move to Australia. Searching accommodation is one of the tasks that you can do even before moving to Australia using Internet.
- At least two months before your arrival, start searching the suburbs you want to live in.
- Enquire with friends or relatives if they have anyone in your chosen suburbs to share accommodation for a month or two.
- Search in the above websites mentioned and find the room that suits your arrival day or week.
- If you are migrating with family and kids, mention the age of kids, number of weeks you need the accommodation for, food requirements etc. to have a smooth transition.
- It is recommended to opt for 3 months accommodation initially. This allows you to settle down with other things. Later, you look for other or continue with the existing accommodation. If you take one or two weeks, you will have trouble in looking for other accommodation soon after you arrive.
- When you are preferring shared accommodation, keep all the terms clear before moving into the house. This makes you and your co-tenant’s life easy in living together.
In summary, finding a room where you feel comfortable is not going to be complicated, if you plan and clear on your requirements.
