Where to Stay
When you first arrive, the best place to stay is a hostel located in the Central Business District (CBD) of whichever city you choose. The central location helps you get your bearings quickly, while hostels provide the perfect environment to make new friends doing the same exact thing as you. Hostels provide a built-in social scene and an ever changing group of friends before you start your travels. Australia has incredible hostels with a wide range of amenities for a comfortable long-term stay. Though pricey when compared to South America or Asia, they're ultimately the cheapest option for living in Australia. Additionally, they don't require a long-term commitment, allowing you to change plans on the fly without hassle.
Prices vary by room size. Private rooms are obviously the most expensive and we recommend saving your money for traveling instead. Room sizes can be as high as 20 people per room, but are typically between four and eight. While it can be annoying to live for a month or so in a room with eight or more people, it does save money and is fairly common in the backpacker world. When you make a hostel reservation (we recommend Hostelworld), you can email the hostel and say you would like to be placed in a room with long-termers. This can be be beneficial for your extended stay because you will get to know the people in your room extremely well and won't have to deal with the hassle of people constantly checking in and out of your room. There is also the option of a female-only dorm.
When picking a hostel, keep important features in mind when trying to maintain a healthy quality of life:
- Good wifi
- A nice kitchen
- Air-conditioning
- Safety
- Social common area
- laundry facilities
If you want to save money, cooking for yourself is imperative and a terrible, crowded hostel kitchen can ruin any chance of that happening. Bad air conditioning or noisy hostels can make it hard to sleep at night. Think of what you would want in a home when picking a hostel, but make sure to account for how many people you will be sharing it with. Some hostels are considered party hostels and will usually market themselves as such. While it can be fun to stay there for a weekend, it can be aggravating for a long-termer. Before booking, be sure to read reviews online; backpackers are great at keeping each other informed all things travel.
After about a month or so, you'll hopefully have made some friends and be ready to move into a real flat. It can take awhile to find your own place so it's best to start looking well in advance. Flats offer you more space and can sometimes be cheaper (for the right price), but usually sacrifice the prime location of the CBD and the social aspect of a hostel. However, many of the major cities have excellent transportation services to and from the suburbs into the CBD. Due to the large backpacker population, the Australian housing market is extremely competitive, but there are many short-term stay options. Flatmates.com, Gumtree.com and a facebook group called “Fairy Floss” are the most popular destinations to help find permanent housing.
After creating a Flatmates account, you can look at different postings available and put up your own personal ad specifying what you’re looking for. It even offers the ability to “team-up” with others looking for a house or apartment, which can be a good way to meet people who are looking for similar things as you. We recommend paying for Flatmates two-week service that allows you to easily contact people with listings; it can help shorten your search and make it easier to set up house viewings. Unfortunately, Flatmates does have a problem with scams. The site tries to monitor the activity on the site and take down any inappropriate behavior or false listing, but nonetheless, some sneak through the cracks. Gumtree has a similar problem as well. Think of Gumtree as the Craigslist of Australia. Many people have found it helpful when looking for housing (and work), but there is also a wide variety of creepy requests (especially for women) and scams on the website. Gumtree can be helpful in finding a listing, but can also be a waste of time, so beware. FYI: while we've heard a lot about these sites, our personal experience with them is limited.
Fairy Floss is a backpacker friendly Facebook group that you must be added to (ask us and we'll help!). It is mainly backpackers trying to find a sublet or someone to take over their lease in its entirety. While helpful, the group is extremely competitive and will require days of watching group activity intently. Once something matching your wishlist is posted on the site, make sure to respond immediately, as it will usually be filled within minutes (we are not kidding!). If you have a few days off or an afternoon to spend on the computer, keep refreshing Fairy Floss and you will be sure to find a viable option.
AirBnb is also an option when trying to find a long-term place to live, but is the most expensive option. Few places are available for months on end and they are not usually rented out to backpackers who are living in the city. It is possible to find one in the city, but ultimately we think you are better off checking the other sites.