Looking for an apartment on site

The comfortable and simple variant is to book accommodation in advance through your organization. But if you are willing to invest a little effort in looking for an apartment, then I can only warmly recommend it. The reason I didn’t want an apartment near the university was because I saw this time in Australia as a unique opportunity to live near the beach. I was able to make this wish possible even after about two weeks of intensive search. I was able to buy an apartment in Mermaid Beach for which you paid $ 400 a week. If you have someone to exchange with you, this amount is divided by two. You won’t find any accommodation in Australia for less than $ 200 a week. In Australia you have to rent an apartment for at least 6 months. That made the search for an apartment more difficult at first. I therefore do not recommend visiting real estate websites, but rather going to complexes with holiday apartments. Write them directly or drop by.

Of course, you can already start this search in Switzerland, which increases the likelihood of finding accommodation. I found it in Mermaid Beach at the Park View Resort. Trisha and Terry, the managers of the complex, were very nice and made the stay a memorable one. It’s best to write them down before you go to Australia, as they keep taking in students. The complex is located three minutes from the beach. I personally spent a lot of time there. However, I learned from other students that they didn’t end up going to the beach too often because the university is 15 minutes from the beach.

However, the distance to the university should not be a problem. Since I shared the apartment with my boyfriend, we decided to buy a car together. But if that is too time-consuming for you, I have heard from other students who took the bus to the university every day and had no problem with it. However, if you are too lazy for this variant and have enough money, there is still the option of taking an Uber taxi, which costs an average of 15 dollars.

Of course, Mermaid Beach is not the only place that offers vacation rentals. You can also approach the apartment search in Burleigh Heads, Miami Beach, Broadbeach or Surfers Paradise. It depends on where your preference is as the locations are all different from one another.

Alternatively, a room in a shared apartment or similar can be found via Gumtree. The rule “Call!” Is also important here. The Aussies are totally uncomplicated on the phone, but nothing can be reached by e-mail.

Buy car

I recommend anyone with the financial means to buy or rent a car in Australia. Public transport is not of the high standard in Switzerland and Australia is definitely a car country. Any place on the Gold Coast can be reached by car in around 30 minutes, and Byorn Bay and Brisbane in around 1 hour. Pay attention to what you want to do with the car. Should it offer a lot of space, 4×4, or should it be rather small and compact? I bought a Toyota Camry Wagon and was totally satisfied.On the roof I had racks on which you could mount a surfboard and the interior offered enough space for luggage. My girlfriend and I could also stay in it without any problems. It is relatively easy to buy a car in Australia. Basically, you should inform yourself a little in advance about the conditions in Australia. The following link explains in detail what has to be considered and provides you with a large amount of information: http://www.autofahren-australien.de/autokaufoz

• Australia is a major country in Oceania continent. For information about Oceania, please visit businesscarriers.

A good car can be bought for as little as AUD 2500. There are several ways to get a car. The easiest way is to buy the car through Cheap Student Wheels (http://www.cheapstudentwheels.com). The advantage here is that the car is very likely to be in very good condition and you won’t have any problems. Furthermore, you get all the necessary documents and Brandon (seller) gives you the best information about the registration process, insurance, etc. This also has its price, which means that the purchase price is slightly higher than, for example, on Gumtree (http: //www.gumtree.com.au)

Gumtree is the equivalent of Ebay or Ricardo in Australia. A car can also be purchased relatively easily via this portal. Anyone who has experience in buying a car can do better here, as the purchase price is usually lower than with Cheap Student Wheels. The third option is to buy a car from a used dealer. However, I advise against this. The cars are mostly in excellent condition, but the price is a lot higher than on Gumtree.

In any case, make a thorough inspection of the vehicle (rust, oil leaks, etc.) and a test drive is also necessary. If you want, you can put the car through its paces at a garage for AUD 50 to be on the safe side. The car purchase is handled through a standardized sales contract from the Department of Transport and Main Roads (QLD). This can be obtained online or in these departments. It should be noted that it is the seller’s duty to have a safety certificate issued by a certified garage. This is usually associated with costs for the seller, which means that sellers on Gumtree do not have this certificate created in some cases. I would insist on such a certificate.

Insurance is pretty cheap in Australia. With REGO you also acquire CTP insurance (Compulsory Third Party Insurance). This pays for personal injuries that are caused by you. Additional insurance must be taken out to cover property damage. I recommend you to take out insurance with RACQ. This can be done conveniently by phone and takes about 20 minutes. A normal insurance costs you around AUD 20 per month. A fully comprehensive insurance around AUD 50 per month.

At the end of the semester you should allow at least two weeks for the sale. I sold my car through Gumtree without any problems and got a good price for it. Do not forget to purchase the safety certificate in advance.

Rent a car

Renting a car from Apex that can be picked up at Gold Coast Airport is worth considering. For the whole semester you can rent a four-seater for around 2000 CHF, which is not so much if you share the car with other people. Buying a car in this way can be very supportive, as what you buy can result in high repair costs or low resale prices. Of course, Uber during the semester is enough for less enterprising students.