About the rent

Hi everyone!

Today I want to talk about another very important topic: rent options and prices in Sydney! I’ve been asked about this matter many times throughout my time in Australia… from friends, to people who are just planning to live here, or even my parents who are just curious about how things work in this country… everybody seems to be interested about rents!

We all know that here in Australia the minimum wage is very high compared to any other in the world. So I urge you to not be shocked about these prices I am going to say right now: the rent in Sydney can be minimum 100 dollars per week, and up to maybe 500 dollars per week. I know this is a lot of money, but let me explain first…

I see many Brazilians, for example, sharing a room with 2 or 3 other people, while living far from the city center. So of course they pay lower prices, like 100 to 120 per week. It’s the “price” you pay (or don’t pay, in this case) to lose some comfort and privacy. But everybody has a different plan or goal, so I won’t be here judging people’s choices.

If you want to live closer to the city center, closer to your school, your work… or if you just prefer to live close to beach, than you will pay more. And of course, if you prefer to have your own room, or your own apartment, then the price increases more and more. There is no limit on the rent prices, but I said 500 before because I really doubt students can afford something higher than that.

In my last post I said students are allowed to work just 20 hours per week, and the medium salary in hospitality jobs is around 20-23 per hour. If you count the costs of eating, having internet plan, public transport and etc, you understand why I said 500 is the maximum affordable. And I really believe 99% of students here pay no more than 300 per week, otherwise they can’t live. You must remember that almost nobody has money to pay for all the studies in advance, so let’s not forget school payments as well.

In my case, I share an apartment with my wife, and we pay 450 dollars per week, which is basically 225 per person per week, with bills included (phone, internet, tv plan, gas, water).

So as you can see there are many variables on rent prices. You need to understand what you might have to lose or give up, before choosing what’s best for your current situation.