Jacob Tessema
Spring 2024 Study Abroad student from Virginia Commonwealth University,
Richmond, United States of America
To all prospective students. I’m excited to share my insights about living in Sydney. I’ve learned a lot, and I hope my experiences can help you prepare for life here. Sydney is not all surfing, kangaroos, and koalas because of this I will be sharing my honest opinion on my Sydney experience, pros, and cons.
Life in Sydney
When I travel, I look at metrics: food, nature, development, and people.
The diverse food landscape made it impossible for me to try every place. Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, Italian, etc. there is bound to be plenty of places that you will love. Just watch out; the eating out adds up, so maybe try to bring these dishes back to your own kitchen.
Nature surrounding Syndey is also wonderful. Royal National Park, as well as the vast Blue Mountains, leave so much to explore. The Blue Mountains can be accessed through a train ride to Katoomba. To get to places that are harder to access by train and bus, my recommendation is to rent a car from the airport and explore.
Although the architecture in the central business district is wonderful, the biggest drawback of Sydney is the housing cost. I was unsure of the transportation situation in Sydney, so I chose an apartment in Newtown. Although this is a very cool and bustling location. If I were to do it over again, I would choose an apartment further out but close to a train station.
We do not say, “people make the place,” for no reason. Throught my 4 months here I can honestly say I did not meet a single person who was less than friendly. I don’t drink so I missed out on that part of the Australian experience, however, people are always down to have a chat and make connections. Going to a restaurant and having the staff remember what I ordered and having a good laugh with a barista makes a place feel like home.
Life at UTS
Coming from a university in the US, I appreciated the way UTS approached its courses. The classes I were taking were no slouch, but I rarely felt stressed. After spending some time reflecting, I can say with certainty it is due to the lack of exams. All my assessments were through group projects. This relieved the stress from studying, anticipation, and the actual exam. These projects still took a lot of time, however, the work felt more enjoyable. I had projects that connected to real-world applications and group mates who cared about the assignments. Your mileage will vary on that latter point.
Another stand-out thing about UTS is its diversity. This is a word that is thrown around a lot, but this is the first time I felt it. In one class I met someone from, Brazil, Malaysia, England, India, and Nepal.
The buildings look beautiful and made me feel happy to go to class.
The library and computer labs have plenty of space, though it may be hard to find a computer in the library during the day. I personally spent most of my time inside the UTS building eleven computer labs.
One difference that I did not appreciate was the class length. Every class was 3 hours long. Although I can understand the benefits, I could not pay attention past the 1.5-hour mark.
Transportation and Final Points
I think the transportation in Sydney is perfectly sufficient to live your life here, however, I recommend getting a bike. I think the exploration and enjoyment that can be derived from bicycling will outweigh the cost. As well as commuting costs will be reduced. If you are here for a brief time I suggest getting a used bike. There are plenty of ways to get cheap bikes, during my time here I worked with Revolve Recycle. They have a great mission, and they have used bikes. Also, for even cheaper, but less reliable options check Facebook marketplace.
One more plus that I want to discuss is the proximity to Asia and Oceana. The tickets are cheap, so if you have time and finances, I recommend getting some travel in. My favorite place I visited was Vietnam beautiful nature and food, also extremely wallet friendly.
Overall, I am very satisfied with my experience in Sydney, and I would recommend it. Just watch out for the prices, and do not bet on UTS for on-campus housing.
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