Teaser: Brisbane Guide!
Brisbane doesn’t try too hard — it just is cool.
River sunsets, rooftop beers, weekend escapes to island paradises… and kangaroos casually chilling near your bus stop. It’s safe, sunny, and way too fun for how chill it looks.
Here’s a sneak peek. Full guide drops once you join 🦙
🏠 Where to Live (Preview)
Forget the overpriced residences — Brisbane = Coloc land.
🛏 Flatmates Finder is the app everyone uses.
Most students ended up in big shared houses (sometimes 22 people 👀) or cozy 2-person colocs in neighborhoods like:
Kangaroo Point: 10 min to CBD, by the river, quiet + chill.
West End: Young, central, full of cafés and culture.
South Bank / Spring Hill / Fortitude Valley: Closer to party zones.
Student One = most popular residence.
Clean, central, but around $1000–1200 AUD/month.
“Great location but sooo expensive.” – Karl
“Found my coloc two weeks before leaving. Don’t stress if you don’t have anything locked. Aussies post listings last-minute!” – Juliette
🎉 Going Out (Preview)
Brisbane goes harder than you think.
🍸 Best Bars & Clubs:
Fellons: Riverside bar + piano nights = 10/10 vibe
The Met & Prohibition: Fortitude Valley = your new going-out base
Maya Rooftop: Boujee views, expensive drinks, worth once or twice
Bonus: Weekly uni parties (Toga night = iconic), tech events, and festival weekends in Gold Coast.
Or… casual BBQ nights by the river on public grills? Pure Australia.
📚 Uni Life (Preview)
Most of you will land at QUT — which means campus in the middle of the city, minimal class hours, and maximum free time.
Bachelor = chill. Few exams, some group work, most lectures recorded.
Master = a bit more intense, but still doable if you’re smart.
“12 hours of class. Half are lectures I skipped. Still passed.” – Clémentine
Pick the right electives (like marketing or HR), and your semester will be smooth sailing.
✈️ Travel (Preview)
Weekend = Roadtrip. Always.
Short ones: Byron Bay, Noosa, Gold Coast, Stradbroke Island
Big ones: Fraser Island, Sydney, Melbourne, Uluru, Great Ocean Road
Bucket-list: New Zealand, the Whitsundays, and wild islands like Samoa or Fiji
💸 Train, ferry, and bus rides are $0.50 with Go Card. You read that right.
Student Reviews
QUT
🇦🇺 Exchange in Brisbane
🏠 Housing
I was at Student One in Brisbane, found it through a housing site. Honestly, super good location but yeah… kinda expensive. I paid around €1,060/month, had 4 roommates. But everything was close — uni, shops, everything.
🚗 Getting to Campus
My place was right by the university, so I just walked. Super convenient. No transport stress.
✈️ Travel Life
Bruh I went everywhere: Philippines, Indo, Thailand, Japan, Fiji, NZ, Samoa, West Coast Oz. Exchange was just a base for travel honestly.
🎉 Social Life
Student One was pretty social. Met some cool people, but you gotta be proactive. The good thing is you're right in the action.
📚 Classes
I did a Double Degree in Applied Finance. It’s not the easiest but if you’re organized, it’s manageable. No big drama.
🦙 Other
Watch out — Australia is crazy expensive. Worth it, but your wallet will cry a bit.
🇦🇺 Exchange in Brisbane
🏠 Housing
Lived in this massive house called Westella, found it through friends. No link really, just google it. We were 22 people in the house, mostly international students. Paid about €145/month (insane for Brisbane). It’s in West End, super chill area.
🚗 Getting to Campus
Like 25 min walk to QUT. Honestly pretty easy. Uber was like 10€ to party areas.
✈️ Travel Life
Took a full road trip on the East Coast, was sick. Sun, beach, vibes. Do it.
🎉 Social Life
It was wild. The house was full of people who wanted to go out, travel, hang out. Always something going on. Best way to meet people if you’re not shy.
📚 Classes
Took marketing + some finance. Go for the ones you already did at your business school, it’s chill that way. Avoid killing yourself with hard classes.
🦙 Other
Westella is amazing if you love community life. But yeah, you gotta be cool with sharing everything and speaking English non-stop.