What is the cost of living in Australia as an International Student?

It will all depend on the city you choose and how close you want to live to the city centre. If you are looking for a life experience in a big metropolis then your place is either Sydney or Melbourne; These cities offer a wide range of activities, entertainment and access to jobs. Generally, the cost of living in one of these cities is medium to high compared to cities like Brisbane, Perth, Sunshine Coast or Adelaide. See below a table reference of weekly costs:

Usually, all these expenses are paid on a weekly basis and include bills such as Electricity, Water and Internet.
Be mindful that the table above shows an average price to live around and within the city centre, therefore if you are looking at saving some money we recommend you to look for accommodation in suburbs a little further away.

Food and Shopping in Australia
 
There are 3 main supermarkets, Coles, Woolworths and Aldi; these are chains that you can find across the whole country and in which you will be able to find the necessary groceries for your every day living.

The average expenditure for International Students is around $60 to $80 Dollars for a single person and $80 to $150 for couples. If you are looking for competitive prices, we think Aldi the way to go!

Be aware that this expense will become regular and perhaps during the first month or two it could seem expensive.

Now if you are more into natural and organic there are several great options in each city where you can shop your food at great prices like:

1. In Melbourne, there is the South Melbourne Market or Queen Victoria Market, where besides great prices and fresh food you can enjoy a place full of food stalls to try bites from different regions. We recommend you to visit it on Wednesday nights for some fun mid-week activities. https://winternightmarket.com.au
2. In Brisbane, you will find the West End markets in Davies Park where you can easily spend 2 or 3 hours wandering around the food stalls amongst fresh fruits and organic products. This market in open every Saturday morning from 6:00 am
3. The Adelaide Farmers markets cannot be missed. Full of flavours and great prices for everyday groceries is something you need to add up to your list when living in Adelaide City.

Finally, we would like to share with you a small table of some basic foods and their prices for you to have an idea on the cost of living in Australia. If you would like to make some comparisons we also recommend you visit this link: Cost of Living