5 Reasons to Live and Study in Melbourne
5 Reasons to Live and Study in Melbourne
When deciding where you want to study and live in your late teens and early twenties there are few places in the world that can match the culture and vibrance of Melbourne; whilst offering world-class study options and opportunities.
The Accessibility/ Affordability
In 2018 and 2019 Melbourne was ranked as the world’s second most livable city on the ‘Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Liveability Index’, after Vienna in Austria. Even though we dropped in ranking in 2022, we are still within the top ten in the world and number one in Australia. The index assigns a score for over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. One of the factors that makes Melbourne so livable is the geographical layout of the city and the public transport system. As Melbourne is such a flat city, getting around on trams, bikes, scooters or walking is easy. It is also really affordable with tram rides averaging only a couple of dollars per trip and free in the city.
Great Universities and Opportunities
Melbourne was named Australia’s best student city in the QS Best Student Cities Ranking for 2022. It is also ranked sixth in the world. This is a testament to the quality of the nine Australian Universities in Melbourne. Three of these universities have over 70,000 students; these are University of Melbourne, Monash University and RMIT. Melbourne University is ranked number one university in Australia and 33rd in the world, according to Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022 and Academic Ranking of World Universities 2021. Melbourne is home to world-class academics and creatives as well as a pervasive entrepreneurial spirit. There are also more opportunities than ever for work post-COVID with many vacancies across several sectors. Victoria is also home to many of Australia’s most important public and private research institutions.
Supreme Entertainment, Food & Culture
Melbourne is often referred to as the cultural capital of Australia. The city has a packed schedule of sporting, cultural and entertainment events all year round including the Australian Open tennis championship, Spring Racing Carnival, AFL and NRL games and many world-renowned music, arts and literary festivals. Melbourne is also home to some of the country’s most impressive and eccentric art museums including the National Gallery of Victoria, the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image. One of the most exciting parts about Melbourne is the incredible laneway culture. The vibrant alleyways littered throughout Melbourne are brimming with incredible bars and restaurants, live music, quiet street-side book cafes and some of the best coffee in Australia if not the world!
City energy and Diversity
Moving away from home and particularly to a city environment offers a buzz of fresh energy and excitement that many young people crave after finishing year 12. Since Melbourne has reopened, and live events and festivals are back, the city is once again alive and possibly more vibrant than ever. One of the best things about Melbourne is its hugely diverse communities and the many different cultural celebrations; including but not limited to The Antipodes Festival, Melbourne Italian Festa, Chinese New Year, TET Festival, the Melbourne Fringe Festival and the Melbourne Queer Film Festival.
Melbourne’s Colleges
Melbourne is home to ten residential colleges: all with their own unique spirit. Moving out of home for university is incredibly exciting but it can also be quite daunting so living at one of Melbourne’s residential colleges makes the transition a lot more seamless and enjoyable. Students will live within walking distance of their university amongst a respectful and safe community of likeminded individuals. Students have meals catered for and access to study and wellbeing support when needed but are also provided the space to grow and develop new interests and passions as they develop their identity moving out of home. University College accepts 340 residents from University of Melbourne, Monash, RMIT, ACU and grads.