While hostels are a popular way to stay in Oz at an affordable rate, it often isn’t an ideal way to live in for longer stays. Hostels in Oz are quite famous for having lower quality and standards compared to hostels in Southeast Asia and even Asia in general. However, that does not mean that it’s impossible to get a good place with an affordable rate. It just means you have to be more diligent to dig more.
Consider where you’re going to go first in Oz
Determining where you’d like to go first in a long-term visa is often not an easy task at all. Australia is a large country spanning the whole continent. it’s easy to get confused and somewhat lost because of the sheer size of options that awaits you.
A year-long visa like the work and holiday visa should be able to afford you with plenty of chances to explore the whole continent, if you so wished. And for many people, they love to stay in a place and get to know the area intimately—living like a true local. But what of things like accommodation? Where do you suppose you’d like to stay?
Starting out at a hostel is OK
While many travelers find it less than ideal to stay at a hostel for a prolonged time, staying at a hostel can be an acceptable way to start off your accommodation. While you will lack privacy during the entirety of your stay at a hostel, it can be the easiest way for you to meet people in the first few days or weeks of your stay in Oz. Websites you can try to browse through is HostelWorld, Booking, etc.
Dig through the Aribnb options
Staying at a house with a local is something that can yield a better and often more rewarding experience compared to staying at a hostel. You’ll get to meet a local, and you may even get to make some meaningful connections while you’re there. The only downside to Airbnb is that extending your stay won’t be possible. Unless the dates of your planned extension haven’t been booked, of course.
An affordable Airbnb is a great option in place of booking a hostel. It affords you with a more private place and often, more comfort. Good airbnb spaces that are affordable for backpackers are often not located exactly in the city centers. As they’re owned by the average locals like you, they’re often located at the residential area or neighborhood. But it’s definitely not difficult to find places that are still very much in the city—just a quieter part of it (which is so much better in many cases)—and those that are only a couple of train rides or stations away from places like a CBD. A lot of travelers have found Airbnb to be a pretty solid option for even longer stays ranging from 1 to 3 months of days booked.
While we’ve sorted out the matter of starting out when you’ve just arrived in Australia on your long term visa, on the next post, let’s talk about more options. Sites that would be covered would be those popular sites like Gumtree and Flatmates.
