The more I get to know about Macquarie University and Sydney, the more I am excited about going to Australia! It is simply amazing that such a dramatic change is happening in my life at this point of time. Two months ago, I was nowhere in life. Now I am at least somewhere. I am glad I am not undecided about my future, and that is a feeling I don't want anyone to feel. It is the most confusing point of time in your life, that moment when you simply don't know what to do in your life. But the moment you come out of this feeling and face the world with a hard-built conviction to follow a particular path you like very much, that is the moment you don't want to forget.
I am glad to have chosen Macquarie University. It is an amazing place and a pretty good university in Australia (ranked 9th). Its business faculty is way better than the one in University of Sydney. I got offers from both the universities but I chose Macquarie because of this reason alone. Also because of the cost, USYD was charging way too much for the tuition fees. Macquarie was okay for us.
After the offer arrived from MQ, everything else happened very quickly. I got my student visa within a week. I got my accommodation too within a week. That was real fast actually. This is cool... I feel very excited to go to Sydney. From what I saw on google map, it looks like an amazing place, calm and full of greenery. The climate too is not really extreme, it is a temperate climate. But I heard that July is its coldest month. And that is another thing about Australia. Their summer is December to February actually...
This is what my room might look like (but I will post actual pictures once I reach Sydney).
Amazing right? I got the East side apartment in the Macquarie University Village. I might be checking in there on the 20th or 21st of July. That means I will be leaving Singapore on the 19th of July. The prospect of leaving my family and everything else dear to me is daunting. But at the same time, the thought and the possibility of coming back to Singapore next year in January for a month is comforting. Not to mention the technology that has shrunk the world. My best friend in Sydney is going to be Skype...
04/07/2012 - Updates:
An anonymous commentor wanted to see pics of the East side hourses. Therefore, I want to post those pics here:
04/07/2012 - Updates:
An anonymous commentor wanted to see pics of the East side hourses. Therefore, I want to post those pics here:
10 comments:
Hey, I came across your blog looking for pictures of the east side of the village because I´m going to macquarie next semester..
Could you tell me what the east side looks like? If it`s a cool place? Because that pic is from the west side I think..
Thanks!
Hi Anonymous!
I have to say that the East side of the MUV is older than the West Side. As such, the buildings in the East side are a little dirtier, although this depends highly on the residents of the house. A lot of undergraduates and exchange students stay in the East side, therefore, it's quite noisy all the time with lots of party houses. Also, east side is cheaper than the west side houses.
Alright, just keep a lookout on this post. I'll update it soon with pics of the east side bedroom :)
Hi Priya!
Mi name is Bernardita, I'm from Chile and next semester I'll be going to MUV.
I was so interested in your post and experiences during your time in Macquarie, that I wanted to ask if you could give me any advices in which MUV village should I stay. East or West?
I'm not really interested in party's all week long and prefer to concentrate on my studies. Is the West side better for this? What type of people live in the West side?
I'm happy to receive any other advices or stories you had during your time in Australia :)
Thanks!
Hi Bernardita!
Thanks for commenting. Yes, the west side of the MUV is certainly quieter and a little better than the East side. Recently they have renovated the East side rooms, so now they must be looking new like the west side. Both sides have certain "party houses". But since more undergraduates live in the east side, it would be safe to assume that the east would be noisier.
I had a great time in MUV. Every week they have some events going on. For example, once a month there will be a movie night, and every fortnight they have RedFrogs Pancakes night. Then they do have other events like sports, competitions, etc. The resident assistants (RAs) of the Village organise these events for you :) They also have BBQ nights once or twice a month. In these events, you will get to meet the other students who live in MUV. You will make new friends and have a great Uni life with them! :)
If your concern is finances, then I would say, choose the East side as it is a little cheaper than the west. You can request for a house with quieter housemates and neighbours. I was initially very worried about getting a noisy house. My first house in the east side wasn't in a good location. My housemates were ok except for one guy who often brought his friends to the house and put on loud music. The next semester I shifted to the West side, and I was happier there.
My advice is before you decide, just inspect the house number they give you. Also ask the admin if you can try out for a week, and then shift if you find the housemates inhospitable. When you inspect, look out for posters, stereo sets, beer bottles, cleanliness of the house, etc. These might indicate whether it is a party house or not. If you have Asian (Chinese, Jap or HongKongers) housemates, they are generally quiet people and they won't socialise much, except with their own people.
I hope the information I've given will help you :) You're welcome to ask more questions :)
~Priya~
Priya thank so much for your answer! You really clear out a lot of questions I had and my mother feels relieved after reading your post hahaha :)
My one doubt is about the location you mention before. What do you mean that your house had a bad location? How can I prevent that?
Also I wanted to ask you about the West side. In what aspects is different to the East side? People? Location? Activities?
And finally, did you have a job while staying in Sydney? Does the Uni have some info about it?
Priya, thank so much for your answer you have no idea how much you've helped me. Please let's keep in touch, your advices are really helpful and I love your blog!
I'm planning a trip to the southern east and I'm absolutely in love with the culture.
With this trip I'm also trying to find my spiritual journey so I hope everything goes well :)
Anything you remember or you want to tell me about life in MUV and Sydney I'll be happy to read everything.
Lost of hugs from my family and hope to hear from you soon! Bye!
Hi Priya!
I send you a comment a few weeks ago. Did you receive it?
Because I think I did wrong hahahah. If not I'll send it agaib, I have a few other questions :)
Thank you!
Hey Priya..
Your Blog about Mq and MUV has been a huge help!! Cleared a ton of iffy question in my head.
So I intend to join Mq in July and Im guessing it gets pretty cold. Iv heard that aussi houses tend to get very cold even though the outside temp isn't that low. So would you need a space heater to survive or is it something that one could live without ?
Also I was thinking about getting the MUV linen pack as Ill be flying to sydney and baggage weight is a huge concern. Wanted to know if you had any experience with this, if the quilt they provide is warm enough and if the quality of the products are good.
Again thank you soooo much for putting up this post ! n_n
Hey Priya
Your blog about Mq and MUV is brilliant. I had a ton of iffy questions in my head about MUV ... most of which cleared after going through your blog :)
I intend to join Mq in July and stay at muv. So wondering if I would need a mini space heater of some sort? Iv read that most aussi Homes tend to get very cold inside even if the outside temperature aren't that low. Or is it something that one can manage without?
Also im planning on taking the linen pack offer that MUV provides. Do you have any idea about the quality of the items in the Linen pack... such as the quilt and if its warm enough for the winter.. etc
Again thank you so much for blogging about this :)
Hi Priya! your blog is very helpful :) I got my accommodation offer for the east side and was wondering if it was the right decision to make since the above comments seem like the west side a tad bit better .
I have also read on other MUV blogs that the laundry is a problem and also "expensive" is this true??
Anxiously waiting for your response--- i'm so nervous about starting off! :S
Hey Anonymous (the one above),
You need not worry about the East side! Because while I was leaving MQUni, they were renovating all the East side houses. So now it should be all new and clean. The only thing is that East side is more of the partying kind than the West side. If you like it, go ahead and stay in the East side! Before you check in, just ask the admin if they are willing to let you try out for a week and in the mean time you can check out your housemates plus your neighbours. If you don't like the house, you can request to move. But I'm not promising you anything, because if there are no other vacant rooms, then you can't move. So check with the admin. Request to them what kind of housemates you are looking for. For me, it doesn't matter whether you stay in the East or West, but as long as you have great housemates, it should be alright :) Have a great semester ahead!! :)
~Priya~
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