Hi all,

I found out a couple hours ago that I was accepted into the study abroad program! I'll either be at ANU (Australian National University, Canberra) or UA (University of Adelaide). Any Aussies have any tips for me? Cost of living, weather, what I should expect, etc? Right now, weather is great in Los Angeles (I go to UCLA), and it would be a shame if this is not the case when I am there from mid-July to late-November. Any helps or tips are GREATLY appreciated!!

If only I could bring my MINI with me...

Ellis

 

You'll love Australia! I've been four times and wish I could live there. I've only got experience with the Sydney area Pirates - you'll have good luck interacting with Australian MINI owners via mini2.com - search out the Pirates thread for some truly interesting reads.

And if you miss your MINI while in Australia, put some feelers out on MINI2 for some of the locales to take you out on their runs.

Truly nice people and they will take you under their wing! Good luck!!

 

I believe Canberra has a fair sized MINI club.
I lived in Canberra until I was 8. It's a nice city, designed specifically to be the national capital, not unlike Washington, but with much less crime. The weather will be a bit cooler than LA, with about a 2 hour drive to ski slopes.
Everything is more expensive than in the US. Pretty much everything.
July is the end of winter, November is the end of spring. Canberra is beautiful that time of year. There are lots of clubs and pubs and a few music venues and one of the best music stores I've ever been to is Impact Records in Civic (middle of Canberra). Canberra is about a 2 1/2-3 hour drive from Sydney for when you want to do the tourist things. Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, the Blue Mountains ... all that stuff.

Adelaide is a much older city and kinda quiet. Known as "the city of churches" it's surrounded by some of the best wineries in the world. Used to be home of the Australian Grand Prix until Melbourne stole it.

Adelaide is on the coast (Canberra is inland) and significantly further south than Canberra, so it gets colder.
Australia is one of the few places in the world where Americans are made to feel welcome. You'll have a great time in either, but if I was making that choice, I'd pick Canberra. Admittedly, it's because I know the city a lot better, but I think it would be my pick anyway.
Watch out for the beer. It's stronger than you think. Congrats on the acceptance into the program.

 

I've been readying myself by drinking Foster's (australian fo bee-ah).

 

Just drink Sam Adam's - it closer in taste to VB! You'll be hard pressed to find Fosters in Australia - and if you ask for it they'll immediately know you're not from the area.

 

Ooo gotcha!! What's VB?

 

VB=Victoria Bitter -- mmm yummy.

 

Fosters is Australian for "Gee, Americans are gullible!".
If you're going to Adelaide, you'll be drinking Coopers which is available in at least some parts of the US (easy to find in Vegas).
In Canberra, you'll be mostly drinking Tooheys (pronounced two-eeze or "new"), Victoria Bitter (pronounced VB) or Old. Try them all, plus whatever the guys you're drinking with are having until you settle on the one you like best. You'll always be drinking with someone. Unless you specifically try, you'll always have someone to hang out at the pub with.

 

"Vitamin Beer". "Vital Breakfast".
Nectar of the gods.

 

hahaha nectar of the gods. Are there any Australian drinking games I should be looking forward to? I like how this thread has shifted towards Australian drinking. from me!!

 

One of the most popular drinking games in Aus is to see if the foreigner can keep up with the locals. It's rarely (if ever) won by the foreigner.
Other than that, we generally take our drinking seriously, so drinking games aren't a big part of being in a pub. Pool or darts might be though. Often played for a beer per game.

 

If you want any non-beer related info, ask away.

 

I want to visit the Great Barrier Reef or any other Australian outdoors-y type thing. Any advice?

Oh, and thanks for the spaced roof stripes inspiration, Agro. I love it more and more each day (if that is even possible because I was in love with it when I first got it).

 

It depends whether you're gonna be in SA (South Australia/Adelaide) or the ACT (Australian Capital Territory/Canberra).
SA has lots of cool green areas, vineyards for wineries, access to The Great Ocean Road which is one of the most scenic drives in the world and some excellent though cold beaches.
ACT is enclosed in New South Wales (NSW, my home state) much like DC is inside Maryland. NSW has The Blue Mountains, with some amazing scenery, Canberra is close to the Snowy Mountains with excellent skiing, hiking, motoring, etc.
To hit the Reef from either, you're going to want to fly to Cairns and do the day trip out to the outer reef. I did it on my honeymoon and the whole trip was phenomenal! We did scuba diving on the reef one day and went up into the rainforest the next day. Have a look at www.qantas.com for airfares to Cairns.