Who murdered those 2 students in Sydney?

I have many questions about Sydney and Macquarie, local insight would be greatly appreciated and US students t?

• I’m am going to be going to Macquarie university for the first semester of 2010 from February – July or august. I have many questions that I need answered. How much dose the food cost on average (milk, bread, beer, or takeout food or a eat in restraint in and out of the city)? How much are goods such as clothing, backpacks, alarm clocks as compared to the united states? When I go I am trying to decide if I should buy an car for like 700-800 Australian dollars or since Macquarie put in an train station should I buy an pass even though I don’t know if they offer an unlimited pass for an half year. I read somewhere that in Australia kids to go an local university and don’t end up traveling so the university “dorm/party” life is not as promenade as it is at an big college in the United states, is this so and what type of college life is their? I was also told that it is hard for foreign exchange students to make friends with the local Australian students that the college due to a lack of university dorm living, does anyone know about this? Besides going across the coat hanger, taking an guided tour of hunters valley, doing the harbor fary, visiting the rocks, Luna park, and the opera house what would you subject I do wile I am in Sydney for my semester? What is the mindset of the Australian, I have lived in northern VA where people are often very materialistic and in Morgantown WV where the party/sports life is very active but I have no clue about what people in Sydney are like? What are the women like in Sydney, the stereotype is that they are blond and in good shape, also since they slightly outnumber men and Sydney has one of the highest gay populations in the world that there is an good number of single women in Sydney, is this an correct assumption? Finally just tell me what you know and I will be great full. Thank you for your time and I am looking forward to some true insight as to what my life will be like.

• Answer:

  I'll try to answer your questions. Food prices: see http://grocery.bestpricedirectory.com.au for some supermarket prices. For a simple takeaway or restaurant meal such as Chinese expect to pay around $10-$15/dish, pizza pay around $10 each. A nice restaurant meal may be $20-$35 for a main course. Other goods will be similar or a little dearer than in the US. Cars in Australia are expensive, an $800 car will be very old, and you will also have to pay to register it, plus petrol is dearer here. If you're on a budget stick to public transport. http://www.cityrail.info/fares/commuter_tickets.jsp It's true there isn't too much dorm/party life at Aussie unis. You make friends and go out with them, but you don't generally party at the university itself. It's not hard to make friends though and you'll have plenty of fun. I suggest you visit the tropical north before you leave if you can afford it (Cairns/Port Douglas), go in winter (July, August). I'd suggest going to the beach at least a few times, and going to watch or even play some sports you're not very familiar with, eg cricket, Rugby League football, netball, Australian Rules footaball. Also do a trip to the Blue Mountains. Australians tend to be very casual and dislike formality, love sports, not very religious at all, love traveling, and enjoy a joke. They tend to be what Americans call 'liberal'. Australia is very multicutural, so the sterotype of blond surfer isn't really correct, Aussies are very diverse. There is a high gay population in Sydney, it's one of the gay capitals of the world. There are plenty of single women, it's a big city.