Which city should I choose in Australia?

I can't begin to answer all your questions, but I'll give you some tips, Australians aren't by nature arrogant people, manners and courtesy are the order of the day. Australia is also a pretty laid back, casual kinda of place with friendly accepting people who treat others as they treat them. All our uni's have very good reputations but I think Sydney uni is the most prestigious. You don't need a car in Sydney, public transport is reasonably good. Most of us have a healthy respect for our law enforcement officers. We have our fair share of social problems like any big town or city but not as bad as some around the world. Our women are treated as equals and we blokes would'nt have it any other way. Just be yourself, respect the laws and culture of our land and have a great time in OZ.

Big question. First off, I'd stick to one of the larger cities. It's easy enough to get out to the city, and most of the country is empty so I'd stay stick to a larger place that has 24 food and all the basic amenities. That essentially gives you Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Adelaide and Melbourne get the most weather. Not so much snow, but cold and rainy in the winter. Sydney and Brisbane are essentially pretty nice year round. Of the two, I'd lean towards Brisbane. Sydney's the major city and acts like it. I found people there more image conscience and it's the largest population basis so the most different cultures. It's a very spread out city, with North and South Beaches, downtown and western suburbs. It sprawls similar to LA. Brisbane I found nice. It's definitely smaller but I found it a decent enough size. It's built on a river which oxbows around the city, and gives the downtown a nice feel. The added bonus for me is that Brisbane is close to a lot of nice places on the East coast, Byron Bay, Surfer's Paradise, Gold Coast and Noosa, Fraser Island and Agnes Water. A lot of nice places to take short trips to on weekends. If you don't mind the cooler weather then I'd look at Melbourne. I found it far friendlier than Sydney, I'd meet people every time I went out. It's a major city that has a lot to offer. I liked Adelaide as well, but Melbourne is a far livelier city, more multi cultral and it has the best club/night scene that I found in OZ. I'd look into buying a car or van while there. You can buy one cheap, second hand, there's a thriving market of cars being bought and sold by backpackers who come to OZ. If you're patient, you can find some real bargains, especially from people who's visas are running out and need to sell the car in the next 6 hours before getting on a plane. Finally, when it comes to Aussies, no worries. Yeah, there is some racism in OZ, but only in rare occasions is it a real problem. Mostly, it's sorta friendly, if that makes any sense. Aussies will give you grief whomever you are, and race is the easiest thing to make fun of. Watch the wedding scene from, "The Castle," as a good example of this. Mostly, I found Ozzies incredibly warm and friendly. The accent is easy to pick up as is the local lingo. There is also a large backpacker population, mostly European, but also from all other spots, so it's ease to travel around and take in some of the sites. I hope this all helps, let me know if you have any further questions. I spent a year in OZ and loved it there.

If you can stand a colder winter (rain - not snow) I would suggest Melbourne. RMIT is the most prestigeous university on your list. Melbourne is the most multicultural city in Australia and is therefore more accepting of other races. Melbourne has very good public transport. Melbourne is the second biggest city on your list although it is probably only medium by international standards. Crime and drugs are probably the same as any medium to large city. If Melbourne is too cold for you then Sydney. Again Sydney is quite mulicultural and therefore you should fit in quite well. Sydney has better beaches than Melbourne. Sydney is the biggest city on your list although it is probably only medium by international standards. Crime and drugs are probably the same as any medium to large city. Definately not Newcastle or Wollongong because stereotypically smaller towns like this tend to be more racist. If you need summer all year long, then Brisbane is the city for you. It is however a very small city by international standards and it is situated in Queensland which can be quite "redneck" once you leave the city. Queensland has the best beaches out of those on your list. I wouldn't pick Adelaide because it is a very small city with weather the same as Melbourne and doesn't offer anything that Melbourne doesn't. Which brings me back to Melbourne.

G'day, I used to be an international student from South East Asia in Australia. I will try to help you abit... In regards to the course that you want to apply for... depending on your previous education background. MBA is basically for ppl who are not educated in business area (eg. engineers or musicians). However they may setting up their own business or getting a higher promotions in managerial level and suddenly realised that they need to know more in regards to handling the business/organisations. Most of the activities in the MBA class are exchanging ideas and experiences from the fellow classmates. That's why one of the entry requirement is minimum 2years work experience in managerial level. The other Masters program that you have been offered a place or already applied for are specialisation courses and will benefit you most if you have business education background already, as they are to "Deepen your knowledge". From the 4 countries you mentioned, Australia is most likely have the lowest cost of living, and probably the lowest tuition fee as well. Living cost... Sydney has the highest living cost, followed by Melbourne & Brisbane, then Perth, Adelaide, Newcastle and Wollongong the lowest. I'm sure that the website from each uni has the info abt the living cost and the city itself for international students. Natural disaster in all Australia at the moment is the water crisis. If you want a city with warm weather all year around, then your best choice will be Darwin, which has only one uni, Charles Darwin University (http://www.cdu.edu.au/international/). Even Brisbane can sometimes has it's own cooler days (25C) during winter. Racism... It exist everywhere. However I certainly do not feel it. I have to say that I was treated worse in my country of origin than in Australia for sure. I speak English with an accent but I feel like I've been living here all my life. Criminal... not too bad. Every city in the world has the same problem with drugs, car theft and robbery, but this is the comparison: If there's a grandma who's handbag got stolen, it becomes a big news headlines for the whole state. In some countries, it barely make it for a small article in a local newspaper. Stores: Hmmmm... some international students felt that Australia is quiet and boring, and this is from the students who lives in Sydney, the biggest city in Australia. Shops mainly close at 5pm during weekdays, 9pm on Fridays and 6pm on weekends. There are some restaurants that open until 3am on Fridays. Not many businesses open for 24hrs. There are only 39 universities in Australia, therefore the quality and recognition of their graduates are equal from wherever university you are studying from. The most important thing is you have to READ the course information carefully, since some courses may have the same name but different content. Car driving: different states has slightly different regulations due to different driving condition (eg. there's hook-turn rule in the city of Melbourne). You might still be able to drive using international driving licence. The cars are right-hand steering (like most Asian steering side). Accent: no worries.... Australians are built by immigrants so accents are part of Australian life. What consider rude: Don't ask abt salary, age, sickness and (for women) weight, unless you are very-very-very close to them. Cars: Most cities in Australia got pretty good public transport, although Melbourne is the best. Cars are not too expensive to buy, but quite expensive to register, maintain, park (especially in big cities) and petrol with prices of petrol abt AUD1.20/ltr. Rent or dorm: That's really entirely up to you. Are you a kind of person who do not mind to share places with lots of ppl, or you are the kind of person who need your own space? I'm living in Melbourne and this is what you're going to find in Melbourne: 1. First of all... some people do not like the weather in Melbourne (you can have 4 seasons in one day). However, if you read the first weblink from The Age newspaper, you will find out that the weather is still more preferable than the other cities. Sure you can have 42C day in summer, but almost immediately you'll get a much cooler weather pretty soon afterwards. It is very rarely that you got 2 or 3 consecutive days of hot weathers (unlike Sydney, Brisbane or Perth). Winter in Melbourne will be abt 3C-4C in the morning and 13C-15C in the afternoon. 2. Melbourne is a city of diversity. If you are a newcomer, and you do not look 'Anglo-Saxon', you do not feel like an 'alien', since you can find almost every race in the world walking in the city. They are both immigrants and overseas students. 3. THE FOOD!! Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Thai, All-you-can-eat, African, Lebanese, Mexican, Sea Food... anything else? All available and lots of them in a very-very-very affordable price 4. Pretty good public transport system. With one ticket, you can switch from train, tram and bus. They do not always come on-time, but still reliable and improving (www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au). Good for students, since not all can afford car. 5. SHOPPING!!! Original branded clothing sold very cheap. There are even shopping tour, where the participants are taken to retails outlets just for shopping. Big temptations for ladies. 6. Crime rates... just read the second article on the bottom. 7. Night Life... hmmmm... I'll say the centre of nite activities will be Crown Casino and Docklands. Altho there are still plenty of cafe's and clubs scattered around the suburbs as well. 8. Tourist attraction. This is the area that I think Sydney is better than Melbourne, since it has most of it's attraction within its suburbs. Most Melbourne attraction are pretty much out of Melbourne, such as the gold mines in the cities of Bendigo and Ballarat, The Great Ocean Road, Lakes Entrance, Grampians, skiing in Mt. Buller etc. Hope this helps. E-mail me at [email protected] if you have any further queries abt Australia. Good luck on your studies :)