Its not Saudi Arabia, but unlike Gombak, you don't quite have the shinny lights of KL a 25 minute LRT ride away either.

Like most of Australia, most things close by 5pm. Yes, the shopping malls are all closed by 5pm, and the cinema's aren't open that late either. You certainly wouldn't have mamak at 11pm and Pool sessions at 1am.

As someone who is not attracted to the bright lights, I don't mind the relative peacefulness and less stress of Australia compared to Malaysia. I've never found Australia "boring". Personally those Malaysians who find Brisbane "boring" are spoilt rotten who have been sheltered for far too long. Theres more to life than clubbing, cyber'ing, mamaking, eating and shopping. Its a relatively good quality of life here, as long as you don't think like a Malaysian (read: constantly needing to be simulated by external parties in exchange for your money).

Also, I have to say one does work quite civilised hours in this part of the world.

That said through, no one should ever think about living on less than A$1000/month in Australia. And in the bigger cities like Melbourne and Sydney, you wouldn't survive with A$1000.

Few, if any, of us in this thread are scholarship students. We are almost all self (or family) sponsored.

Before I hear the cries of "so rich!", allow me to introduce a concept called "middle class".

While many philosophies differ, the common theme is that the middle class are between the workforce who actual do the real work and the bourgeoisie who generate wealth. Largely urban, with holding professional qualifications, the are the people who manage the workforce and report to the bourgeoisie.

Middle class can encompass a wide spectrum, including professions (academics, lawyers, engineers and doctors) seen as "rich" by Malaysians who judge wealth by assets. Once upon a time it was the size of your herd; now it is your car.

My family isn't "rich" even by Malaysian metrics. Neither are we poor. Certainly I don't have to live on instant noodles, but neither does my family have a vault of cash at my disposal. I didn't grow up in a Damansara Heights townhouse; neither did I live in a low-cost housing area. I don't get to have a studio apartment while I am here studying, but neither am I forced to couch surf with my luggage my wardrobe.

My family did financial planning before I was born, not wait until I was 16 and start asking "where should my son study? How am I going to fund it?" Neither did we trust any Malaysian government to give my any kind of further education. Face it, we do not have a higher education system in Malaysia that is accessible to the poor.

I would say the vast majority of my (Malaysian) peers who are studying in Australia only do so with great sacrifice on the part of their parents. For that, I respect the legions of Malaysians who have given up many "material comforts" so that their children can have a (higher) education.

In summary, I am self sponsored, but it did not come easy, and certainly not without a lot of long term (20+ years) planning on the part of my family. And that's just me. Siblings are a another matter.

To your second question, I go through about $35-40 worth of groceries for my self a week. I largely cook, and don't eat out much, as it is quite costly to do so in Australia. That said, I know how to stretch my dollar; many of my peers end up with less for more.

um, pretty much yes. It's a small town, quiet, ideal for studying, don't walk alone at nite cos of boogans, pretty sceneries. I just went ice skating last nite, haha. so yeah it aint THAT bad. =P
you're shopping mall refers to those super huge 4 stories building like midvalley? no. there's one 'mall' in the eastern part of hobart i think, never been there. generally we have a city central with shops. yes there's cinema. =)

you can try to apply for scholarship here in hobart, quite a number of my friends here are on partial scholar. =)

lol np.just extreme adsl2+ with 20mbits maximum

btw i think australia dun have those big shopping mall like mid valley or 1u. most popular is DFO. but there are many boutiques at the street

In Brisbane:

Fees: $18000/year x 4 = $72,000
Living expenses: $12,000/year x 4 = $48,000

This excludes flying back home to Malaysia, any trips one might make to see this rather fascinating country, and any other non-essential miscellaneous costs.