if possible, look for something like a boarding house (term?) where all the internet access, utilities are already connected for u. that way, u can have time to look for a decent place while u're studying. i doubt 2 weeks is enough for u to look for a decent place as the demand is really high during that period

above all, sign a 6 months lease if possible, that way u can bail out sooner if needed be

and again, to shop for ISP go to http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/bc-plan.cfm

hey guys and girls out there in brissy. i'm goin to throw a barbie party the week before uni starts or on the weekend of wk1. it's a great way to make friends. anyone interested?

i'll just type it here so everyone can have a share

i'll just elaborate on accommodation for a few suburbs around the 3 major uni campus in brisbane that i'm familiar with, let me know what else you want to know

QUT kelvin grove
located in the northern outskirts of the CBD, it's is a very quiet area (ie, very few pubs/clubs/major attractions) there are 3 suburbs that are walking distance to uni where you can live in:

kelvin grove duh...
a very hilly (please note if you hate WALKING) and quiet suburb. not many stores or restaurants around apart from a small convenience store, KFC, and red rooster for take away. however, with the new kelvin grove urban village newly built right in the middle of the campus, i can see the light in the future for this suburb. KG urban village houses rather poshy apartments and growing number of restaurants, convenience store and banks. apartments are available for rent starting from last year and new accommodation scheme for uni students at a better rate.

herston
i used to live there and all i can say is it's a very peaceful suburb (or rather, a dead town, cynically). very close to KG campus main buildings, about 5-10 minutes walk but quite far from the new building (Z block for creative industries) as it's on the other end of the campus. NOTE: this suburb is veeeeeerrrryyyyy far from any stores or restaurants. there's a 24/7 petrol station 20 mins walk away. oh wait, there's a tiny convenience store but business hours is very limited and everything is overpriced there. most convenient place to do groceries is the dodgy/ghetto chinatown in fortitude valley, which is a short bus ride away

newmarket
quite a convenient suburb with post office, restaurants, convenience store and the brand new coles supermarket built a year or 2 ago. about 20 minutes walk to uni. i used to stay in this place called Kelvin Grove House operated by a taiwanese couple (i was conned to this place by it's name) but it's a good place for newcomers who are not familiar with looking for accommodation as utilities, internet and phone line are all connected, just pay and use! this is their website http://www.evermore-accommodation.com/


QUT gardens point

city
if you're loaded with cash. there are too many apartments to name but i'll point out this particular one, Uni Lodge. it's poshy student accommodation with lots of facilities. more details http://www.unilodge.com.au/Brisbane/

east brisbane, woolloongabba, buranda
surprisingly, i've always thought those are not good places to live as they sounded far away from city. i'd prove myself wrong since i met my gf who happened to stay in buranda. due to the convenience of train and busway, traveling to city is piss easy especially to uni. you would get off the bus at mater hill after a few mins ride, then walk 12 mins across the pedestrian bridge and you're at uni! shops and restaurants are readily available too


UQ st lucia


st lucia duh...
a very peaceful suburb, more like another version of herston (refer above if you've skipped). however, because there's a convenience store (8am - 9pm pretty much everyday) and a couple of restaurants and bus stop less than 5 mins away from my house, i can't complaint much. citycat (ferry) stop less than 10 mins away. and also walking distance to UQ depends which part of st lucia you're on! oh there's this place on hawken dr, it's like 10 mins walk from uni, it's got coles, liquor store, post office, fish & chips, jap, viet, m'sian, indian, thai restaurants


other places
because QUT GP and UQ st lucia has a citycat (ferry) stop for themselves. you can live in places with easy access to ferry stop like west end, toowong, mowbary park, new farm, and bulimba.

toowong
it's the hub of transportation, it's got one of the best location if not the best. it's got the busiest road in queensland (lots of busses), train and citycat. there's lots of shops and restaurants as well as pubs. toowong is not a cheap or easy place to get as the demand is really high but definitely worth every single penny

west end
this place looks very dodgy but very convenient nevertheless. lots of shops and restaurants. high frequency of busses, close citycat stop depending which part of west end, 30 mins walk to city (those were the nights coming out from pubs late at night w/out any busses left). place looks dodgy but accommodation arent as cheap as it supposed to look like due to it's close location to city. however, bus rides arent that fast to city as there are A LOT of stops

southern suburbs
some people like to stay in sunnybank and surrounding suburbs like sunnybank hills and macgregor. i'd say sunnybank is more like a REAL chinatown, good choice if you're not used to western culture/living. everything in sunnybank is cheap, including petrol. it's about 30 mins bus ride from city (20 mins drive) and also a good place to stay if you're studying in Griffith Uni Nathan and Mt Gravatt


transportation
i've elaborated transportation on every suburb i'm familiar with but feel free to ask if i miss out anything. oh, i strongly suggest getting monthly ticket if you're traveling at least 5 days a week (4 days of uni and 1 day of weekend/groceries). 2 zones (most likely you'll live in zone 2) monthly ticket was $84, they just hiked up the price again, so i'd say around $90

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Added on February 5, 2008, 2:03 amthey stop offering 400 free sms per recharge since end of april last year and those who are with this plan is going to end at the end of this february. they're replacing it with triple myTime bonus. bugger

This post has been edited by vintec: Feb 5 2008, 02:11 AM

it'll be on the saturday of O-week or week 1 cuz some ppl wont be back till then, i wana make it huge...and i mean HUGE. i live in st lucia, i'm going to bbq chicken wings, sausages and pork (will be separated if any muslims) . drinks BYO as well as any special food you want. crashing over is cool as i've got a big living room

This post has been edited by vintec: Feb 5 2008, 02:13 AM

happy chinese new year! just had a barbie last night with some close friends i havent seen for months. first time i celebrated CNY