Finding accommodation is a big challenge for international students in Australia.
International student Alauddin Ahmed is studying in Macquarie University. He has come from Bangladesh last year. He told SBS Bangla that initially he was living in his uncle’s house in Wollongong. After three months he moved to another place along with some of his friends. It was very hard to find and get a rental home, he said.
“It was very hard for us to get this because we just (have) come from Bangladesh and without any job reference we were struggling so much.”
“We got a house at last by the grace of God. We are five together. In this way we could save some expenditures and that cost-cut helped us a lot.”
To find a rented house has he got any help from the University? He said, University has some arrangements and those are expensive.
Another international student Syed Samnun Mahmud is studying in the University of Western Sydney. After coming to Australia he too stayed with his relatives. He told SBS Bangla, it is very hard to rent house without rental history. “Even Bengali land lords rejected us”, he said.
Listen to Alauddin Ahmed and Syed Samnun Mahmud’s full interview (in Bangla) with SBS Bangla in the audio player above.
