Arcadia Australia
Living at University Terraces, A student perspective
Date
January 19, 2018
The University Terraces at UNSW a student interview
Jack McInnes from Trinity College
As part or our mission to ensure that students are understanding the different housing options before they arrive in Australia, we have been asking past students to talk a little about their own experiences living in Australia.
We asked Jack McInnes from Trinity College to explain what his experience was like to live at the University Terraces at the University of New South Wales.
“I lived in the University Terraces, which is apartment style living. I find it important for others looking at living in the terraces to know that (1) the apartment does not come with an oven and (2) many of your floormates will be other international students, primarily from China and other Southeast Asian countries. I did not encounter many Australians living in the terraces, which was probably the biggest surprise to me.
I did not see much of my floor-mates daily, it was a relatively quiet living space which was nice at times, but unexciting at others. There were very little social events scheduled, but the ones that were advertised were more low-key (nothing like the semi-formals and formals in the colleges).
You will meet other Americans from Arcadia and other programs while living there, which makes for a tight knit group of friends. Some of my favourite memories from my semester abroad would be the times when we filled one of our rooms to share a dinner and laughs together during the school week or before going out.
I found it difficult meeting Australians in the Terraces. From my experience, if you want to meet the most Australians and really immerse yourself into the culture, I would recommend living in one of the colleges. The only downside to this is you are without a kitchen and are constricted to meal times by the dining hall schedule.
For new students living in the Terraces, and wanting to meet Australians, I would advise them to meet people that live in the colleges, as I found that to be the hub of where Australians are on campus at UNSW. When I went up there to visit friends or study, that is when I really felt like I was studying in Australia.