No Kangaroos in Austria

The only thing I cared about going into college was that I could study abroad. Thanks to Washington & Lee (W&L), I’ve been fortunate enough to go for two semesters and a four week spring term course. Each experience has been different (the beauty of study abroad) and I’ve decided to do a comparison between my junior fall at W&L, sophomore spring in Vienna, and junior spring in Sydney.
 

Accommodation
 

W&L: ★★★★★

• 4 bedroom apartment, lower third year
• Shared bathroom between 2 people
• Free toilet paper 
• Wooden floors
• Balcony + thermostat
• Known roommates 
• Cleaned apartment ourselves
• Brought our own cookware, etc. 
• No bugs
   

Vienna: ★★★★

• Single studio apartment in Milestone, second district 
• Conveniently located to the U2 & Billa (grocery store)
• Spacious bathroom, huge sink + shower 
• Paid for toilet paper but only for myself
• Wooden floors
• Window that opens two ways (i miss this) + thermostat
• No roommates (but other IES Abroad people in the building)
• Mail room with my own mailbox + lobby
• Cleaner came once a month (otherwise i cleaned + did all chores)
• Pot, pan, utensils, bedding, bath mat, hand towel, etc. provided upon move in

• Silverfish, Milestone Lobby resolved it immediately

   

Sydney: ★★

• On-campus six bedroom apartment, UNSW Village 
• Move in was fine but felt a little disorganized, a lot of waiting. When the girl took me up to my room and unlocked the door there was a bag of chips (or something) with crumbs left all over the desk and no mattress pad on the bed so we had to go back down and get one
• Shared bathroom between three people
• Paid for shared toilet paper (not an even contribution)
• Carpet floors (bare feet have not touched the ground my entire time in that apartment, except that one time accidentally and the floor felt damp from humidity)
• One window + ceiling fan 
• Two international roommates we don’t know
  • egg shells + fruit peels on counter
  • most people use those yellow heavy duty cleaning gloves. well this girl wears the same kitchen prep gloves (meant for one time use and then to be disposed) that have stained brown from all the uses to do her dishes & no judgment but the only time I’ve seen this was in H2O and even Cleo knew to at least use the heavy duty yellow gloves. Anyway. 
  • leaves food in the sink drain so it gets clogged
  • writes passive aggressive notes i.e. “pay attention to distinguishing paper patterns. do not use other people’s toilet paper.” (no comment.)
  • me and one of the internationals left the apartment at the same time (i used to smile or say hi but they never show any reaction so I’ve stopped doing that) and we were standing in silence in the hallway waiting for the elevator. when it arrives she gets in and immediately hits the “close door” button before I’m even in so the elevator doors start shutting on me it was so embarrassing. Girl has no elevator etiquette.
  • food in bathroom trash can. flies.
  • watched the one girl pick up a can of bug spray (the kind that is supposed to kill them when you spray it) and go to town on spraying the entire back wall of the kitchen counter (right over my avocado rice cakes) to the point where it dripped down onto the spot where we dry our dishes. then i was fully expecting her to take the paper towel roll (that i bought + continue replenishing) and wipe up the bug spray but she simply set the can down and walked away. EW. 
  • No cleaner, i tried cleaning common spaces at first but nobody else did anything so i stopped and now we just live in filth (traveling as much as possible to be away, sadder to say goodbye to cruise ship stateroom than room 123.2 at the Village)
  • I always take the kitchen + bathroom trash out (won’t get into the details but EW.)
• Nothing provided from IES Abroad for housing items
  • arrived on New Year’s Day, so many things were closed
  • got a $2 pillow from Kmart and have been sleeping under my Rumpl blanket for the past fout months (the next time I want to be sleeping under that blanket is on the Appalachian Trail) 
  • learned that we get a $150AUD reimbursement for shared kitchen items & I had to miss orientation because of my summer class so by the time I found out I didn’t think to keep any of the receipts that showed the pot, pan, utensils, bowls, plates, cups, etc. at the beginning (this is a whole story but one i will refrain from telling in this blog).
• Fruit flies in the beginning, cockroach infestation (ongoing)
  • I have become insensitive to bugs at least!
  • I will walk into the kitchen and see at least 4 different size/shapes of cockroaches scurrying about
  • Everytime i open the cabinet with our dishes and pans there’s always at least one cockroach crawling over them

Laundry

W&L: ★★★★★

• Didn’t realize how good I have it at W&L, free laundry in the comfort of our apartment 

Vienna: ★★★★

• In milestone building, first floor 
• Coffee vending machine in the laundry room! 
• Super helpful app that you can check to see which washers/dryers are available so you don’t have to go down with all your stuff just for them to be full
• The only reason i gave this four stars was because it wasn’t free, but still a decent price

Sydney: ★★★

• Laundry room is close to my building (i got lucky), but still have to go down + outside to another building
• Kinda expensive
• Washers are moldy
• Three stars because it does the job
   

Transport
 

W&L: N/A

• Having a car is vital (ultimate freedom)
• My friend tried taking the Maury Express freshman year and it drove past her

Vienna: ★★★★★

• Public transit was so good
  • U-Bahn was very reliable + fast 
  • took you many places 
  • didn’t take bus or S-Bahn too much because the U-Bahn was perfect for everywhere I needed to go
• IES Abroad gave us transit cards that covered our entire semester
• Based on an honor system. had to carry your card with you at all times, but only rarely was i checked 
• Not sure how expensive it was because it was included with the program 

Sydney: ★★

• Sorry Sydney, I despise your public transit
  • Might be biased because I seem to have the worst luck with the transit here, but my standards have definitely changed after experiencing public transit in Vienna/Europe
• Lots of people from the states think it's amazing, but everyone I’ve talked to from Sydney also don’t think too highly of it
• IES Abroad gave us an Opal card (what you use to tap onto the public transit) with $40AUD or $50AUD (I can’t remember), then it was up to us to keep topping it up 
• I’m pretty sure multiple bikers have passed us while i was on the l-rail 
  • there are only 3 lines (L1, L2, L3) i mainly only use the L3
  • frequent police operations, protests, sporting events, delays
  • have to tap on for every trip, money drains out really fast 
• Because the l-rail can only take you so far/to so many places, the bus is the next best option
  • bus is usually delayed, unreliable, many many times it would say “set down passengers only, not picking up” so i’ve waited with 50+ other people (i counted one time) at a bus stop while all the full buses drove right past us…i gave up and got an uber
• Uber
  • i have never been an uber person (probably because I’m not a city person), but man am i so grateful that uber exists. 
  • pro tip: it’s cheaper and faster to uber to the airport than take public transit 

Gym

W&L: ★★★★★

• Free
• Groupex classes, pool, tennis courts

Vienna: ★★★★

• Paid for supercycle but genuinely loved it + made it part of my routine that i looked forward to every night
• Student packs were decent

Sydney: ★★★

• Did some pilates intro offers, but not many places near unsw and got too expensive 
• Got a UNSW gym membership because it was the most convenient 
  • charged $28USD every two weeks
  • gym itself isn’t great
  • group fitness classes are good (pilates, yoga, ABT)
  • I’ve gone to the gym 2-3 times a day everyday for a while to try and get my money’s worth + keep my sanity 
• Membership isn’t worth it IMO, paying for the entire month of may and part of April and i won’t even be there + considering the days i was traveling + didn’t use the gym 
  • but i did appreciate the convenience + loved the gym cafe 
     

Nature

W&L: ★★★★★

• Mountains, hiking, swimming

Vienna: ★★★★★

• Prater Park was literally my backyard – so much space to walk around, so green
• I loved going on walks, listening to a podcast + stopping at Billa for a smoothie or Laugenecke (i dearly miss it)
• For a city, I’m really impressed with how much nature there is

Sydney: ★★★

• Closest beach is ~40min walk
• I’m definitely biased because i grew up in a beach town, but Coogee/Bondi are too commercialized IMO
• Nature in Australia as a whole gets five stars (Whitsundays, Noosa, Tassie, Newcastle)
   

Groceries/Food

W&L: ★★★★

• Sorority dining is good + always has salad + desserts
• Tea house for coffee
• Hillel for bagels + smoothies 
• Apartment-wise, we have a microwave, dishwasher, stove, oven + fridge (and we brought 2 air fryers)
• Did hello fresh for a while, then it got too expensive 
• Local coffee shops (season’s yield, pronto, lexco)
   

Vienna: ★★★★★

• Cooked pretty much all meals 
• Loved shopping at Billa (it was more fun than an errand for me), wicked good bread + cute Austrian/European stuff 
• Manner schoko-törtchen >>
• Coffee was spectacular. if i ever own a coffee shop one day i will have been inspired by Jonas Reindl and Balthasar
• Mochi Ramen was close to Milestone + the best ramen and yuzu spritz I’ve ever had in my life. i would fly back just for that
   

Sydney: ★★★

• Kitchen would be okay, but it is so incredibly disgusting from the two internationals (i say this like I’m not an international, but anyway)
• Cockroach upside in the fridge with its legs and antenna moving, apparently they can make themselves really skinny to squeeze through small cracks because they don’t have brains (or something like that)
• I don’t mean this negatively, but I feel like Sydney could just be another city in the US. maybe it’s because everyone speaks English, but the culture is very different from Europe. The food, generally, is the same as it would be at home (minus Vegemite + Tim Tams). Need to stress again i am NOT a city person. Friends here who love cities love Sydney!!
• Coffee is good at some places, not great at others & (once again I may be biased but) Vienna will forever have the best coffee IMO

Program
 

W&L: ★★★★

• Lots of resources 
• Small class sizes, registration is easy to navigate

Vienna: ★★★★

• Big program, didn’t feel too connected to the staff
• Registration + housing was straightforward
• Loved the teachers/professors 
• Night hike through the snowy woods was so fun
• Milestone Lobby had a counter where people left things behind/could take anything they wanted 

Sydney: ★★★★

• Somewhat smaller program 
• IES Abroad is collectively in charge of UNSW and USYD students (as well as NZ + Korea)
• Kate, Nami + Sian are incredible. I’m sad I didn’t get to see Kate more. I saw her a decent bit in the beginning. She is very busy!!!
• Housing and course registration through UNSW was confusing 
• The only thing I wish IES Abroad Sydney did was provide individual reimbursements or incorporate housing supplies into the program fee (I’d rather have the kitchen a bit stocked and pay for it to be there than have to scramble to find things when everything is closed on New Year's)
  • I didn’t take any classes that required paid materials/excursions, but i heard IES Abroad reimburses for these costs because it’s part of classes

Classes
 

W&L: ★★★★

• Rigorous but personal
  • I like being able to reach out to professors and go to office hours
• My German professor is the reason I have enjoyed German so much. i emailed her a photo of a wombat from Tasmania and she responded with the cutest photo of her dog being sad when she had to leave the house 
• Not too many course topics have interested me, but that’s definitely a me problem because i still have no clue what i want to do (my first year writing seminar about the healing power of nature is the most memorable for sure)
• ~2,000 students at the school
• Use canvas
   

Vienna: ★★★★

• favorite class topics i’ve ever taken in my life
• classes sponsored through IES in the IES building
• lots of field trips and first hand immersion 
• my german teacher took us to a bakery, invited us to her house to make a traditional german dinner, brought us bread/snacks to try, pastries
  • when i got covid the first week of the program she zoomed late at night with me for an hour and caught me up on what i missed 
  • i really miss her
• Took a class about viticulture + wine, went on a really awesome field trip to Wachau Valley + had the best bread roll of my life 
• Marketing class with martin, he took us on so many field trips + even paid for us all to ride bumper cars at prater 
  • genuine + generous, offered us all jobs when we left lol
• Austrian literature courses were also incredible + with amazing teachers
• Super small class sizes 
• Use Moodle
• Worked hard in school, but wasn’t as genuinely scared about getting a bad grade than I was in Sydney & this is part of the reason why i would recommend Europe for the study abroad aspect

Sydney: ★★★★

• Academics are rigorous
• Trimester schedule
• Lectures and tutorials (2 hours each)
• 60,000 students at the school
• Course registration was confusing
• Use Moodle 
• I like the anonymity of being at a big school
• I don’t really feel any connection to the proffesors, I’m literally just a number 
• 3000 level arts3295 Nazi Germany course was a lot of work but really interesting
• arts2040 contemporary literature course was also very rewarding. Fiona Morrison was an incredible professor
  • highly recommend reading Never Let Me Go 
• arts1030 no comment. We read Shakespeare. grading was tougher than my more advanced level classes. wish i took a different class but was recommended to not take higher than 1000/2000
• Grading is really weird. Only 2-3 assignments per course for the entire semester, usually worth 50-60% of the entire grade
• Apparently an 85 is equivalent to an A in the US and 65 is good (according to classmates) 
• The one plus about living at the village is being right on campus and ~5 min walk from all my classes

Study spots

W&L: ★★★

• Tea House
  • always see friendly faces
  • perfected my coffee order: iced tumbled espresso w chocolate + hazelnut

Vienna: ★★★★★

• Jonas Reindl
  • cappuccino, chai, hot chocolate, pear tart
• Balthasar
  • cappuccino, raspberry or chocolate croissant
• Vienna wins for the best study spots. Free WiFi at both places, power outlets + great atmosphere 

Sydney: ★★★

• Outside of campus, literally none.
• No cafes in the city have free wifi/let you sit for a long time with a computer 
• XS Espresso Nutella latte is good (expensive) 
• UNSW gym cafe mocha is good + they always have open tables (no outlets though)
• Law school, business school, main library (lighting is too harsh for me unless i sit by the window near natural light)
• Lots of spaces on campus, but they fill up really fast so you have to get there early

Travel Accessibility 

W&L: ★★★★

• Need a car
• Decent road trip from a lot of places

Vienna: ★★★★★

• Super easy to use public transit to the airport
• Close to so many countries + cities
• Easy to find cheaper flights

Sydney: ★★★

• This city is massive
• Everything is pretty far away from one another
• Airport is close but definitely Uber (public transit takes a while and it's more expensive)
• Australia itself is very big + not as cheap to get to places than in Europe
• Have to go for multiple days to make many trips worth it 
• Would love to do a proper road trip/traveling when I’m not obligated to be back for school (took my final exam from a cruise ship somewhere in the South Pacific)

I tried to be as brutally honest as possible, even though this blog makes me sound like I am the most anti-Sydney person to ever exist. I think its simply because I am not at all a city person. everywhere I’ve traveled in Australia I have loved (Noosa, Byron bay, Tasmania, Whitsundays, Newcastle)...I’m not huge on Sydney, but I do love Australia. The people are friendly & laidback, the animals are adorable + the nature is lovely. I will definitely be back because I plan on doing a van trip around New Zealand, and would love to sleep on a sailboat in the Whitsundays :) I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to travel + study in Australia (don’t be discouraged by this blog, I mainly pointed out the negatives especially because of how dismal i feel about the housing situation and living in a city in general).

Ultimately, there are different experiences everywhere. I’m glad I have gotten to live in so many places and in many unique situations. 

Takeaway: I am spoiled at W&L. Vienna will always hold a special place in my heart. I have it good here in Sydney too, it’s just hard for me to recognize when I'm lucky enough for home + Europe to have been way too good to me. Plus, everything looks better in retrospect. I’m sure when I’m back I'll reminisce about Sydney and feel a fondness toward the memories (or maybe i won’t, but either way i lived some of the best days of my life in Australia).

Editor's Note:  Student Health & Safety is our number one priority at IES Abroad. Our highly trained Student Affairs Department both on-site and in Chicago are here to monitor situations on the ground as they arise and provide support regarding housing. Room materials can also be reimbursed by IES Abroad Sydney staff. If you have any questions or concerns about health and safety while abroad, please reach out to the staff at your Center abroad.  Students with questions about health and safety before they depart should contact the Dean of Students Office at 800.995.2300