Practice colour piece
Damon Rowston has the look of someone who has spent his whole life in Melbourne from the Birkenstocks all the way to the wavy blonde hair.
It would come as a surprise to most people but Damon spent most of his life living in Darwin only recently moving to Melbourne.
Damon made the very difficult decision to uproot his life in Darwin and leave his parents, family and friends to come down to Melbourne to study at RMIT.
He moved to Melbourne at the beginning of the year and was hoping to move into a share house with some mates from Darwin.
This fell through as it became impossible for the three of them to find a place together and to all be close to university.
After a search for any number of accommodation within close proximity to RMIT and cheap enough to afford he settled on a small apartment in Carlton.
Damon’s accommodation costs him $504 a week which equates to roughly $2016 a month which includes his utilities and access to a 24/7 gym.
“My accommodation is more targeted towards international students as opposed to Australians which is why the cost is so high,” he says
Damon said “my room is small probably the width of the classroom (about 3 metres) and maybe a few metres long with a separate bathroom.”
“The location is the only positive of the room, it is a quick walk to get to uni but it is hard to justify the price for the location,” he said.
The price point for the student accommodation does not match the median price for a one-bedroom apartment in Carlton which in itself would be bigger.
The median price within Carlton is $475 with one-bedroom apartments averaging $400 per week and two-bedrooms average $575.
Suburbs such as Richmond which is one train stop out of the city loop has a median rental price of $400 a week for one-bedroom apartments.
The student housing accommodation website said “we try to make everything we do as clear and upfront as possible.”
Comparing a one-bedroom apartment in the student accommodation to a one-bedroom apartment you see the price at $587 a week per semester.
In comparison only a small number of apartments that would be self-contained cost over $500 within Carlton and thus places the student accommodation at the top of the price list.
“It feels almost too clean, it doesn’t feel very welcoming and almost reminds me of going to a hospital instead of a home,” he said
Rowston’s recent move from Darwin means he has been unable to find work and is forced to use his Centrelink to pay his rent.
“I’ve really had to dip into my savings, I’ve been trying to find work but it is not always easy,” he said.
“I won’t be staying in the student accommodation next semester I just can’t afford it, I’ll move further from the city where it is cheaper,” he said.
“I will move into a 3-bedroom house in East Brunswick which should cost around $120 a week,” he said
Rowston will have a significant saving whilst having to commute further will have far less to pay.
