A little insight into my year living in Adelaide, the culture, the city and the amazing travel opportunities! 

I initially really wanted to go to Sydney and listed three Sydney universities as my top choices and Adelaide as my fourth. I was a little apprehensive when I found out I was going to Adelaide as compared to other Australian cities I had heard nothing about it. However, everything happens for a reason, and I strongly believe that Adelaide was where I was meant to be. I had the most incredible year, met amazing people and made memories and friends for life. 

Living in Adelaide 

Adelaide is known by the locals as ‘Radelaide’, and in my opinion it definitely lives up to this title. Compared to the other Aussie cities, Adelaide is a lot smaller and less known. However I think this makes it a great place to live for a year. It has everything you could need or want without being overwhelming or ‘touristy’. 

I lived in accommodation ran by the uni specifically for international students called ‘The Village’. This was great as it meant I lived with my other exchange friends. The accommodation also ran amazing events designed to help us make the most of our time in Adelaide, these included trips to South Australia’s famous wineries, kangaroo petting zoos and surf trips along the coast. 

Adelaide has a whole range of exciting things to do in the city, including supporting the Crows at an AFL game, visiting a winery, watching a show at the fringe, having a night out on Hindley Street or taking a beautiful hike. 

University Life 

One of the things I found most surprising during the year was the difference in uni culture between the UK and Aus. My Australian friends describe uni as a ‘demanding side hustle’ that they would balance on top of a full-time job that was usually linked to their degree. They also mostly lived at home and would commute into the city for seminars. The learning styles at Adelaide Uni reflected this and meant that most of the learning was online and independent. This was really different from my experience at Nottingham where I would come into campus everyday and lived in a house with my friends. Although I do prefer the Nottingham style of uni, the remote learning and shorter contact hours meant I had much more free time to explore Adelaide and the rest of Australia. I found the range of module choice at Adelaide particularly impressive and was able to study areas of Law that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to. The assessment processes were also different, with law at Nottingham usually having one big exam or coursework at the end. Studying law at Adelaide meant weekly quizzes, multiple assignments in a term and then a final exam or coursework. Whilst this felt more intense at the time it meant I kept on top of my workload and didn’t cram right at the end of the semester.

Whilst the university itself was less social, there was a wide variety of societies and clubs available. This wide selection meant that I ended up joining societies that I never would have before and previously would have considered pretty random. In my first semester I joined the volleyball and sailing clubs, before Adelaide I had done neither but ended up loving both. I found this a great way to socialise and meet Australians. I especially loved sailing and this was where I met and solidified my closest friendships with other exchange students. As Adelaide is a coastal city, sailing was a great way to take in the views, watch incredible sunsets, perhaps see dolphins and then finish up the evening with dinner and drinks at the boat club. My advice for anyone going on exchange would be to throw yourself into any and every club that you can, no matter how random it may seem! Adelaide is also great for this as many of the university’s clubs offer a free trial for the first month to decide before committing.  

Towards the end of semesters, campus life became super social with the UniBar overflowing with people and University wide pub-crawls taking over the city of Adelaide all in matching t-shirts. Being a law student I was really excited for the law ball that was thrown at the end of the year in the Adelaide Oval which was such a cool night. 

Traveling 

Traveling was a huge part of my year abroad and I was incredibly lucky to be in a position to take advantage of these opportunities. As the academic calendar is structured differently in Australia, I had a huge gap between semesters (the end of October till March) with no university so me and my friends decided to make the most of this time and explore some new places. I was able to visit Thailand, Bali, and nearly all of the major Aussie cities. 

I was also fortunate enough to backpack around Australia and travel the East Coast (from Sydney to Cairns), this was a crazy, action packed 5 weeks that I will never forget. I was able to surf in Byron Bay, sail the Whitsundays, skydive over the Daintree Rainforest and scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef. This was all incredible and would not have been possible if I hadn’t chosen to come to Australia for my exchange.  

Top Tips 

• Save as much money as you possibly can before starting your exchange, you’ll meet so many people and have so many opportunities that you’ll want to be in a position to say yes to everything. Travelling and living abroad can be expensive and especially in Australia, I felt like just existing was draining my bank account.  

• Go to all the international students orientation and induction events. This is where I met the majority of my friends and was introduced to the larger study abroad community. We just played silly icebreaker games and had tours of campus but it was a great way to start to build a network in my new city.  

• Get all the boring paper work done before you arrive! Once you reach your new city you’ll want to explore and start meeting people and making plans. You don’t want to be tied down trying to sort out your timetable or learning agreement. Also make sure you’ve opened a bank account and have a phone contract that will work. I spent the first few days wandering around with a phone that wouldn’t load. (Felix is a great mobile provider for Aus). 

• If you’re feeling homesick or struggling with culture shock, talk to someone! When you’re in a city full of exchange students, it’s likely that everyone will experience homesickness at some point. You’re all in the same boat and it really helped me a lot to know that other people were experiencing the same feelings.  There was also lots of support available at Nottingham and Adelaide Uni if needed. 

Reflections on my Experience 

Looking back at my time in Adelaide, I wouldn’t change a thing. I had the most incredible time and loved every second of it. I would strongly encourage anyone who has the opportunity to study abroad to take it. And if they have the option, to definitely consider taking their exchange in Adelaide.  

Orla Studied Law at Adelaide University for 2024/2025 academic year