Belgian student in Sydney had difficulty paying rent and therefore placed a striking ad

William Vanneste (22) from Waterloo has been in Australia since the beginning of February. He is currently in his third bachelor’s year in marketing at Odisee University of Applied Sciences and went to Sydney for an internship. But the search for a place to sleep was not easy. “The search started in Belgium. But I started it too late. I admit that,” he says from Sydney. He therefore chose to temporarily stay in a hostel. There he came into contact with three Frenchmen, with whom he later began to look for a slightly more permanent residence.

But that didn’t seem obvious in Sydney. “Rents here are much more expensive than other places in Australia and have apparently doubled in the last three years. And still rising,” he says. “My internship is a bit outside the center of Sydney and so ideally I wanted to find a place to sleep that was closer to my internship than the hostel where I originally slept.”

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“We were very lucky. We found a really nice, well-located apartment in a suburb of Sydney,” says William. “But there were only two rooms with two double beds.” The somewhat strange distribution was initially not a problem for the four men. “Since we already knew each other a little and because there were always other people in the hostel, it was ultimately no problem to share those two beds. There was plenty of room,” he explains. “It is also not that unusual for boys to sleep in the same bed. Certainly not if we can reduce the rent by doing so.” (Read more below the photo)

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But the problems started when one of the three Frenchmen left for home for personal reasons. Suddenly there were three of them instead of four to pay the rent. “We are talking about a rent of AUD 1,150 per week. Per month that is AUD 4,600, which amounts to approximately EUR 2,900,” he says. “Sydney is known for its very high rents. It really is a problem.”

“We are talking about a rent of AUD 1,150 per week. Per month that is 4,600 AUD, which amounts to approximately 2,900 euros”

William Vanneste

Is doing an internship in Sydney

William therefore placed an advertisement on Facebook to look for a new roommate. But sharing a bed with a complete stranger was not something everyone was keen on. “We might want to buy an air mattress and sleep three in the big room. It was okay for all of us as long as we had to pay less.” (Read more below the photo)

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But then it turned out that the two remaining Frenchmen also had plans to leave. William was therefore left alone in the apartment. “Ultimately I was looking for a couple or two good friends who wanted to sleep in the same bed. But they often hoped to have to pay a lower rent.”

William’s striking advertisement was even picked up by local media, but ultimately it failed. Only he couldn’t afford the apartment. Since he only had about a month left in Australia, he chose to book an Airbnb. “I now pay less than a hostel, but it is still a lot. And I share my room with two other people,” he says. This time he has his own bed. “And large cupboards for all my clothes,” he says happily. After moving four times in three months, he remains remarkably positive. “That is very important. Especially when you are so far from everyone you know and you have to stay until the end of your internship. But that’s life and it’s part of the adventure. It could have been worse. I’m going to make the best of it.”