Grace has moved five times in the past year. For her, Brisbane’s rental pressure is not only about paying higher rent, but about constantly packing, searching and starting over again.
Grace is an international student living in a studio apartment in Woolloongabba. It is the sixth place she has lived in since coming to Brisbane. Without a car, she relies on buses and trains, which means cheaper housing farther away is not always a realistic option.
“I always have somewhere to stay, but I never really feel settled.”
Grace
Moving without choice
Grace says she has moved five times in the past year. Some moves happened because short-term rentals ended, rent increased beyond what she could afford, a housemate moved out, or a landlord did not renew the lease.
For Grace, these moves were not really choices. Each one meant searching again, packing again, and trying to rebuild a routine in another place.
Why transport matters
Grace does not have a car, so her housing search is shaped by public transport. She cannot simply move far away to find cheaper rent, because long commutes would affect classes, group work and getting home safely at night.
This means she is not choosing from the whole rental market. She is searching within a much smaller area where rent is usually higher and competition is stronger.
Interview highlights
Q: How many times have you moved in the past year?
A: “I’ve moved five times in the past year. None of those moves were really by choice.”
Q: What is the biggest difficulty you face when looking for housing now?
A: “The biggest difficulty is that my realistic options are very limited. I don’t have a car, so I rely on buses and trains.”
Q: What has been the biggest effect of housing instability on your daily life?
A: “The biggest effect has been the constant feeling of instability. You keep worrying about whether you can stay next month or whether you will have to start packing again.”
Q: If you had to describe your current housing situation in one sentence, how would you describe it?
A: “I always have somewhere to stay, but I never really feel settled.”
Why this matters？
Grace’s story shows how rental pressure can become housing instability. The issue is not only whether a student can find a room. It is whether they can stay long enough to build a stable routine around study, transport, rest and everyday life.
Her experience also shows why international students without cars may face a smaller set of realistic housing choices. A cheaper room may exist online, but if it is too far from university or poorly connected by public transport, it may not be workable in real life.
Grace’s experience is the centre of this story because it shows what “not settled” means in everyday life: having a place to sleep, but never feeling fully secure.