A Chinese student chose to become an international commuter when attending his last three months at a Melbourne university this year instead of living in Australia.
Xu Guangli’s story gained traction in China last month after his videos on the Chinese social media platform Douyin went viral.
The 28-year-old was travelling from his home in Dezhou to Melbourne’s RMIT University once a week for in-person classes for 11 weeks between August and October.
He was finishing off his master’s degree in arts management after studying in Australia for eight years, but his girlfriend had already completed her studies and moved back to China.
Chinese media reported that Xu was making the weekly trips “for love” so he could spend more time with his partner.
“Life in Melbourne on my own was lonely,” Xu said, according to the South China Morning Post.
A round-trip would take him three days and he would stay on his friend’s couch the one night he was in Melbourne, it was reported.
He calculated one of the trips to cost $920, which included a $645 return flight ticket, taxis and meals.
He said he travelled on different airlines and visited several Chinese cities, and even Vietnam, through layovers.
In addition to spending more time with his girlfriend and family, Xu said he wanted to prepare for a career in China after graduation.
“I found that the flight routes between China and Australia are frequent, with multiple airlines operating, so I gave it a try … It turned out to be quite feasible and I haven’t encountered any major issues,” he told SBS Mandarin this month.
“I prefer the environment and convenience in China. After living abroad for so many years, I also wanted to spend more time with my family.”
Australians were shocked the Chinese student still wanted to study in Australia and stressed the environmental impact of two long-haul flights a week, but others said it was a reflection of how expensive living in Australia had become.
“Just goes to show how expensive it is,” one expat said. “I was back recently visiting family in Melbourne. I was stunned at how expensive everything was. Mum asked if I’d consider moving back from Scotland. Even with family support I couldn’t survive for long.”
Another wrote: “Makes sense. Our cost of living is astronomical. Once it becomes cheaper to fly back and stay with family, why not. Better than being in poverty here as a student.”
Some argued international students who don’t live here should not be allowed to study at our universities, but others countered this could alleviate stress on the housing market.
“People complaining because he commutes yet they’d be the first to complain if he bought a house here and lived in it saying they are buying up houses that Aussies miss out on,” one person wrote.
