Welcome to Darwin: International voices about living and studying in Darwin

This paper examines the experiences of international undergraduate and postgraduate students who choose to live and study in Darwin. As part of a wider mixed methods study, this paper uses qualitative data to reflect on the students' experiences. Following a technique utilised by Dockett & Perry (2001), respondents to an online survey were asked what they would tell new international students based on their experiences. This data provides some concept of the real, lived experiences of international students in Darwin. As such, the words speak for themselves, painting a picture of a shift from loneliness and frustration to adaption and familiarity with both the experience of study and living Australia's most northerly city. In many respects, the comments reported in this paper should remind academics and planners that all international students arrive in Australia with considerable skills, knowledge, and experiences as well as expectations, concerns, and well-entrenched socio-cultural norms. They should been seen as adding value rather than causing problems.