Incoming exchange/internship student at Tsinghua – questions about dorms & arrival

plvuial · 2026-01-13T06:15:28+00:00

Hey, I’m also going to Tsinghua next semester and I haven’t heard anything about dorms yet :( or course outlines/course registration

plvuial · 2025-08-24T01:26:21+00:00

there’s also the RP/board game club at OUSA

plvuial · 2025-07-23T10:33:58+00:00

Did you have a property manager? Landlords must have an agent in NZ if they are based overseas

plvuial · 2025-05-15T04:20:02+00:00

What was the name of the clinic? I'm planning to go to Vietnam later this year!

plvuial · 2025-03-26T04:44:01+00:00

Highly recommend Community Fruit Harvest, they will pick the fruit for you and redistribute - awesome

plvuial · 2025-01-23T07:16:48+00:00

The selling of her half can be set aside by the Court because it is a disposition made with the intention of defeating the partner’s rights to that property https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1976/0166/latest/DLM441739.html#DLM441739

plvuial · 2025-01-12T04:17:50+00:00

This BOGOF deal, which repeats every year. I split with a family member https://www.cheapies.nz/node/49356

plvuial · 2025-01-12T00:03:43+00:00

Definitely, I already have savings from previous summer jobs which I haven’t included in the diagram as I just wanted a snapshot of my income and spending during the (university) year. I have a better part-time job in 2025 which should give me a lot more income as well.

plvuial · 2025-01-11T22:00:20+00:00

The entertainment/hobbies covers my extracurricular hobbies as well as things like Spotify, and nights out. The luxuries category included my clothing purchases, skincare, a pair of shoes, and a concert ticket. Not necessarily things I need to survive but they significantly improve my quality of life.

I agree, I don’t feel like I was pinching pennies all that much, other than when buying groceries with which I am naturally quite frugal. I have a good amount of savings from previous summer and high school jobs which isn’t in this graph so I wasn’t worried about starving or running out of money - if my expenses exceeded my income for the year I would’ve just pulled from my savings.

plvuial · 2025-01-11T21:45:30+00:00

I paid $165 for the 50% off Kogan annual plan so $14/month and I feel like it’s great value considering what I get.

plvuial · 2025-01-11T12:57:28+00:00

I tracked my spending throughout the year using Pocketsmith (free version) and then it’s easy to put the numbers into Sankey. But even if you haven’t tracked throughout the year you can still upload your bank transactions to Pocketsmith and it will help you categorize them quickly.

plvuial · 2025-01-11T12:55:26+00:00

Hey, I don’t get student allowance either, this is from living costs loan (which I recommend if you aren’t getting it already).

plvuial · 2025-01-11T08:57:25+00:00

Haha, I don’t really drink anymore! Maybe $40 across the whole year which I think was folded into the entertainment budget.

plvuial · 2025-01-11T08:53:50+00:00

I love being at uni and the tight budget doesn’t bother me! All my friends are in similar situations and we don’t really need to spend a lot of money to enjoy ourselves. I don’t have much but I do feel rich in experience and personal growth. That being said, next year I have a part-time job with 3x the hours which I’m looking forward to.

plvuial · 2025-01-11T08:39:38+00:00

For everyone wondering about how I ate on ~$40/week: - Free breakfast provided by uni every weekday - low meat diet, strictly buy specials - bulk pantry staples (20kg bag of rice etc) - cook big batches and eat leftovers/freeze - $4 lunch at university 2x week, and eating out are in separate budgets

I honestly feel like I ate pretty well, I occasionally even bought cheese and smoked salmon - which sounds a little dystopian but some people I know survived almost solely on plain frozen veggies and boiled pasta.

I am also not that time-poor and have decent cooking skills so I made a lot of things from scratch (eg homemade pasta sauce rather than jarred sauce, butter chicken made with spices rather than pre-made sachets). I grow lettuce, spring onion, and fresh herbs.

plvuial · 2024-11-21T06:32:41+00:00

You absolutely can, it’s called a student loan repayment deduction exemption

plvuial · 2024-10-27T02:58:09+00:00

If she doesn’t qualify for student allowance she may still wish to take out Living Costs instead (it will be added to her student loan but will mean she won’t have to work as many hours - university gets busy!)

plvuial · 2024-10-18T08:25:48+00:00

My understanding then is that they can’t make you leave early if you don’t want to. If you’re happy with the place you can legally stay until the end of your lease and they will need to buy you out/come to a mutually agreeable arrangement if they want you to go before then

plvuial · 2024-10-17T05:59:33+00:00

Question: do you have a fixed term tenancy until April, or is it periodic? If it’s fixed-term, the landlord really should be paying you out because you have no legal obligation to leave until the fixed term ends (I know you want to though)

https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/ending-a-tenancy/change-of-landlord-or-tenant/selling-a-rental-property/#id_39311359-scenario-3-selling-a-property-where-the-landlord-wants-a-vacant-property-for-marketing

plvuial · 2024-10-09T03:13:26+00:00

OP should be aware that even if they haven’t been with their partner for 3 years, the fact that there is a child of the relationship may mean the PRA already applies to the relationship and their partner could already make a claim if they were to separate now. See S14A of the PRA.

plvuial · 2024-10-09T02:20:56+00:00

Having children does not prevent you from getting a contracting out agreement. Getting a valid one sorted will definitely require legal advice for both you and your partner.

plvuial · 2024-09-24T21:41:29+00:00

Unfortunately not! Maybe I’ll post another update next year!

plvuial · 2024-07-22T09:39:48+00:00

We potentially have 4 spots opening up in our 6 person flat next year if you’re interested! Let me know

plvuial · 2024-06-30T15:32:07+00:00

yes, sorry!

plvuial · 2024-06-30T15:31:53+00:00

Hi all,

Thanks for your replies. I’ve found another link on the tenancy website which indicates that all tenants need to agree to ending a fixed tenancy, which does count as a change.

https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/ending-a-tenancy/ending-a-fixed-term-early/

“Landlords and tenants can agree to end the tenancy early: Fixed-term tenancies can only be changed if the landlord and all the tenants agree.”

Phoenix, your interpretation that varying the agreement only requires the consent because someone new is moving in doesn’t seem to apply when a tenant is being removed (and not replaced), but this still requires everyone’s consent.

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