Watching someone you love move overseas to study can bring a lot of emotions. There’s excitement and pride, but there can also be plenty of questions and perhaps a little anxiety.
Will they be safe? Will they find somewhere to live? Will they make friends? What happens if they get sick? How will they cope living independently? And how will they manage being so far from home?
If these thoughts sound familiar, you’re certainly not the only one asking them.
We spoke to Griffith international students about the things their parents and families worried about before they moved to Australia and most importantly, what eventually helped put their minds at ease.
“Will they be safe?”
Safety is understandably one of the biggest concerns for families when a student moves overseas — particularly if it’s their first time living away from home.
For Netri, moving to Australia meant leaving behind her immediate family in India and learning to manage life independently.
“My family was mainly worried about my safety, living so far away from home and having to manage everything independently. They also worried about whether I would adjust well, make friends and cope without my immediate family nearby,” she says.
Netri understood where those concerns were coming from. What helped most wasn’t one big conversation before she left, but keeping her family involved as her new life began to take shape.
“I put their minds at ease by staying in regular contact and keeping them updated about my life. As I settled into university, started working, made friends and became more independent, they became much more comfortable and confident about my move,” Netri shares.
For Terguunzaya, video calls and simple updates about what she is doing continue to reassure her family back home in Mongolia.
“Safety is still a concern for them now. I video call them and keep them updated. Communicating is very important, and just telling them what you’re up to really eases their minds,” she says.
Top tip for parents: Before your student leaves, talk about how you’ll stay connected and make a plan for the first few weeks or months. A regular video call can be reassuring, but so can the everyday messages — a photo from campus, an update about a new friend or simply hearing what they did that day.
“Will they be able to manage on their own?”
For many international students, studying overseas brings a lot of firsts. Neha had lived at home in India for 19 years before coming to Australia. Not only was it her first international flight, she was making the journey alone and arriving somewhere she didn’t know anyone.
Then came all the everyday things.
“Finding my way around university, using public transport, cooking for myself and looking for a part-time job were all things I had to figure out on my own,” Neha admits.
Neha’s experience is an important reminder that students don’t necessarily arrive in Australia feeling completely confident and have their own fears to overcome.
“I didn’t arrive here feeling completely prepared or confident in myself. I was figuring things out as I went, and I think that’s what the experience has really been for me — learning, adjusting and slowly becoming more comfortable with things I once found unfamiliar,” Neha shares.
Yurika, from Japan, had a similar experience. Her parents weren’t only thinking about the big move — they were wondering how she would manage all the individual parts of everyday life.
“Before moving to Australia, my parents were worried about my life here, including finding accommodation, cooking and studying,” Yurika says.
After arriving, however, Yurika began putting those pieces together. She found accommodation, secured a job and accessed study support to help her balance everything.
“Now, they feel very happy. I know for international students it can be a little bit hard to set up their life because they face a lot of things they have never faced before.”
Those small experiences can become important milestones. Learning a new bus route, cooking a new recipe, navigating campus, starting a job or solving a problem independently might not sound significant, but each one can help a student become a little more confident in their new home — and show their family that they’re finding their feet.
“Will they find somewhere to live?”
Knowing where a student will live — and whether they’ll feel comfortable there — can be a significant source of worry, particularly when plans haven’t been finalised before departure.
For Yurika and her family, this uncertainty was very real.
“I had applied for accommodation at Griffith University Village, but I hadn’t received my confirmation yet before leaving Japan. That’s why my father was so worried,” Yurika shares.
Once she arrived and secured accommodation, it was one less unknown for both Yurika and her family.
Terguunzaya also hadn’t finalised her accommodation when she first arrived in Australia however she was fortunate to have her mother travel with her while she settled in, which helped ease some of her family’s concerns. Her advice to other students and families is to start thinking and talking about accommodation early.
“If you have the opportunity, I would recommend having one of your parents come with you. If not, talk to your agent or the university about accommodation beforehand,” Terguunzaya suggests.
Not every family will be able to travel to Australia together, and not every detail will necessarily be finalised before departure. Researching the options and knowing where to ask for help, however, can make the transition feel much more manageable.
“What if they get sick or need help?”
This was a very real concern for Shanna’s parents, who had never visited Australia before Shanna moved to the Gold Coast.
“They were most worried about how I would adjust to the lifestyle here and whether I’d be able to handle things on my own, particularly if I were to get injured,” Shanna shares.
Then Shanna actually did get injured.
Rather than confirming her parents’ fears, the experience helped show them that she could navigate an unfamiliar situation and access the help she needed.
“I had to visit a GP after an injury, so I think hearing about my experiences and seeing that I could manage things myself helped put their minds at ease.”
As Shanna’s family learned more about the support available to her and saw her navigating life independently, their confidence grew too.
Top tip for parents: Griffith students have access to a range of services to support their health, wellbeing and everyday university experience. Exploring these services together before departure can help both students and their supporters understand where to turn if they need help.
“What if they get homesick?”
For Neha, leaving the family and life she’d known for 19 years was a significant adjustment. “I went through a lot of homesickness and fear. I had lived at home my whole life, so being away from my family and everything familiar was a big adjustment,” Neha shares.
Homesickness doesn’t necessarily mean something has gone wrong or that a student isn’t enjoying their experience. Missing home and building a new life can happen at the same time.
As students establish routines, meet people and become more familiar with their surroundings, a place that initially feels unfamiliar can gradually begin to feel like home.
“But what about the spiders… and crocodiles?”
And then there are some uniquely Australian concerns. Shanna’s mum had two in particular.
“My mum was also concerned about bugs and crocodiles. I have an irrational fear of insects, so she thought I’d move back home pretty quickly,” Shanna shares.
Fortunately, reality hasn’t quite matched the Australia portrayed on social media. “Social media definitely exaggerates how common they are, at least in populated areas! She’s still slightly paranoid about crocodiles, but she’s much more at ease about insects after hearing that my roommates, friends and partner are always willing to get rid of them for me if one flies into my room.”
Sometimes, reassurance comes from knowing your student has found people who’ll look out for them — even if that means occasionally removing an unwanted flying visitor from their bedroom!
Helping each other adjust
There isn’t one conversation that will remove every worry about studying overseas — and there doesn’t need to be.
Our students’ experiences show that many of the concerns families have before their student leaves are shared by families around the world and students can share many of those uncertainties too.
As Yurika puts it, international students can face “a lot of things that they have never faced before”. But figuring out those things — finding somewhere to live, getting around, making friends, asking for help, starting work or simply cooking for themselves — can also be an important part of the experience.
Our best advice for parents? Stay connected. Ask about the everyday things. Learn about accommodation and support services together. Celebrate the small wins as well as the big ones. And remember that students and their families are both adjusting to something new.
There may be moments when your student feels homesick, uncertain or overwhelmed. There will probably be moments when you miss them enormously too.
But there will also be new friendships, growing confidence, greater independence and plenty of stories to share on the next video call. And eventually, the things that once felt unfamiliar can become part of everyday life.
