Callum is a fourth-year arts/law student at Melbourne who pays the rent with shifts at a Lygon Street wine bar he won’t name (his manager reads MELBZ). He moved down from Albury in 2021 for first-year halls, did the obligatory Carlton share-house in second year, and bailed for Brunswick West in third when his rent-to-Centrelink ratio hit the wrong side of comfortable.
He writes about the things student-housing sites won’t admit: which “all bills included” listings actually mean a $200 winter top-up, the seven-minute trick for getting a Myki concession at the SSC office, where the genuinely cheap pho is in 2026 (not 2019), how to spot a head-tenant who is going to be a problem on the share-house tour. He’s been to two tribunal hearings (won one, lost one) and knows enough about VCAT to tell you not to bother for a $400 dispute.
Callum writes for students who do not have the bank-of-mum bailout. He knows it shows.
Articles by Callum Shea are based on his own renting and student-life experience in Melbourne. He does not accept payment from real-estate agents or student-accommodation providers.