Best Suburbs for Deakin University Students

Deakin University splits its students across multiple campuses — Burwood in Melbourne’s east, Geelong Waterfront and Geelong Waurn Ponds in regional Victoria, and Warrnambool further west. Most Melbourne-based students end up at the Burwood campus, which sits in a leafy eastern suburb that’s pleasant to look at but doesn’t offer much in the way of student culture.

This guide covers where to live for the Burwood campus primarily, with a section on Geelong for students studying there.

Burwood Campus Suburbs

Burwood

Right next to campus, but that’s about it.

Burwood is the most logical choice — the campus is here, and share houses within walking distance are available. The suburb sits along Burwood Highway, a major east-west road, with the campus on the south side near Gardiners Creek.

Rent:

• Share house room: $160-200/pw
• 1BR apartment: $280-320/pw

Getting to campus: Walk. Share houses along Burwood Highway, Elgar Road, and the surrounding residential streets are within 5-20 minutes on foot. Tram Route 75 runs along Burwood Highway past the campus entrance.

What it’s like: Burwood is an eastern-suburbs residential area. Tree-lined streets, well-maintained houses, families, and retirees. It’s safe, quiet, and thoroughly suburban. The commercial offerings are limited — there’s a small strip of shops near the Toorak Road/Warrigal Road intersection and the larger Burwood One Shopping Centre (Kmart, Coles, food court) about 2km east on Burwood Highway.

The housing stock is mostly 1960s-80s brick homes, many with three or four bedrooms suitable for share houses. Newer apartment developments have appeared near the campus in recent years. Rooms are decent-sized and often come with parking (useful if you have a car, irrelevant if you don’t).

Social life: Almost nonexistent off-campus. Burwood has no bars, no live music, no nightlife. The campus itself has a bar (The Deck) and social events through clubs and societies, but when those finish, the suburb goes to sleep. For going out, you’re heading to the CBD (40-50 minutes by tram) or to Camberwell or Box Hill.

Best for: Students who want the shortest possible commute and are happy with campus-based social life.

Box Hill

More going on, decent transit.

Box Hill is about 5km northeast of the Deakin Burwood campus. It’s undergone significant development in the past decade — the area around Box Hill Central shopping centre is now a dense mix of apartment towers, Asian restaurants, and commercial spaces. It’s a genuine neighbourhood hub in a way that Burwood isn’t.

Rent:

• Share house room: $160-190/pw
• 1BR apartment: $280-330/pw

Getting to campus: Bus Route 767 connects Box Hill Station to Deakin Burwood campus in about 15-20 minutes. Cycling is about 20 minutes along mostly flat residential streets. Tram Route 109 runs from Box Hill to the CBD but doesn’t pass the campus directly.

What it’s like: Box Hill is one of Melbourne’s largest Asian communities, and the food reflects it. Box Hill Central’s food court and the surrounding restaurants on Station Street and Whitehorse Road offer excellent Chinese, Thai, Korean, Vietnamese, and Malaysian food at student-friendly prices. There’s a large Asian grocery store (CitySuper) and multiple smaller speciality stores.

The residential streets around Box Hill are suburban, but the area within walking distance of the station has a urban energy. Apartment towers have brought a younger, more diverse population. The library is modern and well-equipped.

Getting to the CBD: Box Hill Station is a major interchange on the Belgrave/Lilydale line. Express trains to Flinders Street take about 25 minutes. Tram Route 109 runs along Whitehorse Road to the CBD — about 45-50 minutes, but useful if you want to avoid the train.

Social life: Box Hill’s social scene is food-oriented. Late-night restaurants, bubble tea shops, and dessert places stay open until 10-11pm. There’s no Western-style nightlife (no pubs or bars worth mentioning), but the dining scene is excellent. For nightlife, you’re training to the CBD.

Best for: Students from East and Southeast Asian backgrounds who want familiar food and community. Students who value a well-connected station for CBD access.

Glen Waverley

Southeast alternative with good food.

Glen Waverley is south of the Burwood campus, about 6km away. It’s on the Glen Waverley train line (different from Box Hill’s Belgrave/Lilydale line) and has The Glen shopping centre as its commercial anchor.

Rent:

• Share house room: $160-190/pw
• 1BR apartment: $290-330/pw

Getting to campus: Bus Route 767 or 733 connects Glen Waverley to the campus area — about 20-25 minutes. Cycling is about 25 minutes. There’s no direct tram connection.

What it’s like: Glen Waverley feels more established and family-oriented than Box Hill. Kingsway, the main restaurant strip, has excellent Asian dining — Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese. The Glen shopping centre has everything from Myer to JB Hi-Fi to a cinema complex.

Residential streets are wide, well-kept, and quiet. The housing stock is a mix of 1970s-90s builds and newer developments. Share houses are available but less common than in suburbs closer to university campuses — Glen Waverley’s market is more families and couples.

Getting to the CBD: Glen Waverley Station to Flinders Street takes about 35-40 minutes. Trains run every 10-15 minutes during peak.

Social life: Similar to Box Hill — food-oriented, family-friendly, no nightlife. Weekend dining on Kingsway is genuinely enjoyable. The cinema at The Glen is a standard weekend activity. For anything more, you’re training to the CBD.

Best for: Students who want a well-serviced suburb with good food and don’t mind a bus commute to campus.

Camberwell

Closer to the city, pricier, more polished.

Camberwell is west of the Deakin campus, about 4km along Toorak Road. It’s an established, affluent suburb with a traditional shopping strip along Burke Road.

Rent:

• Share house room: $200-240/pw
• 1BR apartment: $330-380/pw

Getting to campus: Tram Route 75 runs along Burwood Highway from the Camberwell Junction area toward the Deakin campus — about 15-20 minutes. Cycling is about 15 minutes.

What it’s like: Camberwell is the wealthiest suburb on this list. Burke Road has quality cafes, restaurants, and retail — it’s a proper shopping strip, not a suburban afterthought. The Camberwell Sunday Market is a well-known market for secondhand goods, books, and vintage items.

Housing in Camberwell is predominantly larger homes — share houses exist but are less common than in Box Hill or Burwood. When they come up, rooms are pricier but often in better-maintained properties.

Getting to the CBD: Camberwell Station is on the Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley lines — CBD in about 20 minutes. Tram Route 75 along Burwood Road takes about 30-35 minutes.

Social life: Camberwell has a brunch-and-shopping vibe rather than a going-out vibe. The cafes on Burke Road are popular on weekends. There’s a cinema (Rivoli) and a few wine bars. It’s pleasant but sedate. Not where you go for a big night out.

Best for: Students with a bigger budget who want a polished suburb with good CBD access. Also suits students who split time between the Burwood campus and a CBD workplace.

Geelong Campus Suburbs

Deakin’s Geelong operation spans two campuses: Geelong Waterfront (in the CBD) and Geelong Waurn Ponds (in the southwestern outskirts). The housing markets are different.

For Geelong Waterfront Campus

The Waterfront campus is on Western Beach, right in the Geelong CBD. Living in central Geelong puts you within walking distance.

Rent in central Geelong:

• Share house room: $140-170/pw
• 1BR apartment: $240-280/pw

Geelong’s CBD is compact. Pakington Street in Geelong West (a 10-minute walk or short bus ride from the Waterfront campus) has the best cafe and restaurant strip. Geelong West share houses run $130-160/pw — some of the cheapest rent for any Deakin student.

Geelong has its own social scene — smaller than Melbourne, obviously, but genuine. The Geelong nightlife centres on Little Malop Street and Yarra Street, with a handful of bars and a few live music venues. The waterfront itself is pleasant for running and cycling.

Transit to Melbourne: V/Line trains from Geelong Station to Southern Cross take about 55 minutes on the fast service, with trains running every 20-30 minutes during peak. A Myki covers the fare at about $9.20 each way (full fare) or $4.60 (concession).

For Waurn Ponds Campus

Waurn Ponds campus is about 10km southwest of Geelong CBD. It’s surrounded by new housing estates and not much else.

Rent near Waurn Ponds:

• Share house room: $120-150/pw
• 1BR apartment: $220-260/pw

Living in the Waurn Ponds area means very cheap rent but almost no amenities within walking distance. Most students at this campus either drive, take the campus shuttle bus from Geelong Station, or live in central Geelong and commute. Bus Route 45 connects Waurn Ponds to Geelong CBD.

The honest advice: live in central Geelong and commute to Waurn Ponds rather than living near the campus. The rent saving isn’t worth the isolation.

The Comparison Table

Practical Tips for Deakin Students

Tram Route 75 is your key route. If you’re at Burwood campus, Route 75 runs along Burwood Highway connecting the campus to Camberwell Junction and the CBD in one direction, and to Box Hill-adjacent areas in the other. It’s slower than the train but useful for direct campus access.

Use the Deakin campus bus. Deakin runs shuttle buses between campuses during semester. If you have classes at both Burwood and the CBD campus (located in the Melbourne CBD), the shuttle saves you dealing with public transport.

The eastern suburbs are car-friendly. Unlike the inner north or CBD, parking is available and often free in Burwood, Box Hill, and Glen Waverley. If you have a car, your suburb options expand significantly because you’re not limited by bus routes.

Join Deakin clubs early. Because the Burwood campus is in a quiet suburb, the on-campus social infrastructure matters more than it would at an inner-city university. Clubs and societies are the primary way to meet people. Sign up during O-Week — don’t wait until mid-semester.

FAQ

Is it better to live in Melbourne or Geelong for Deakin?

Depends on your campus. If you’re at Burwood, live in Melbourne. If you’re at Waurn Ponds, live in Geelong. If you’re at Geelong Waterfront, live in Geelong — the rent savings compared to Melbourne are significant, and the V/Line train makes Melbourne accessible for weekend trips.

Is the Burwood campus area boring?

By inner-city standards, yes. Burwood doesn’t have the nightlife, cafe culture, or street energy of suburbs like Fitzroy, Brunswick, or even Carlton. But “boring” depends on what you need — if you’re focused on study and have a car for weekend social trips, Burwood is functional and affordable. If you need to walk out your front door and into a bar, look at Camberwell or consider living closer to the CBD and commuting to campus.

Can I commute from the CBD to Burwood campus daily?

Yes, but it’s 40-50 minutes by tram (Route 75 from the CBD along Burwood Highway). By comparison, Box Hill or Burwood itself puts you within 15-20 minutes. CBD living makes sense only if your social life is centred in the city and you don’t have 8am starts.

Is the Geelong Waterfront campus good?

The campus itself is well-designed — modern building, good facilities, waterfront location. Geelong as a city has improved significantly in the past decade. The main question is whether you want to live in a regional city versus Melbourne. Geelong is quieter, cheaper, and more manageable. Melbourne has more of everything. Neither is wrong — it’s a lifestyle choice.