Dunedin is a southern South Island city built around the University of Otago, New Zealand’s oldest. It has the country’s most concentrated and well-known student culture, a compact campus-centred layout, and some of the most affordable living in New Zealand, though that affordability comes with a genuine trade-off in winter comfort that’s worth knowing about before you commit.

Universities and major institutes

University of Otago
Otago Polytechnic (Te Pūkenga)

Getting around

Dunedin doesn’t really need a transport card the way the bigger cities do, because so much of student life happens within walking distance of the university in North Dunedin. Most students who live in “Studentville” simply walk to lectures, and the compact layout means bikes are common too, even if the hills around the edges of the city can make cycling harder work than in flatter places like Christchurch. Regional buses connect the outer suburbs for anyone living further out, but plenty of students go through their whole degree rarely needing one.

Weather and lifestyle

Dunedin sits further south than the other main student cities, and it shows: winters are genuinely cold, and the flats that give the city its scarfie reputation are, fairly often, old villas that were never built with insulation in mind. This is part of the city’s identity as much as a downside: the scarfie culture around North Dunedin (named for the woollen scarves once needed to survive draughty student flats) is a real and enduring part of student life here, and it goes well beyond a marketing line. On the upside, the Otago Peninsula, its wildlife, and the surrounding hills and beaches are close enough for a half-day trip, and the change of seasons here is more dramatic and clearly defined than further north.

Working while you study

Eligible international students can generally work up to 25 hours a week during term time, following the rise from 20 hours that took effect in November 2025, though you should confirm your own visa conditions since the higher limit isn’t automatic for every visa holder. Dunedin’s job market for students is smaller than the main centres, concentrated in hospitality, retail and campus-adjacent roles around North Dunedin and the city centre, so shifts can be harder to find outside peak times like orientation week and the start of semester. Some students pick up seasonal work over the summer break in nearby regional industries, though this usually means travelling outside the city itself.

Cost of living

Dunedin is one of New Zealand’s cheapest student cities on paper. Expect NZD $160 to $280 a week for a room in a shared flat, with most students living within walking distance of campus in the historic Studentville area, which also keeps transport costs close to nothing. The catch is heating: older, poorly insulated flats in this part of the country can mean a genuinely significant winter power bill, so it pays to ask about insulation and heating before signing a lease, rather than judging a flat purely on its rent.

Neighbourhoods for students

North Dunedin / Studentville: the dense student quarter beside the university.
City Centre: close to campus and shops.
Roslyn: a little quieter, up the hill.

Studying in Dunedin