Travelling to Brisbane alone?

[elmobluey]

Hi all,
Hope you've have a great start to the new year so far!

So, I live in FNQ, and I want to go to the lectures at QUT on the 23rd and 24th, but I want to save my family some money and from the burden of travelling to Brisbane just for 2 days. The flight is 2 hours and is quite inexpensive for one person.

Buttttt the thing is, I'm only 15 and I'm quite small (i'm pretty damn weak). My parents are quite protective of me too but I meannn, if I'm gonna have to travel alone in the future, I should start experiencing it earlier right? I know a lot of my friends who have travelled there alone at an even younger age. I've been to BNE a few times with a school group and family, so I'm familiar with the CBD.
Have many of you travelled to a major city alone when you were around my age? How safe did you find it?

aaahhh maybe I can attend a future lecture this year. But I'll definitely go to one next year. hopefully... eeeeeee
Have a nice day!

[LoneWolf]

You'll be fine.
If you have a phone, install the life 360 app on it; your parent can then see where you are etc.

[Bri MT]

Hi

I travelled to Melbourne on my own at around your age - to go to a Melbourne Uni event - (although in my case I went by regional train instead of plane) and there will be others with similar stories. I didn't experience any safety issues and haven't on subsequent visits. I also didn't experience any safety issues when I went to Brisbane with the team for the September lectures.

 I would encourage you in this to try and work with your parents to come up with a solution together that they would be comfortable with. For example, things like agreeing to contact them at set times, where you will/won't be at particular times etc. could all be part of your joint solution. It might also be the case that in the end they aren't comfortable with you going alone this time & although that's not an ideal outcome, it is still something you can work with. Maybe they would be more comfortable with a slower progression of doing trips closer to home independently before a Brisbane trip is discussed.

If you do end up not being able to make it to the lectures, lecture slides are uploaded into the notes section after the lectures so people can grab those for their notes.

Love your enthusiasm and hope you're able to work something out with your family.

[Coolmate]

If you have a phone, install the life 360 app on it; your parent can then see where you are etc.

Yeah I have heard that this app is pretty good, if you are worried it could be a good option for both your parents and yourself 😁

[SanchaTheSeeker]

At 15, it depends on what your parents think as well as whether you believe you're okay with spending 2+ days by yourself in the big smoke.

In my experience, my parents don't mind because it's educational and I know how to navigate my way around the city and I'm capable of sorting out transport myself, however, I live in outer Metro Melb (1-hour train from the city) so it's a lot more different to your case.

I think for most families if they think you're mature enough, have a valid reason for going, and you can safely navigate your way to and from the event, they will most likely allow you to

You should definitely bring this up with your parents and hopefully, you can sort something out that works for both parties. I suppose going with a friend would be a lot safer and less boring.

Are you going to be staying overnight by yourself as well?
Have you done something like this by yourself previously?

[caffinatedloz]

Do you have any friends of family living in Brisbane that you could stay with (or even near)? That may be one way of having a bit more safety and someone to check in with if you need them? Then, you may be able to convince your parents to let you fly to Brisbane yourself, with them knowing that you'll be meeting someone there who will be looking out for you?

[K.Smithy]

Hi all,
Hope you've have a great start to the new year so far!

So, I live in FNQ, and I want to go to the lectures at QUT on the 23rd and 24th, but I want to save my family some money and from the burden of travelling to Brisbane just for 2 days. The flight is 2 hours and is quite inexpensive for one person.

Buttttt the thing is, I'm only 15 and I'm quite small (i'm pretty damn weak). My parents are quite protective of me too but I meannn, if I'm gonna have to travel alone in the future, I should start experiencing it earlier right? I know a lot of my friends who have travelled there alone at an even younger age. I've been to BNE a few times with a school group and family, so I'm familiar with the CBD.
Have many of you travelled to a major city alone when you were around my age? How safe did you find it?

aaahhh maybe I can attend a future lecture this year. But I'll definitely go to one next year. hopefully... eeeeeee
Have a nice day!

Heya

I've never done a big trip alone before so I can't speak from personal experience - but, I do have a friend who last year travelled from Brisbane to Adelaide via plane alone (at the age of 15). From what they told me, the flight attendants and employees at airports are super helpful if you are a bit lost or don't know what you are meant to do and always ensure you are safe.

Also, I did attend the lectures at QUT in September and have been to the QUT campus alone many times before. The students and staff there are more than happy to help you out and they were stationed all around the campus to help students find their way to the lecture rooms. So yeah, at the campus itself, your safety is in good hands,

[Jimmmy]

I think it really depends on the person! Have a serious chat to your parents about it if you're super keen, but keep in mind that your final year of QCE isn't until 2021, and whilst the lectures are absolutely amazing, you should see it as a 'rush', if you know what I mean?

I personally wouldn't have felt comfortable undertaking a journey like that at 15, and I didn't actually go to any lectures until my final year of schooling, so don't feel like you're missing out