Student chooses to take 1-hour flight to class instead of paying rent in city and actually saves money
It's not new information that rent prices are getting pretty ridiculous now, but this student has found a savvy way around it.
As of this month, the median rent in Vancouver, Canada, is almost $3,000 a month - 55 percent higher than the rest of the country, according to Zumper.
With this in mind, University of British Colombia (UBC) student Tim Chen knew that renting in the city at the moment wasn't an option for him.
Advert
Tim lives over 400 miles away from Vancouver in Calgary and, while you'd think it would cost him stupid amounts to make the huge commute to the city for his studies, he actually saves money in comparison to him renting there.
Chatting to CTV News, Tim revealed that he pays $150 per round trip flight twice a week; amounting to $1,200 a month.
This works out almost 50 percent cheaper than him paying rent in Vancouver as a one bedroom apartment is around $2,100 a month.
"I thought, why don't I just stay in Calgary and just fly here," he told the news outlet.
"It's a one hour flight. That's the same as taking a bus."
A clip of the CTV News segment has since been posted on Reddit, where people have been sharing their thoughts.
One person said: "One hour commute isn't that bad. But having to show up to the airport so often would suck. Also your schedule would be pretty inflexible, I sure missing a flight would be a big headache."
"I dont blame him," penned another. "2100 for a 1 bedroom. Yeah good luck with that. Spend 100,000 USD over 4 years in rent? Thats half the price of buying your own place."
Another frequent remark noted the number of air miles Tim will be racking up.
"Dude is ranking in the frequent flyer miles," someone wrote.
"Imagine the frequent flyer miles this kid racks up. He’ll soon be spending time in lounges, flying free upgrades to business, sweet," echoed a second.
Tim isn't alone in jetting across the country on a plane instead of paying rent; Sophia Celentano went viral last year after documenting her weekly commute from Charleston or Richmond to New Jersey.
Sophia's job means she only has to be in the office once a week so, rather than pay hefty New Jersey rent prices, she gets up around 3am once a week to fly over to there.
The flight time is typically less than two hours long.
Niamh Shackleton