Canadian student saves money by getting to his studies by airplane to avoid rent
- Tim Chen is a Canadian student who resides in Calgary
- Despite living nearly 1,000 kilometers away, he attends school at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver
- Twice a week, Chen makes a flies from Calgary to Vancouver and back, costing around $150 per round-trip flight
Published on Feb 23, 2024 at 7:26 PM (UTC+4)
by Adam Gray
Last updated on Feb 26, 2024 at 1:30 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
For thew vast majority of people, commuting to work or college is part of routine life.
Have you ever heard of someone flying to college from their place of residence, though?
That’s exactly what one Canadian student, residing in Calgary, does twice a week to attend school at the University of British Columbia.
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The seaport city of Vancouver may be beautiful, but it’s notorious for its sky-high rents.
Canadian student, Tim Chen, stays in Calgary, saving in the region of $2,100 that he would otherwise have to spend in Vancouver on accommodation.
Chen spends around $150 for each round-trip flight, every week for two days – taking his monthly school travel expenses to $1,200.
Wonder if he’s spotted any UFOs from his plane window, like this guy’s unusual midair encounter.
Super-commuting
byu/brownsugar1041 inUBC
The Canadian student recently took to Reddit to share his experience.
He wrote: “As titled, I’m a super commuter at UBC and I live in Calgary.
“I have two days that need to go to school for class (Tues and Thu), I fly to Vancouver in the morning and return to Calgary at night.
“I’ve been flying on Air Canada for all these flights, and for Jan, I did 7 round trips like this.
“I found there’s saving on rent since I don’t need to pay rent in Calgary (live with my parents) except just casually paying for utilities, and it’s much cheaper than renting a 1b for 2k or more in Vancouver.”
While some users were impressed with his ingenuity, others felt that the frequent air commutes would be too hectic and time-consuming.
“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’m sure missing a flight would be a big headache,” one user wrote.
“Modern problem requires modern solutions!” another commented.
“Imagine the frequent flyer miles this kid racks up. He’ll soon be spending time in lounges, flying free upgrades to business, sweet,” a third said.
“Honestly doable. The flight is pretty quick and good deals on flights would be way less than rent, food, and other costs,” a fourth added.
In other news, a school custodian in the US, who walked to work every day, was surprised with a car by teachers in heartwarming footage.
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Adam Gray is an experienced freelance motoring journalist and content creator based in the United Kingdom. Using his media accreditation with manufacturers’ press offices, Adam test drives the latest cars and attends new vehicle press launches, producing written reviews and news pieces for a variety of lifestyle and business publications. Here at Supercar Blondie, Adam applies his journalistic skills penning social-first content around current news and trends. When he’s not behind the wheel of the latest car or writing up another viral story, Adam can be found at his local rink playing ice hockey or at the Riverside Stadium supporting his beloved Middlesbrough FC.
