(Source)
A student at the University of British Columbia (UBC) is making headlines because he flies from Calgary to Vancouver twice a week to save money.
“Super commuter”: Tim Chen, a final-year economics student at UBC, shared his unique commuting experience this month in a Reddit post aptly titled “Super Commute” under the username @brownsugar1041.
“I’m a super commuter at UBC and live in Calgary. I have to go to school on two days (Tuesday and Thursday), fly to Vancouver in the morning and return to Calgary in the evening. I flew all of these flights on Air Canada and made 7 round trips like this in January. I’ve found that I can definitely save on rent since I don’t have to pay rent in Calgary (live with my parents) except for utilities and it’s much cheaper than renting a 1 bedroom apartment in Vancouver for $2,000 or more. Does anyone do the same or similar?”
In a response to a commenter, he also mentioned that his family home in Calgary is only 10 minutes from the airport, making flying the most convenient commute for him.
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This is how much he saves: In an interview with CTV News, Chen explained that he had previously rented in Vancouver while studying at UBC, but rising rental costs prompted him to look for alternatives. Chen’s round-trip flight costs about 150 Canadian dollars ($111), totaling about 1,200 Canadian dollars ($897) a month, significantly less than the 2,500 Canadian dollars ($1,852) he estimates rent in Vancouver will cost.
Housing affordability problem: Although UBC offers options such as residence halls, challenges remain for many of its students who already face high living costs. Off-campus renting in Vancouver has become prohibitively expensive, exceeding provincial rent increase limits. Some students housed by the university have even faced rent increases above these limits during the current semester.
UBC Vice President Andrew Parr acknowledged the challenges students face in finding housing, explaining that the university is actively creating below-market housing due to high costs.
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“We know that finding affordable rental housing in Vancouver and Kelowna is a challenge for some of our students, as well as others who rent in the communities,” Parr said, according to Daily Hive. “It’s especially difficult in Vancouver.”
Reaction of Internet users: Chen’s cost-saving strategy drew mixed reactions on Reddit. While some praised his approach, others raised concerns about its feasibility and the burden of frequent air travel.
“This is super cool!” wrote one user. “Luckily my parents live in Vancouver, but if my dad worked at a different airport and I lived further away, this might have been my option hahaha. I still commute two hours each way every day, but it’s much better than that flight to Vancouver.”
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“I was actually thinking about doing something similar for summer classes,” wrote one commenter. “I often don’t go to class so I was thinking of just attending the first week/midterms/exams. What people don’t mention here is being exhausted and wasting time in security.”
“I think it would be easier to stay in a commuter dorm or something on Tuesday and Wednesday nights than to drive back and forth between classes on Tuesday and Thursday,” suggested another.
Another Super commuters: Last year, a University of California, Berkeley student known only as Bill also made headlines when he revealed that he flew from Los Angeles three times a week while in college to avoid expensive rents in the Bay Area. Bill, who racked up frequent flyer miles, claimed in his own Reddit post in July that this unconventional approach saved him money on rent.
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