Student Opts For A 1-Hour Flight To Class Rather Than Renting In The City And Actually Saves Money

As recent data shows, the median rent in Vancouver, Canada, has reached almost $3,000 a month - a staggering 55 percent higher than the national average, as reported by Zumper.

Faced with these figures, Tim Chen, a student at the University of British Columbia (UBC), quickly realized that living in Vancouver was not financially feasible for him.

Residing over 400 miles away in Calgary, you'd assume the extensive commute to Vancouver for his studies would be prohibitively expensive. 

However, Tim has found that flying to the city twice a week is significantly more cost-effective than renting an apartment there.

Tim's flight to college is only an hour long. Credit: CTV News

In a conversation with CTV News, Tim shared that his round-trip flights cost him $150 each, totaling $1,200 a month. 

This approach proves to be nearly half the cost of renting a one-bedroom apartment in Vancouver, which goes for about $2,100 a month.

Tim explained his rationale to the news outlet, saying: "I thought, why don't I just stay in Calgary and just fly here. It's a one-hour flight. That's the same as taking a bus."

This unconventional commuting strategy caught the attention of social media when a clip of the CTV News segment was shared on Reddit, sparking a variety of reactions.

One commenter pointed out: "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."

Another sympathized with Tim's choice, commenting: "I dont blame him. $2,100 for a 1 bedroom. Yeah, good luck with that. Spend $100,000 USD over 4 years in rent? That's half the price of buying your own place."

Many others were quick to highlight the potential benefits of Tim's frequent flights, particularly in terms of accumulating air miles.

"Dude is racking in the frequent flyer miles," observed one user.

While another added: "Imagine the frequent flyer miles this kid racks up. He'll soon be spending time in lounges, flying free upgrades to business, sweet."

Tim is one of over 72,000 students at UBC. Credit: View Pictures/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Tim's story of opting for air travel over paying exorbitant rent is not unique. 

Sophia Celentano also made headlines last year for her weekly flights from Charleston or Richmond to New Jersey. 

Given that her job requires her to be in the office only once a week, she chose to wake up at 3am for her flights, avoiding the steep rent prices in New Jersey while dealing with a flight time of less than two hours.