Cheaper than paying rent: Student from Canada regularly commutes to university by plane

Enlarge image

Air Canada plane at Vancouver Airport: "When I looked at the rents, I thought: oh man"

Photo:

Bayne Stanley/ZUMA Wire/IMAGO

He himself calls it "super commuting": A student living in Calgary, Canada, says he always travels to events at his university by plane - the rent in Vancouver is simply too high for him.

Art student Tim Chen first wrote a post about it in an internet forum, then the television station CTV News profiled him.

According to the information, Chen is already in his final year of study and also had an apartment in Vancouver for a while.

He went on vacation in the fall and therefore gave up his place.

After his return, he was shocked by the increase in prices: "When I looked at the rents, I thought: Oh man!" He would have had to calculate around 2,500 Canadian dollars in rent per month (around 1,700 euros) for a new apartment.

"I didn't feel like it was worth it."

Afterwards, Chen reports, he began to do the math: he currently only has to be present at the university two days a week.

A return flight from the city of Calgary, where his parents' house is located, costs around 150 Canadian dollars (around 100 euros).

In total, he earns around 1,200 Canadian dollars a month (around 820 euros), i.e. less than half of what would be due in rent.

So he decided on this solution.

»I have a total of three hours of lessons.

“Afterwards I go to the bus and go back to the airport,” said Chen, describing his daily routine.

And it should stay that way for now: According to CTV News, he wants to do the tour twice a week until he graduates.

According to air travel portals, the duration of a one-way flight between Calgary and Vancouver is approximately one and a half hours, so he should spend around three hours on board a plane per seminar day.

The television station also reported that Vancouver is the city in Canada with the highest rents.

The vacancy rate is just 0.9 percent.

In fact, housing prices in Vancouver have risen sharply in recent years.

In view of the conditions in the metropolis, the Canadian Parliament passed a law last year that largely prohibits foreigners from buying residential property for two years.

Sol