To avoid exorbitant rents, a university student flies about two hours to attend classes.
Around the campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, where Tim Chen was attending his final year in October 2022, housing prices became too high for the economics student.
"I thought, 'Why don't I stay in Calgary and then fly here? It's a one-hour flight, it's the same as taking a bus," explained the Canadian to CTV News, who is grateful that he only has to make the trip twice a week.
But Chen didn't always commute to college by air. He tried living in Vancouver and even rented a house, but gave up after noticing a huge rent increase when he returned from vacation.
"When I looked at the price of the house, I thought 'damn, there's been a big increase! I need to pay about 2,500 dollars in rent, so I don't think it's feasible,'" she said, with bills to show for it.
A non-stop round-trip flight from Calgary to Vancouver costs around 111 dollars. Since he only has to commute to university twice a week, he only spends 890 dollars a month and continues to live with his parents. You also save a lot of time.
A trip by car or van from Calgary to Vancouver - about 1000 km apart - would take about 10 hours. By plane, it takes about 1 hour and 40 minutes. "I have three hours of lessons in total. After the lessons, I get back on the bus and return to the airport," he says.
In Vancouver, a one-bedroom apartment currently costs around 2,659 dollars a month, according to Zumper - it's the most expensive city in Canada to live in. The city's average rent is rising: it stands at 2,950 dollars a month and only 4% of homes are available for rent below 1,500 dollars.
