Calgary student flies to school to skip Vancouver's sky-high rent

If someone told me that they drove their car or came to school by bus or train, would I not think about it and fly to school all the time? This certainly raises some questions.

For one student at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada, high rental prices prompted her to find a creative way to get to her classes. In an interview with CTV News, Tim Chen told a reporter that after his previous rental was turned down for fall break, when he tried to renew, he returned to a much higher sticker price.

A one-bedroom apartment he estimated would cost about $2,500 a month, which was out of his budget range. With only two 3-hour classes a week, Chen decided it would be more economical to fly from Calgary to Vancouver for half the price. Round-trip tickets cost about $150, while a one-hour flight between two cities cost about $1,200 a month.

It's no secret that Vancouver's rental market is out of control, with rising rental prices and decreasing affordability making things worse by the day.

Andrew Parr, UBC's Vice President of Student Housing and Community Services, also acknowledged the situation, saying:

“We understand that finding affordable rental housing in Vancouver and Kelowna is difficult for some students, while others seem to rent in communities. It's very difficult in Vancouver.”

Flying to work isn't unusual, but the concept has become popular with relocation and rental prices spiraling out of control. In June 2023, another went viral on TikTok after documenting his morning commute from South Carolina to New Jersey for his summer internship.