Students Are Now Flying Hundreds of Miles to Class to Avoid Sky-High Rents

Summary

Students are resorting to flying long distances to attend classes in order to avoid exorbitant urban rents, highlighting the severe financialization of housing.

Abstract

The financialization of housing has led to skyrocketing rents in major cities, where many universities are located, forcing students into creative but unsustainable living situations. Some students, such as Tim Chen from Calgary, choose to live in their hometowns and commute by plane to their universities, despite the environmental impact and time consumption. This trend underscores the dire consequences of a housing market dominated by rent-seeking banksters and land-lords, who are seen as exploiting the precarious financial situation of students. The article cites examples like Bill, a University of California Berkeley student who flew 238 times to avoid high rent in the Bay Area, and points out that such extreme measures are indicative of a broader societal issue where housing is treated as a commodity rather than a basic human right.

Opinions

The article expresses a strong opinion against the financialization of shelter, criticizing rent-seeking banksters and parasitic land-lords for the inflation of rent prices.
It suggests that the ingenuity of students who commute by plane to save on rent deserves recognition, possibly even a degree.
The environmental impact of such commuting habits is highlighted as a significant concern, contributing to pollution.
The piece argues that the current state of housing, where land-lords are seen as exploiting residents, is unsustainable and detrimental to society.
It posits that simply increasing income through second jobs, pay raises, or Universal Basic Income will not solve the housing crisis, as rents will likely increase in response.
The author advocates for housing to be recognized as an active human right rather than a passive income stream for land-lords.
There is a call to action to end the financialization and hoarding of homes to prevent further societal damage.

This needs to stop immediately

You can’t make this up.

Thanks to the gross financialization of shelter by rent-seeking banksters and parasitic land-lorders, the cost to rent in major cities has skyrocketed.

But major cities tend to be where the major universities are, so it leaves students in a jam — do they load up with even more debt so someone can exploit their precarious situation, or do they get creative?

Some geniuses — and I say give them a degree just for the ingenuity! — have started living hundreds of miles away from their place of education in cheaper towns, then commuting to class by plane to save money.

Take Tim Chen, a resident of Calgary. A one-bedroom apartment in Vancouver would cost him $2100, so he just lives at home and then pays $1200/month to fly twice per week to Vancouver for class, at a cost of $150 per round-trip.

In the USA, a kid named Bill couldn’t afford rent in the Bay Area, so the University of California Berkeley student flew 238 flights at a cost of $5,592.66 including parking and public transportation, to avoid the ~$20,000 he would’ve had to fork over to a land-lorder.

(Upon graduation, Alaska Airlines gave him a one-year Flight Pass Pro Subscription so he could jet around the southwest for free.)

As funny as these stories are, they also expose something deeply troubling about life in our financialized world:

It’s killing us.

Think of how much pollution these needless flights are causing.

Think of how much youth is wasted in repaying massive debts just to learn and stay sheltered.

Think of how much worse this is going to get in the years ahead as small-time land-lorders and trillion-dollar hedge funds devour the housing market and continue jacking rents.

Remember: Land-lorders will not stop until they are stopped.

If every single Canadian and American got a second job, or all got a pay raise, or all got a fat monthly Universal Basic Income check, rents would rise accordingly. We cannot out-earn parasites. The more blood available, the fatter the vampire will grow.

Housing hardship and homelessness are at an all-time high, and we’re only getting started.

We must end the financialization and hoarding of homes before they rip apart society.

Shelter is an active human right, not a passive income stream.