Intern terrified by New York City rent prices commutes weekly from South Carolina to New Jersey
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: ABC 7 / Instagram/@soph.ia_c
There is no questioning that the cost of living crisis is hitting many people across the entire globe.
While everything from the cost of a pint of milk to the price of fuel has increased in recent times, the housing sector is certainly one that has been hit hard.
With rising interest rates, it has never been so difficult for individuals, couples or families to get on the housing ladder.
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And renting a place is not exactly easier either, especially in a city that is known for its notoriously high housing prices.
One US city that has been known for this for a long while is New York, with the median price of a studio apartment in the Big Apple locking in at a whopping $3,200.
Pretty expensive, eh?
That expensive that a 21-year-old intern from Charleston, South Carolina flies to Newark, and then takes a Uber to her job in New Jersey as it is cheaper than renting an apartment.
Sophia Celentano does only have to be in the office once a week, but still, it does sound like a mammoth effort, right?
Even after finishing her shift, Sophia returns home on the same evening, with the round trip costing $100.
Speaking to ABC 7, Sophia said: "I looked at places that were in the suburbs of New Jersey.
"I looked at places that were in New York City and got absolutely terrified with the rent prices."
She added that even if she moved into the smallest of smallest apartments - something that probably wasn't the best - then her quality of life would suffer.
Sophia has since gone viral on social media after documenting her unique commute to the office.
In a recent TikTok, she documented her Wednesday morning commute, which starts by waking up at 3:45am - yikes.
She gets to the airport for 5am, just about in time for boarding at 5:30am.
The plane takes off at 6am, with a two-hour flight that sees her land in Newark at 8am.
It is then a 30-minute taxi to the office, meaning she is at work for 8:30am sharp.
Speaking to CNN after her weekly commute went viral, Sophia said she 'wasn't expecting so many people to be surprised by my commute'.
She added: "I've grown up seeing the flexibility and benefits that provides their lifestyle, so I didn't really think twice about super commuting this summer. I understand though why people were so shocked by my decision.
"The financial peace would definitely be shocking from an outside perspective; the fact that commuting is cheaper for me, says a lot about the current cost of living and pressures young adults face as they enter the working world."