June 16, 2023 – 7:43 PM
Sofia Celentano, 21, would rather travel 600 miles once a week than pay thousands of dollars for her apartment in New York. CNBC.
In the spring, the young American got an internship for the summer at a company in New Jersey. But rather than jump headlong into the search for a sub-lease, Celentano weighed things up. As an intern, she only has to come to the office once, or maybe twice, a week, so it actually makes her more money to stay at her parents’ house in Charleston, South Carolina, than to rent an apartment in New Jersey or New York.
Therefore, Celentano only has to swallow the bitter pill on Wednesdays, when his morning alarm goes off at 3:30 am, in order to catch the plane to New Jersey in time. Weekly round-trip expenses, including taxis and lunch, are about $225 (that’s about HUF 77,000), and they also pack breakfast and dinner at home to save even more money.
According to Celentano’s calculations, if he were to live in a sublet, he would spend no less than $4,250 (nearly one and a half million forints) on living expenses during the ten-week summer internship. However, by moving he can save close to $2,000,000 and a lot of stress, as he says being away from his family and friends will have a negative impact on him all the time. His method isn’t unique—other interns travel from Boston, Philadelphia, and Atlanta.
Celentano shared several videos of his commute routine on Instagram on TikTokIn one, he also talked about his boss’ reaction when he said he’d rather travel once a week than pay $3,500 a month for an apartment in New York.
