One thing a lot of us complain about when it comes to working in the office is the commute.

Whether it be a 20-minute train journey, a 30-minute bus, or a 40-minute walk, we all love to complain about it.

But imagine if you had to jump on a plane every time you went to work?

Beyond the realms of possibilities for a lot of us, but that’s exactly one woman’s from of transport for the work commute.

We all know how expensive renting is, so much so, Sophia took the idea of commuting to a whole new level.

Sophia had to be on the east coast, in particular New Jersey, for her internship, but rent continues to well and truly spiral.

So, the TikToker saved a bunch of cash by getting a plane to work every week instead.

Speaking to Business Insider, Sophia explained a little more about why she went through all the hassle of taking a plane to her internship every single week.

After receiving the offer from Ogilvy, Sophia said it was her ‘initial instinct’ to just commute to the offices as there was only one mandatory day a week where she needed to be physically in.

She explained: “From my perspective, I didn’t really see it worth getting a really expensive place by the office if I was only needing to be there for eight hours of the week.

“I guess I never really saw super-commuting as a daunting thing.”

It’s certainly some commute. (TikTok/@sophiacelentano48)

Sophia proceeded to share a rundown of her morning routine: “When I first started, I’d get up at like 3am to get ready for the plane ride, but now I wake up around 3:30am or 3:45am.

“I do my makeup and hair first, put on my business casual outfit, and then I get my bag ready. I usually pack a lunch, some comfortable clothes, and then bring a coffee to go.”

She usually ended up leaving the house ‘around 4:30am’ and arriving at the airport around ‘5am’.

“I have TSA PreCheck so the airport security line really only takes five to 10 minutes,” the woman continued. “I’m usually at my gate by around 5:15 am, which is exactly when boarding starts.”

When off the flight, Sophia called an Uber ‘right away’ and made it to the office ‘usually around 8:30 or 8:45am’ right in time to start her full 9-5 workday.

When the day’s work was finito, Sophia simply hopped on a plane straight back home, landing ‘around 11pm’ in either Charleston, where her parents live, or Richmond, Virginia, where her boyfriend lived.

“The next day, because I work remote, I’m able to sleep in a bit so that helps a lot,” she added. “I don’t have to wake up until around 8am to start work.”

Possibly the longest commute you’ve ever heard. (TikTok/@sophiacelentano48)

While she admitted it can be a ‘tiresome commute’, Sophia said it’s definitely ‘worth it’.

And the money?

Well, Sophia explained to those who are curious about her jet-setting lifestyle that super-commuting is all about striking a healthy work-life balance.

She said: “A lot of people are interested in how much money I’m saving. I book my flights about three to four weeks out so they’re pretty cheap.

“My flights are around $100 there and back and then I pay about $100 for Ubers between the office and airport. If I lived in the New York City or New Jersey area, I’d be spending thousands of dollars a month on rent alone.”

While she understands it may not ‘work for everyone’, Sophia explained: I feel like I’ve gotten used to the whole hustle of traveling every week and it really doesn’t bother me.

“If anything, I really look forward to it. I love being at the airport. I love the adventure of it. I think it’s really nice to be able to wake up in one city and then start my workday in another.” 

A man travelled almost 5,500 miles every single week to a completely different country because it was ‘cheaper’ than living in his university city.

Some of us are guilty of complaining about a 30-minute journey to work via bus or car, but imagine having to go to the airport, head through security and board a plane for the morning commute.

I feel tired just saying it, but for Guangli Xu it’s very much been a reality.

The 28-year-old went viral after sharing his mammoth commute on Douyin – the Chinese version of TikTok.

Each return trip took three days in total, beginning with Xu leaving his home in the Shandong province of eastern China at around 7am to the capital city of Jinan for the airport.

Guangli Xu’s commute is mammoth (Douyin)

This is where he would take a layover flight to Melbourne in Australia, arriving the next day in time for class at RMIT University, where he studied art management.

Xu would go back to China on the third day, with a friend putting him up while studying in Australia.

Speaking about his weekly travels, Xu told SBS Mandarin: “A round trip takes about 72 hours. One way is about 10 to 13 hours on the plane.”

Xu previously lived in Melbourne after spending eight years studying in the Aussie city, including an undergraduate degree in game design.

But for his final semester in 2024, Xu decided to move back home and become an ‘international commuter’.

“I usually leave for Melbourne on Monday mornings and can be back home [in China] by Wednesday evenings,” he added.

“The overall cost is not much different. But I think the money is better spent [in China] because the overall cost here is lower.”

Xu commuted to Melbourne from China (Getty Stock Image)

In one video, Xu calculated one trip cost him around $930, which included the flight, taxi and food.

While it may sound like a big hassle, Xu’s research on the feasibility of the commute and the temptation to spend more time with his nearest and dearest made him commit to the plan.

“I found that the flight routes between China and Australia are frequent, with multiple airlines operating, so I gave it a try … It turned out to be quite feasible and I haven’t encountered any major issues,” he added.

“I prefer the environment and convenience in China. After living abroad for so many years, I also wanted to spend more time with my family.”

Xu completed his studies for the semester back in October and doesn’t expect to return to Australia for a while.

I think a lot of us would like to drop everything and leave to go and live on a cruise ship if we had the opportunity.

But a lot of us would be automatically put off by the cost of the whole thing.

Back in 2021, Ryan Gutridge decided to take the plunge and embark on a new life on the seas.

He started staying on Royal Caribbean cruise ships after realizing he could do his day job remotely.

I think a lot of us assume cruises are for retired people who can leave home for long periods of time due to a lack of commitments.

However, Gutridge sees it as a cost-effective way of living if you can work while away.

He told Insider: “I work in IT as a cloud-solution engineer for a cloud-solution provider and started working from home in 2012.

“But because of the pandemic, my team was able to work from home and access the data they needed from anywhere.

“At that time, cruise lines hadn’t announced when or if they were coming back. I thought that if they returned, I’d want to try taking my job with me on a short cruise. I wanted to see how the WiFi would work and if I could access some elements of my job with heavy security.”

Royal Caribbean

In the summer of 2021, Gutridge booked two four-night cruises on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas.

“Everything worked great, and since then, I’ve been on a cruise pretty much every week, except for a few weeks due to the holidays,” he said.

Gutridge had to crunch the numbers before embarking on his new life – something that involved a lot of research.

While crunching the numbers, he realised that the cost of living at sea for 300 nights as ‘almost neck-and-neck’ with what he was paying for his apartment and trash service.

But with the cruise comes added perks, like free WiFi and free drinks, meaning he’s also saving money on other bills and expenses.

After all, anyone who works from home will know the pain of having internet issues and forking out for overpriced WiFi, so the deal here sounds like a pretty sweet one in that sense alone.

Ryan Gutridge

“I wanted to really look at the cost of cruising full-time before I began,” Gutridge continued. “I have a spreadsheet that automatically records all my expenses, which helps.

“I also set a budget every year. This year, my base fare budget is about $30,000, and last year when I started really looking at the numbers and evaluating how much base fare I paid to be on a ship for 300 nights, I found it was almost neck-and-neck with what I paid for rent and trash service for an apartment in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.”

He continued: “My drinks and internet are free. If people are going to do something like what I do, I recommend trying different brands because they all offer something different. But once you commit to one, you should stick to it so you reach those loyalty levels.

“I found that Royal Caribbean has, by far, the most valuable benefits to me — discounts, free internet, and free drinks.”

A man relocated to a five-star all inclusive for a month after realising it was cheaper than his monthly rent and other bills.

If you’re currently sat at a table in silence working from home in a dingy study or you’re sat at an office desk staring bleakly out the hundreth-storey window wishing you w

TikToker Josh Kerr was scrolling the internet in search of an all inclusive holiday deal when he realised you could put ’28 nights’ as your timeframe.

Popping it in, he was surprised to see the cost for a month-long holiday – while still a big sum – was seemingly on par with his monthly rent.

And when he looked further into it, he realised it wasn’t just on par, but would actually be a better deal than his typical monthly outgoings and apartment in Manchester, UK. But how?

Josh Kerr moved to a five-star all inclusive for ’28 days’ (TikTok/ @joshkerr0)

Josh found a five-star all inclusive resort in Antalya, Turkey with a pool, gym and more which came to £938 ($1,175).

The TikToker then added up all his bills, rent, council tax ‘and all that jazz’ which came to £951.

“So that’s not even including food or drink or anything,” he said on an episode of Holidays: Get Away For Less on ITV1.

The TikToker eventually jetted off to Turkey in a collaboration with On the Beach, staying at Port River Hotel and Spa in Antalya, indulging in multiple plates of food, flowing drinks and located just 300 meters from a ‘stunning beach’, he says in a TikTok video. Oh and it was also near an old city with beautiful old ruins for whenever Josh did fancy a change of scene – I’d probably just be fine with the cocktail, beach and pool thanks.

And it’s not taken long for people to flood to social media in awe of Josh’s hack.

It’s alright for some eh? (TikTok/ @joshkerr0)

One X user said: “There’s a guy that has moved into an all inclusive 5* resort in Turkey because it works out cheaper per month than his rent and bills in Manchester which doesn’t even include food… He’s found the ultimate cheat code to the cozzy livs.”

“When I get a 100 percent remote role I’ll be doing the same thing,” another added.