A woman has shocked TikTok viewers after revealing that she is commuting by plane to her internship in the New York City area each week, as the weekly transportation costs less than living in the city.
Sophia, who goes by the username @sophiacelentano84 on TikTok, shared an insight into her weekly commute in a video posted to the platform this week. In the clip, Sophia filmed herself getting ready at 3am for her early flight from Virginia to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
“You might be wondering: ‘Sophia, if you’re working 9 to 5, why the hell are you up at 3am?’ That’s a great question. I am actually going to be commuting to my job one day a week this summer. I’m going to be a corporate marketing intern for an advertising agency,” the TikToker said as she filmed herself applying makeup. “The office I’m working for is in the New York-New Jersey area.
“Because I only have to be in the office one day a week, honestly it’s cheaper for me to stay at home in Charleston, South Carolina, for the summer with my parents and just pay for plane tickets one day a week than to live in New York full-time.”
In the video, Sophia then explained that, for her first day of work, she was commuting to Newark Airport from her boyfriend’s home in Richmond, Virginia.
As for her schedule for the day, Sophia revealed that she would be taking an Uber to the airport at 4am, then a flight from Richmond to Newark at 6am that arrived at 7.30am, followed by an Uber and a full day of orientation from 9am to 5pm. She then planned to Uber back to Newark Airport, at which point she would take a flight to her home in Charleston.
Although she explained that she was taking an early flight for her first day, she said that she would usually be taking a flight that arrived in Newark Airport at 8am each Wednesday.
“I’m glad I’ve got a little extra time today to Uber there, figure out where the building is… you know,” Sophia said, while admitting that she was “really nervous” about her first day, as she wanted to make a good first impression.
In the video, Sophia then filmed herself getting dressed for her first day of the internship, before taking viewers along as she took an Uber to the airport and boarded her flight to the New Jersey airport.
In the caption of the video, which has since been viewed more than 557,000 times, Sophia wrote: “Super commuting slay.”
The TikTok has been met with surprise in the comments, with many shocked by the TikToker’s commute.
“Wait WHAT you’re commuting in every week on a plane?!” one person asked, while another said: “I would cry if I finished my shift and realised I still had to get on a whole plane to get home.”
Others claimed Sophia’s internship wasn’t worth the weekly plane commute, with one person writing: “Not a single job in the world is worth this.”
“As someone who works for an advertising agency…this is not worth it,” someone else wrote.
Another person suggested that Sophia would have been better off renting an apartment with roommates rather than commuting to the New York City area via plane each week.
According to flight-booking website Expedia, round-trip flights from Charleston to Newark begin at $54.
The video also prompted some to joke about the TikToker’s weekly travel. “Commuting? Babe that’s a business trip,” one viewer joked.
“There has to be a better way to do this,” another person wrote.
In a follow-up video, Sophia addressed the critical responses to her video, with the TikToker noting that, although the commute is “untraditional,” it works for her.
Sophia also noted that the commute is a decision she made herself, and that she has been “transparent” with her managers about her plan. “People in the comments assumed I was lying to the people I work for but they know my situation, they know I live in South Carolina… this was actually something I talked about with them before I was even hired,” she explained, adding that where she lives was “never an issue” during the interview process.
In addition to the financial reasons behind her decision to commute into her office one day a week, Sophia also noted that she didn’t want to live in the New Jersey suburb outside of New York City where her internship is located for the entire summer.
“I knew that even if I lived in New York City, I was going to have to commute at least an hour and a half to get to the office each day,” she said, adding that she prefers the flexibility to be at home with her family, who she doesn’t get to spend time with when she was away at school. “I would much rather have the flexibility to be at home with my family … be able to go visit my friends or my boyfriend on remote days and work from wherever, rather than paying for a lease in a city that I didn’t really want to live in,” she continued.
In the video, Sophia also broke down the costs associated with her commute versus if she were to rent an apartment for the summer. According to the TikToker, she will spend $2,250 on three months of commuting, while she would have spent at least $4,250 on three months of rent, food and gas if she were to live closer to her internship.
In the comments, the explanation convinced some viewers about the benefits of Sophia’s decision. However, many suggested that she befriend her colleagues so she has an alternative option if she misses her flight each Wednesday, while others encouraged her to make sure she is earning points for travelling with her credit cards.
“I would make a coworker friend in case you need to get in early/stay late,” one person wrote, while another said: “Sign up for a good travel credit card if you can and use the flights/Ubers to at least rack up points!!!”
The Independent has contacted Sophia for comment.
