So last year I had this crazy idea of living in LA and commuting to school by plane just to avoid expensive rent around campus (and bay area in general). I asked for suggestions in this subreddit and everyone thought it’s not realistic. Well one year has passed, now I have completed my degree and finally have some spare time, I want to share my experience here.

Background: I was living in LA, rent free. I got accepted into a one-year MEng program (technically August 2022-May 2023). I knew I would go back to LA after graduation because my previous employer would hire me back once I graduate. I love flying and I have a lot of frequent flyer miles/points from credit card sign up bonus/flying over the past few years. Bay area rent is expensive in general, and my program is only 10 months, so I thought I could get it through commuting by plane.

Class schedule: I checked the class schedule from the previous years, I only need to come to campus 3X weekly, and that’s the only way to make it work. There’ve been a couple weeks I commuted to school by plane 5X weekly, and I felt so exhausted.

Planning: I booked all my tickets for Fall 2022 back in April and May 2022. Then I booked all my tickets for Spring 20