Why I Spend $500 a Week to Fly From NYC to Chicago for Grad School

• Elophia Mengestu commutes from NYC to Chicago by plane for grad school classes. 
• She posted a TikTok about her unconventional commute, receiving a mixed response.
• This is the story of why Mengestu stands by her choices, as told to Charissa Cheong.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with 25-year-old Elophia Mengestu, who is based in New York City, and it has been edited for length and clarity.

Earlier this year, I began an accounting course as part of the process of getting my Masters of Business Administration. I was accepted to my dream school, at Northwestern University in Illinois, but moving to Chicago wasn’t an option. 

I also work as an influencer marketing manager in New York City, which involves going into the office a minimum of three days per week and attending a number of work events on top of that, so I decided the best solution was to commute between both cities.

Thankfully, everybody in my program works a full-time job, and the program is really flexible for full-time professionals, allowing me to schedule out my life so my classes are on Saturdays.

Monday through Friday I’m in New York, and I take a plane to Chicago early on Saturday morning, go to class, then fly back to get home by Saturday evening, and then ideally have Sunday to do all my errands before I start the new week. 

I posted a TikTok about what my commute looks like in August, and people were shocked by my lifestyle, but I find that a lot of people who take the weekend courses are also commuting, some within driving distance, and some also fly.

For me, it makes sense — I’m at my dream school, and I’m really grateful to also have my dream job, so I didn’t want to give either up. But flying to college every week isn’t without its challenges.

There are some sacrifices I have to make, but they’re worth it

On a typical commuting day, I wake up anywhere between 3 and 3.30 a.m., and then call my Uber to the airport. I usually hop on a 6 or 6.30 a.m. flight to Chicago. 

I’m in class by 9 a.m. and am there until noon, when I usually grab lunch, catch up with classmates, and then head back to the airport to go home.

I think the most major expenses involved in doing this are the flights which, on average, I probably spend about $500 on per round trip. I also pay for Ubers I take on the day in New York, but we get given some vouchers from school for traveling to and from campus, which I spend on Ubers in Chicago.

I think the biggest impact of these expenses has been that I definitely have way less money to leisurely spend on things like outings, shopping, or Uber Eats. 

However, I feel so fulfilled by what I’m doing in my school and my job, and I’ve just always enjoyed being in the classroom, so it actually doesn’t bother me as much as I anticipated it might. 

I’m a really big fan of maximizing the time you already have, so I study on my flights into class because I want the information fresh in my brain but also because it’s time when I’m already going to be awake and will have limited access to WiFi or distractions. I also study at night after work if extra time is needed. 

I don’t really do that many social outings anymore, but if I do, I’ll try to schedule my friends in for dinner right after work as I’ll already be commuting at those times, and then I’ll try to use Sundays to catch up on rest. 

To me, it’s worth it because this lifestyle is supporting my dreams — Northwestern is where I studied for my undergrad and I wanted to continue my education there. At the same time, my day job allows me to be creative, strategic, and to practice a multitude of my skills, plus I get to work with various creators and brands and attend incredible events. I didn’t want to give any of this up.

While it’s challenging, I am just as eager to grow in my profession as I am in my education, which is why I am intentional about managing both.

When my video went viral, some people made snap judgments about my background

I have actually posted a few TikTok videos explaining what my commute looks like, but one in particular blew up. 

Some commenters commended me for pursuing both things, and some people who were familiar with my college understood why I made sacrifices to be able to attend the institution and do this job.

However, the most overwhelming type of comment for me was people thinking I’m either a trust fund baby or that my parents financially support my lifestyle, that I’m spoon-fed and grew up really rich — things like that. 

Never did I expect people to look at my life or my videos and think that I grew up as a child of rich parents. That’s not at all my life. I definitely didn’t grow up poor by any means, but I didn’t grow up rich either. 

My parents are both Ethiopian and immigrated to the US when they were around 19. My dad’s retired and living in Ethiopia now, but he was a public school teacher. My mom and stepdad work at intellectual property firms in docketing. They’ve built impressive lives for themselves, but I’m not a trust fund baby, and I financially support myself.

I have pretty tough skin and I know that people are going to have opinions regardless. At the end of the day, I live a privileged life, so I can also understand, from an outside point of view, some of these comments. But I don’t think that they’re necessarily warranted, especially those suggesting my set-up is unnecessary. 

I am a big believer in making whatever choices make you happy or whatever fits your circumstances, and I posted follow-up explanations about my commute for commenters who were genuinely interested in understanding why I do what I do to show that I think it’s OK to be fearless with your ambitions and your goals and to pursue them as much as you can. 

You can love two things and pursue two things if that’s what you’re passionate about, and it’s in line with the vision of who you are and where you need to be in your future. 

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