A London office worker who was sick of the city’s rip-off prices worked out that he would spend less commuting¹ to his job from Spain.

伦敦一个上班族受够了伦敦突破天际的物价，他算出从西班牙打飞的“曲线”上班要更省钱。

Three months ago, he actually did it.

而三个月前他真的这么做了。

Sam Cookney now lives in the centre of Barcelona and catches a cheap flight to London’s Stansted Airport each morning, reaching his desk by 9.30am — and he’s saving money.

山姆•库克尼（Sam Cookney）现在住在巴塞罗那市中心，每天早上赶廉价航班飞到伦敦斯坦斯特德机场（Stansted Airport），上午九点半以前坐到办公桌前，最重要的是这样更省钱。

The social media manager reached the end of his tether in 2013, when he realised he couldn’t afford to rent a place in the city on his own.

2013年这位社交媒体经理发现自己一个人负担不起在伦敦的房租了，一筹莫展。

“I think many people thought I was joking when I boldly declared it would be cheaper for me to rent a two-bed flat in Barcelona and commute² to London every day than get a one-bed flat here,” he wrote on his blog. “Turns out I was — I could in fact get a three-bed flat.”

他在博客上写道：“当我自信地宣称在巴塞罗那租一间两居室每天飞到伦敦上班要比我在伦敦租一居室还便宜时，我想很多人一定认为我是在开玩笑。然后我发现那还真是玩笑话，事实上我能租到三居室。”

The average price of a one-bed flat in north London at the time was $3195 a month. On top of that, he had to pay council tax (about $160 a month) and buy a $250 travelcard to get to work in the city centre, bringing his total expenditure³ to $3602.

当时在伦敦北部租一间一居室平均每月需要3195美元。除此之外，山姆还必须缴纳家庭税，大约每月160美元，去市中心上班需要购买250美元的交通卡，全部算下来要3602美元。

With cheap Ryanair flights costing as little as $50 return, Sam figured he could live far more cheaply in sunny Spain. He was right.

瑞安航空（Ryanair）的廉价往返机票最低只需50美元，山姆判断出自己如果住在阳光明媚的西班牙开销会小很多。事实证明他是对的。

Now he pays $1300 a month, including bills, to live in newly renovated⁴ two-bed apartment with a roof terrace in the historic Gothic Quarter. He can catch a $9 train from home to Barcelona — El Prat Airport, and a train from Stansted to his office in Farringdon for $30.

现在他住在历史悠久的哥特区（Gothic Quarter）一间带屋顶阳台的新装修两居室公寓，每月支出为1300美元，包括水电煤气费。他从家出来坐火车到巴塞罗那的埃尔普拉特机场（El Prat Airport）需要9美元，从伦敦斯坦斯特德机场（Stansted）乘火车到他在法灵登（Farringdon）的办公室需要30美元。

Sam’s lucky enough to be able to work from home on occasion, but even travelling to the office four days a week would come to just $1424 a month. Add that to his rent, and he’s spending $2724 a month — an impressive $878 less than he would be paying to live and work in London.

山姆很幸运，他时不时地可以在家里工作，但即便是每周四天飞到办公室上班，一个月下来也只需要1424美元。加上他的房租，每月需要2724美元，这要比在伦敦生活和工作便宜878美元之多。

“It’s a two-bed city-centre flat with roof terrace versus⁵ a small room in a shared flat in London, in the suburbs,” he told news.com.au. “And it’s cheaper. The beach is on my doorstep, there’s amazing, cheap food, everything’s just so much easier.”

他在接受澳洲新闻在线采访时说：“一边是在巴塞罗那市中心、带屋顶阳台的两居室公寓，一边是在伦敦郊区的狭小合租公寓。而且巴塞罗那的房租还更便宜，家门口就是海滩，食物很便宜还都超级好吃，在这里一切都太简单容易了。”

His 1500-kilometre commute takes five-and-a-half hours door-to-door, but Sam says he’s able to have a quick nap on the flight. The 32-year-old said he was “surprised by just how seamless and easy” the journey was, and has spotted⁶ some familiar faces on his flights, suggesting others have had the same bright idea.

山姆的通勤距离为1500公里，从他家门口到办公室需要五个半小时。但是山姆说他可以在飞机上小憩一会儿。32岁的他说他对于这样的旅行“竟然可以如此无缝衔接和简单感到很吃惊”。他说自己在每天乘坐的飞机上有看到一些熟悉的面孔，他猜测那些人肯定和他英雄所见略同。

The only downsides are inflated⁷ flight prices in summer, and occasionally missing out on parties in London. But Barcelona’s impromptu⁸ street festivals, coastal⁹ life and fantastic restaurants more than make up for that.

仅有的缺点便是夏季飞机票价会上涨和有时会错过在伦敦的派对。但巴塞罗那即兴的街头演出、海滨生活以及超赞的餐厅完全可以弥补这些遗憾。

Sam is living a vastly improved lifestyle compared to the one he had in London — and at a fraction of the price. It won’t be for everyone, but moving a plane journey away from work could be an unexpected solution for those struggling with over-inflated housing costs in expensive cities all over the world.

同原来在伦敦的生活相比，山姆现在的生活质量大大提升，而这只需花一小笔钱。虽然这并不适合每个人，但是对于全世界那些在昂贵城市的高房价压力下苦苦挣扎的人而言，每天乘飞机上下班不失为一个意想不到的解决方案。