倫敦房租貴 男子打飛的跨國通勤

A London office worker who was sick of the city’s rip-off prices worked out that he would spend less commuting to his job from Spain.
倫敦一個上班族受夠了倫敦突破天際的物價，他算出從西班牙打飛的“曲線”上班要更省錢。

Three months ago, he actually did it.
而三個月前他真的這麼做了。

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•庫克尼（Sam Cookney）現在住在巴塞羅那市中心，每天早上趕廉價航班飛到倫敦斯坦斯特德機場（Stansted Airport），上午九點半以前坐到辦公桌前，最重要的是這樣更省錢。

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年這位社交媒體經理髮現自己一個人負擔不起在倫敦的房租了，一籌莫展。

“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 commute 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.”
他在博客上寫道：“當我自信地宣稱在巴塞羅那租一間兩居室每天飛到倫敦上班要比我在倫敦租一居室還便宜時，我想很多人一定認爲我是在開玩笑。然後我發現那還真是玩笑話，事實上我能租到三居室。”

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 expenditure to $3602.
當時在倫敦北部租一間一居室平均每月需要3195美元。除此之外，山姆還必須繳納家庭稅，大約每月160美元，去市中心上班需要購買250美元的交通卡，全部算下來要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）的廉價往返機票最低只需50美元，山姆判斷出自己如果住在陽光明媚的西班牙開銷會小很多。事實證明他是對的。

Now he pays $1300 a month, including bills, to live in newly renovated 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.
現在他住在歷史悠久的哥特區（Gothic Quarter）一間帶屋頂陽臺的新裝修兩居室公寓，每月支出爲1300美元，包括水電煤氣費。他從家出來坐火車到巴塞羅那的埃爾普拉特機場（El Prat Airport）需要9美元，從倫敦斯坦斯特德機場（Stansted）乘火車到他在法靈登（Farringdon）的辦公室需要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.
山姆很幸運，他時不時地可以在家裏工作，但即便是每週四天飛到辦公室上班，一個月下來也只需要1424美元。加上他的房租，每月需要2724美元，這要比在倫敦生活和工作便宜878美元之多。

“It’s a two-bed city-centre flat with roof terrace versus a small room in a shared flat in London, in the suburbs,” he told . “And it’s cheaper. The beach is on my doorstep, there’s amazing, cheap food, everything’s just so much easier.”
他在接受澳洲新聞在線採訪時說：“一邊是在巴塞羅那市中心、帶屋頂陽臺的兩居室公寓，一邊是在倫敦郊區的狹小合租公寓。而且巴塞羅那的房租還更便宜，家門口就是海灘，食物很便宜還都超級好吃，在這裏一切都太簡單容易了。”

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 spotted some familiar faces on his flights, suggesting others have had the same bright idea.
山姆的通勤距離爲1500公里，從他家門口到辦公室需要五個半小時。但是山姆說他可以在飛機上小憩一會兒。32歲的他說他對於這樣的旅行“竟然可以如此無縫銜接和簡單感到很吃驚”。他說自己在每天乘坐的飛機上有看到一些熟悉的面孔，他猜測那些人肯定和他英雄所見略同。

The only downsides are inflated flight prices in summer, and occasionally missing out on parties in London. But Barcelona’s impromptu street festivals, coastal life and fantastic restaurants more than make up for that.
僅有的缺點便是夏季飛機票價會上漲和有時會錯過在倫敦的派對。但巴塞羅那即興的街頭演出、海濱生活以及超讚的餐廳完全可以彌補這些遺憾。

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.
同原來在倫敦的生活相比，山姆現在的生活質量大大提升，而這隻需花一小筆錢。雖然這並不適合每個人，但是對於全世界那些在昂貴城市的高房價壓力下苦苦掙扎的人而言，每天乘飛機上下班不失爲一個意想不到的解決方案。

Vocabulary

at the end of one’s tether：山窮水盡，束手無策

terrace：陽臺

impromptu：無事先準備的，即興的