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This man commutes from Barcelona to London — and saves money doing it

The view from Sam Cookney's commute
Sam Cookney/Twitter

Like most Londoners, Sam Cookney was fed up with apartment prices in the capital. So the 32-year-old social-media manager began to look beyond the North Sea for an affordable apartment.

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Cookney now gets on a plane in Spain and is seated at his desk in London by 9:30 a.m. He has tweeted and blogged his big move, which has gone viral as he begins his new commute.

In an October 2013 blog post, Cookney posted proof of his number crunching and evidence that a 713-mile commute was, in fact, worth it. 

He based his calculations around commuting four days each week, four weeks per month, though BuzzFeed reported that he actually made the commute significantly less often than that, often working remotely.

flat prices NW6 london
Zoopla

The flight from Barcelona's El Prat Airport to London Stansted, just north of metropolitan London, costs about $37 each way, and takes little less than two hours. Factoring in the train from his flat in the Les Courts district of Barcelona to the airport, and a bus transfer to London's Liverpool Street Station, the trip takes about 5 1/2 hours. 

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"It's 6€ to and from Barcelona's el Prat airport (and I can walk to the airport train in five minutes from that flat), and then £14 return to Liverpool Street with Terravision (so 23€ in total on transfers each day)," he writes.

"I can then walk to my desk by 9:30 a.m., with time for a Pret coffee and bacon and cheese croissant en route."

He told BuzzFeed, however, that the flight prices were the most unpredictable part of his plan and that they could climb above $150.

According to FlightAware, Ryanair Flight 9811 was on time during a recent trip and has averaged early landings for a week.

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FlightAware FR9811 barcelona london
FlightAware

For anyone not convinced, Cookney has kept us updated on his first few days of international commuting, posting pictures of boarding passes and even a selfie on the plane home.

Business Insider has reached out to Cookney and will update this story as we learn more about how the international trekking is affecting his lifestyle.

Do you have a marathon commute? Let us know about it the comments below, or shoot us an email.

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