Travel ideas for college students feeling budget squeeze

College students have an array of expenses they have to pay throughout the school year that limit their ability to engage in recreational travel. Tuition, rent, transit, and food costs add up, leaving little to no room for vacations, activities, or social life in their budget.

Skedline reporters conducted an informal poll on their Instagram accounts, asking college students if they felt like they could afford to travel during the school year. The poll showed most students felt like they could not.

Although travel and time away are seldom priorities for students, a break from studying and assignments is often needed to nurture their mental health. But their expenses keep them from taking those breaks.

Skedline spoke to students at Humber College Lakeshore to see what they thought about traveling as a student. They felt they couldn’t afford it because of all the costs for school.

Heliana Ramirez, a paralegal student at Humber, says public transit costs weigh on her budget.

Other students had similar concerns as Ramirez, but all of the students we spoke to said they would be interested in a staycation in Toronto because it is more affordable and more accessible.

Ambuj Arunkumar, a global business management student at Humber, says he feels downtown Toronto will be a good staycation for students because many places and sites are accessible by walking.

Here is a general budget based on average hotel and restaurant prices for a staycation in downtown Toronto for two days and one night:

Skedline would like to hear from you! If you are interested in staycations in the GTA or have ideas and opinions about them, please feel free to reach out to us to discuss it. You can find us on Instagram and Twitter as @skedline.