CHARLOTTE, N.C. — You might think your commute to work is long, but does it involve hopping on a plane?

For one North Carolina woman, it does.

What You Need To Know

  • Kaitlin Jorgenson flies from Charlotte once a month to work at a hair salon in New York City’s upper west side
  • Jorgenson is what’s known as a “super commuter,” which is someone who travels more than an hour and a half to work
  • According to the U.S. Census Bureau, she’s one of about 3.7 million Americans that do so, a number that’s grown from 2021

Kaitlin Jorgenson is a hairdresser in Charlotte.

“I always loved to do stuff with my hands,” Jorgenson said. “I was always cutting my big Barbie head when I was little.”

Jorgenson has been styling hair for over 10 years. She spent most of her career at a salon in New York City’s upper west side neighborhood, before settling down for a slower pace of life in the Queen City.

“I think everything got expensive in New York,” Jorgenson said. “Rent increased insanely. I lived in the same apartment for almost 10 years, and my rent was going up around 40% in a one-year jump.”

But the toughest part about moving away from the concrete jungle was leaving behind her longtime clients.

It’s partly why, once a month, she wakes up before sunrise to go to the airport and catch a flight to New York City where she still works at the salon for a few days at a time.

“My flight typically leaves somewhere between 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.,” Jorgenson said. “And I try to leave my house about an hour and a half before that.”

Jorgenson is what’s known as a “super commuter," which is someone who travels more than an hour and a half to work.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, she’s one of about 3.7 million Americans that do so, a number that’s grown from 2021.

“I think people are calling them secondary cities that have a better quality of life and a slightly lower cost of living,” Jorgenson said. “They have things that as a younger generation we want.”

The average rent price in New York City is $3,794 a month, according to Apartments.com.

Meanwhile, in Charlotte, the average rent price is $1,440 a month.

Jorgenson says her monthly travels cost her less than $1,000 round trip.

“My flights are roughly anywhere from $180 to $280, depending on the season,” Jorgenson said. “And then my stay in New York costs me about $400 for the whole month. I stay at a friend’s place, and I pay her to help supplement her rent.”

From her arrival at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, Jorgenson takes three more modes of transportation.

“I will go through security. I will walk through my gate and get on the plane. Once I get off the plane, I take a bus called M60, and that takes me to the subway,” Jorgenson said. “The bus takes me about 30-35 minutes, and then once I get on the subway, it’s about five stops downtown to my salon on the upper west side.”

For the average commuter, “super commuting” may seem like a lot, but Jorgenson says it’s all worth it.

“I think that your time and your quality of life are things that can’t be taken back,” Jorgenson said. “And even though it is a little bit more extra time on the days that I do super commute, I have so much more actual time in life.”