In 2024, Nat Cedillo was in her last year of law school and subletting a one-bedroom in New York City with her husband. The two were paying $2,750 a month for rent, which included utilities. They also spent an additional $1,250 on monthly expenses like groceries and transportation.
As Cedillo, 30, neared graduation, her schedule became more flexible. While registering for classes for her final semester, she realized she could take one class remotely and then schedule the rest on Mondays and Tuesdays.
“I started thinking if I barely had to be on campus why should we be spending so much money living in New York City? We have this flying perk, so is there something we can do with that and avoid the New York City part?,” Cedillo tells CNBC Make It.
Cedillo and her husband lived in Brooklyn before moving to Mexico City.
Nat Cedillo
Cedillo’s husband works in the airline industry, so the couple has the advantage of paying less for flights when flying standby.
The two are also both Mexican citizens and Cedillo’s sister had an apartment in Mexico City that was sitting empty, so it was a no-brainer for the couple to look into potentially moving there.
“Once I saw I didn’t have to be on campus, we looked at the numbers of how much it would cost if we used this flight benefit to go back and forth,” Cedillo says. “Everything kind of fell into place because my sister also told me we could move to her apartment. We formulated this plan last November and December, and then we did it.”
In January, the couple moved to Mexico City. They live in a one-bedroom apartment and pay roughly $735 USD a month for utilities, Wi-Fi, water, gas, electricity and an HOA fee, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.
Cedillo is studying for the New York State bar exam, but is still open to staying in CDMX.
Nat Cedillo
That same month, Cedillo made her first supercommute to attend class back in the United States.
Cedillo says she typically woke up around 4 a.m. on Mondays to head to the airport and catch the first flight from Mexico City to New York City, which departs at 7 a.m. local time.
The flight is usually scheduled to land in New York City at 2 p.m. local time and then Cedillo either headed straight to campus or to a meeting with her boss — she works remotely as a law clerk for a NYC law firm. Her first class of the day started at 6 p.m.
To save money while in New York, Cedillo stayed with friends for the night or in a hotel room that cost no more than $150 a night. She had to do that four times, she says.
On Tuesdays, she attended two classes and would be done for the day by 4 p.m., and head to JFK for the 7 p.m. flight, which landed in CDMX around 11 p.m. local time.
“Fortunately, I was never able to not get on a plane,” she says.
Cedillo spent a lot of her free time in Mexico City studying and listening to lectures.
Nat Cedillo
While at home in Mexico City, Cedillo worked on an as-needed basis as a law clerk, attended her online class, studied and completed her schoolwork, and made sure to spend plenty of time with friends and family.
From January to May 2025, Cedillo traveled from Mexico City to New York City 10 times. The final time was for her graduation.
“The semester was 13 weeks long and I was allowed two absences, and there were a few weeks where my professors decided to do class via Zoom, so thankfully that also helped cut expenses,” Cedillo says.
Cedillo estimates that she spent approximately $800 per month commuting to New York City. The most she ever paid for a flight was $260 round-trip.
In total, Cedillo spent around $4,000 commuting for her final semester.
“In NYC, we easily spent $4,000 in one month living in a one-bedroom in Bed-Stuy,” Cedillo says. “That is approximately how much I spent total commuting between CDMX and NYC for one semester of law school.”
Cedillo graduated from law school in May.
Nat Cedillo
Cedillo is currently studying to take the New York state bar exam, so the couple hasn’t completely ruled out moving back to the Big Apple.
“I went to law school for two years there, so I’m going to try and see what we can do,” she says. “Ideally, we would love to stay in Mexico City and make a life there.”
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