‘Can’t afford to focus on school’: Mac students return to Hamilton with soaring inflation, housing crisis

Less than a month before the start of the new school year, Jenny Burton found herself in a predicament:

The third-year McMaster student had no place to live, despite starting her search in the spring.

There was just nothing there, and it's been like that week after week," said Burton, 20. The ones that do come up are insanely expensive or poor quality."

Or both, she said. One property she saw listed was a room in a basement apartment big enough only for a twin bed - below her standard and above her budget.

Rising costs of living and an ongoing housing crisis are forcing students to make major lifestyle changes in order to make ends meet.

At one point in Burton's search, she began to rethink her education plans.

The thought had crossed my mind to not go this year and pick it up next year," said the student, who is from Newmarket. I can't go to classes in person ... if I'm not living there."

Last week, she finally found a room in a house - the most affordable option. Though she said a huge weight" has been lifted, it comes at a cost: the room is about $200 more than last year's rent and further from campus.

The place ... is on the Mountain, so it's a 35-minute bus ride," said Burton, who doesn't have a car.

McMaster Students' Union (MSU) president Simranjeet Singh said students have significant expenses," including housing, food, transportation and tuition. (Fees for a first-year arts and science student from Ontario are about $7,500 - and about six times that for international students.)

Inflation, coupled with the economic impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and supply-chain issues, have caused prices to rise, and put added pressure on students, he said.

Though the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Hamilton of $1,603 went unchanged in June, tenants are still paying 11 per cent - or $170 - more than they did the same time last year. Experts say further increases are expected.

These structural societal problems, these are a very big factor that contribute to many of the symptoms we actually see within the student body, so mental health concerns, the increase in rates of anxiety and depression," said Singh, 22, who graduated last year.

Students responding to a Spectator post in a McMaster Reddit thread reported working extra hours at a part-time job - in some cases, 25 or more a week - cutting out red meat and skipping meals to get by.

Singh said the MSU is anticipating higher demand for student supports, such as the campus community fridge, this fall.

Jill Mezenberg, 21, said in her first two years of university she was able to live off savings from a full-time summer job and student loans from September to April, working just one shift a week at a part-time job. But that changed last year. Around December I was kind of like, Oh, things are getting a little bit expensive, I should probably go back to work,'" said the fourth-year student. Now next year it's looking like I'm going to have to work 25 hours or more a week."

Mezenberg, who is studying earth and environmental science, said she has heard similar predicaments from her peers.

It just sucks because I did work full time this whole summer at a job that pays above minimum wage, yet still I can't afford to focus on school."

To stick to a food budget of $50 a week, Mezenberg has developed more stingy" grocery-shopping habits, cutting out pricier items like dairy and fresh meat.

She said her friends' social lives have changed, too. Rather than dinner and drinks out, students are opting to get together at home instead, she said. When they do go out, they axe certain costs.

Stuff like Ubers ... that's all been cut out," she said. It's a lot more busing, a lot more walking, even the long distances. Like for a night out, we'll walk, like, an hour home."

Incoming McMaster student Jazzlyn Abbott, 18, said she originally planned to get an apartment with friends. But when she saw the inventory of extraordinarily expensive" rentals, she changed her mind.

It wasn't really reasonable as to what I was looking at, and so I ended up opting to go into residence," the life sciences student said.

Fees for residence, which is only available to first-year students, range from $6,875 for a four-person room to $9,625 for a single room for an eight-month period from September to April.

McMaster currently has 13 on-campus residences with more than 3,900 beds, and will begin construction on a new Main Street West building later this year, spokesperson Michelle Donovan said in an email.

The university is also currently building its first graduate residence.

Yet, demand continues to outpace supply. Students who don't get in are put on a wait list.

Abbott considers herself lucky - several of her peers heading to university are still waiting to find out if they will get a spot.

Still, she is looking for a part-time job in Hamilton.

There's no option available for me other than to work throughout the year," she said.

Kate McCullough is an education reporter at The Spectator. kmccullough@thespec.com