Super-commuter mom travels 8,000 km to work for 10 days, then enjoys 6 weeks off

A mother of one living in Sweden has one of the world’s longest commutes — flying more than 5,000 miles (over 8,000 km) each way to work shifts in California. Why a nurse commutes from Sweden to California for work.(Representational image) Courtney El Refai, 32, lives near Stockholm with her husband and young daughter but still works as a per diem nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of a San Francisco Bay Area hospital. Moving from California to SwedenEl Refai moved to Sweden in December, describing it as a “really good place to raise a family.” She and her husband pay less than $1,500 a month for their apartment and use public transport instead of owning a car. But her career remains in the US. Every few weeks, El Refai boards a $450 round-trip flight with only a carry-on bag and spends around 10 days in California covering her required shifts. She rents a room for $50 a night from another healthcare worker or house-sits for free during her stay, according to a Business Insider report. “I know the commute is absolutely outrageous, but imagine having six weeks off after working 10 days on a repeated pattern,” she said in a viral TikTok video. How the super commute worksAs a per diem nurse, El Refai is required to work at least four eight-hour shifts in each four-week period. She typically clusters her shifts at the end of one schedule and the start of the next, which reduces the number of flights and maximises her time back in Sweden. Her scrubs and car are already in California, so once she lands, her first day usually involves grocery shopping before reporting for duty. A normal shift is eight hours, but overtime can stretch to 12. Why the commute pays offFor El Refai, the unusual arrangement is worth it. She earns more than $100 an hour in California, while enjoying a lower cost of living in Sweden. “It is financially worth it because the salary in the Bay Area is just so high, and the cost of living in Sweden is a lot less than … California,” she told Business Insider. “When I work for 10 days straight, it’s basically enough money to cover a few months of bills in Sweden.” The setup also gives her more freedom at home. “Having my per diem job gives me a lot of flexibility, so I’m able to focus on other things rather than work when I’m here in Sweden, like learning the language or making friends, spending time with my daughter, and pursuing other hobbies,” she explained. The challenges of dual livingWhile the lifestyle looks glamorous from the outside, El Refai admits it isn’t easy. “Everyone seems to think that life between two countries is the dream, but let me tell you why it’s not,” she told her 11,000 Instagram followers in a clip titled The not so glamorous life of dual living. Among the downsides: frequent jet lag, the strain of a nine-hour time difference, and the sense of never feeling fully at home in either country. “When I’m in Sweden, I find it sometimes difficult to keep up with friends and family in the States, and when I’m back in the States, sometimes it’s hard to keep up with what’s happening in Sweden,” she said. There’s also the challenge of living out of suitcases and constantly readjusting to life on two continents. But for now, the pros outweigh the cons for El Refai: a high salary in California, affordable living in Sweden, and the chance to be both a working nurse and a stay-at-home mother. “That is something that no 9-to-5 job will ever give me.”