NUS Student Who Pays $8,500 for Rent With Housemate Draws Mixed Reactions

Most people would have seen at least one of Caleb Simpson’s “How much do you pay for rent?” TikTok videos.

In these videos, Simpson hits the streets, asking individuals in New York City how much they pay for rent and asking these individuals to show him around their accommodation.

Rent for some of these individuals can go up to a few thousand dollars a month, with some of these accommodations featuring spacious living rooms, amazing views of the city skyline, and other luxurious additions that others could only dream of living in.

For Aimee, a Chinese national studying at the National University of Singapore, it seems she has found an abode similar to the luxury apartments found in Caleb Simpsons’s videos. In contrast to most Uni students living in small, simple dorm rooms with humble amenities, Aimee’s apartment is a whopping 2,000 square feet, with a large balcony to boot.

The catch? She and her roommate pay $8,500 a month, which is definitely rent that few Uni students could ever dream to afford.

NUS Student’s Room Tour Features Luxurious Amenities And Spacious Rooms

In a Douyin video posted by Chinese host and influencer Chen Pujiang, Aimee gives Chen a tour of her snazzy-looking apartment.

Aimee first gives viewers a look into her spacious and cosy-looking living room, complete with a sofa and a piano that she often practices on.

Afterwards, she brings Chen onto a balcony that offers stunning views of the neighbourhood below. Aimee also draws the viewer’s attention to a large tree on the balcony, which the landlord often sends gardeners to tend to.

The balcony also features a wooden deck and a few comfy sunbathing chairs, which the university student has converted into a study space to catch up on schoolwork.

Aimee then brings Chen into the kitchen, where she shows off her fancy-looking counters, microwave, oven and refrigerator. For most Uni students living in their dorms, having a working refrigerator (let alone a microwave) is an unattainable luxury.

The next segment of the tour features a large washroom, complete with a bathtub and a window that overlooks a swimming pool below.

Aimee ends the tour by walking down a long hallway (further emphasizing the sheer size of her rented apartment) and into her bedroom, which definitely looks like a room found in an expensive penthouse.

The bedroom is surrounded by its trademark floor-to-ceiling windows that allow tons of light to brighten up the space, which is the key reason Aimee chose the apartment to begin with.

The video ends with Chen asking Aimee about her monthly expenses (the exorbitant price of rent not included).

Aimee replies that she spends around 20,000 RMB ($3,800) a month, stating that while she used to buy lots of luxury goods in the past, she is now using the money towards improving herself.

Another Video, Another House Tour

While not included in Chen Pujiang’s video, Aimee also provided her own house tour on her Douyin account, in which she shows off her roommate’s spacious common room, complete with a raised wooden platform and numerous large wardrobes.

Some Netizens Baffled By $8,500, Others Underwhelmed With Cost

In response to the video on Aimee’s account, netizens were visibly baffled at the exorbitant cost it took to rent the apartment.

One netizen said that Aimee and Chen talked as if the $8,500 felt like a small amount of money to them, and another went numb at the mere mention of $8,500.

However, one Singaporean netizen felt that Aimee might have been cheated with such an exorbitant price of rent. The netizen added that for $8,500, they could probably afford a better house and even hire a maid.

Aimee later clarified in the comments that housing prices have risen quite a bit in Singapore and that the cost of rent was due to the landlord converting a three-room apartment into a two-room one.