Why is it getting so hard to afford a night out? From $200 dinners and sky-high concert tickets to the disappearance of cheap bowling alleys and dinner parties, having fun is becoming a luxury. In this episode of Classonomics, Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt break down how soaring housing costs, stagnant wage growth and rising entertainment prices are changing the way we socialize. As affordable third spaces disappear and young Canadians spend more time alone, are we facing a loneliness crisis fuelled by the cost of living? And what happens when we can no longer afford the everyday experiences that bring us together?

Chapters:

00:00 - Why Having Fun Got So Expensive
00:49 - The Data Behind the Loneliness Epidemic
03:10 - Rent, Wages & Skyrocketing Ticket Prices
07:16 - Splurge Culture: Concerts vs. Real Life
10:34 - What Happened to Cheap Hangout Spots?
13:55 - How the Housing Crisis Killed Dinner Parties
22:15 - The Rise of the "Alone Economy"
25:17 - The Hidden Cost of Living Alone

Research:

NetNewsLedger - Funflation is raising concert, sports and streaming costs for Canadians:
https://www.netnewsledger.com/2026/07/16/funflation-is-raising-concert-sports-and-streaming-costs-for-canadians/

Bloomberg Opinion (Allison Schrager) - Why Bowl Together When You Can Scroll Alone? (Lucky Strike, league decline, third places):
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-10-04/why-bowl-together-when-you-can-scroll-alone

The Atlantic (Derek Thompson) - Why Americans Stopped Throwing Dinner Parties (42% to 12% hosting monthly):
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/10/americans-socialization-dinner-decline-hosting/688846/

Pollstar - 2025 Year-End Business Analysis (average ticket $96.17 in 2019, $132.62 in 2025; stadium average $216.13, up 18.3%):
https://news.pollstar.com/?p=1214179

City of Toronto staff report (July 2026) - grassroots music venues: ~5% own their buildings, ~30 lost 2014 to pandemic, 50% property tax cut:
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2026/ec/bgrd/backgroundfile-289602.pdf

Statistics Canada - Survey of Household Spending, 2023 (recreation $5,231; one-person households and shelter share):
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/250521/dq250521a-eng.htm

Statistics Canada - Time pressure and time spent with friends over the last 30 years:
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/250617/dq250617d-eng.htm

Canadian Press - Canadians spending less time with friends:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/article/canadians-spending-less-time-with-friends-especially-those-of-working-age-statcan/

Statistics Canada - Canadian Social Survey: Loneliness in Canada (2021):
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/211124/dq211124e-eng.htm
https://asiatimes.com/2026/09/asias-lonely-economy-of-one/

Statistics Canada - Loneliness as a Quality of Life Framework indicator:
https://www160.statcan.gc.ca/society-societe/loneliness-solitude-eng.htm

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux

Produced by Meredith Martin

Edited by Sean Foreman and Canadian Civil