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Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?
' x1 d6 ?! l ~: e5 k( ANothing says home like the living room couch
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Alexandra Zabjek5 i/ u' o2 s1 j8 ], h$ T
The Edmonton Journal0 L" _9 j6 n% O% w/ }
+ I0 w: C4 d# L& G) k1 u% CSunday, May 20, 2007
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" _# G. ^. t iStudent apartments aren't typically luxurious places, but soaring rents in Edmonton are forcing some students to pare down their living arrangements even more than usual.
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5 ?3 [) F% a$ Z; `8 T6 V. AAt Steve Li's one-bedroom apartment near NAIT, the living room is a bedroom for his roommate, Bill Chadwick.. H: q' B5 E2 m n9 T, c+ G
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Li and Chadwick, both students, split the $600 rent almost evenly -- Li gets the bedroom for $325 per month, while Chadwick pays $275 per month to put his bed in the living room.
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"I receive approximately $700 per month (in grants) to go to school," says Chadwick, 32. "So when $275 comes into the picture, it works out quite well."
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, }1 j6 H1 U& u/ Y6 V" o; ?After spending time couch-surfing with friends, Chadwick says having a "defined space" is great, even if it isn't a proper bedroom.5 w4 I! {, e/ T, ?0 N
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Sharing a one-bedroom apartment is a common arrangement amongst Chinese students studying in Edmonton, says Li, who has been living in Canada for the past seven years. It's a big change for many of these students, he says.
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6 \. n3 F& |$ P" I4 w- X$ |5 J- K3 N+ E"The people who can afford to send their kids to Canada to study are quite rich," he says. "(Their) apartments in China are big.". t% m/ N. g! T) f. W$ N; X
) q' b/ X0 W% H4 O' m! TSplitting the rent on a one-bedroom apartment, however, make things much easier for students with limited budgets.
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"I wouldn't say (it would be completely) unaffordable, but this way it's much more economical," he says. o8 K3 D) J; O% X* S
: y2 J. A5 Y+ ], y1 Q4 |SOMEONE IN THE BASEMENT TO HELP PAY THE MORTGAGE' E% i" V: P0 |+ D& c6 m" `* d) _
3 e6 Y4 V4 p& n8 n* L, J: r/ M) AWhen Caitlin Crawshaw and her girlfriend bought a bungalow in Bonnie Doon last summer, it wasn't just the location that sold them on the 1950s era house. It was also the basement suite.* c$ l9 r3 T' h
) O2 b- i4 k/ ~, y/ G7 `% U"It wasn't originally part of our plan," Crawshaw says. "But as soon as we started looking at houses and seeing what the market was, we thought that maybe we should consider it."8 I; y- q+ h$ `, A6 W0 p
) C5 \+ |5 c# {( G, BTheir tenant pays $500 per month for the 750-square-foot suite. The money helps the couple pay down their mortgage more aggressively and provides a cushion in case either loses their job, says Crawshaw.
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The arrangement has worked out well, especially because the tenant was already living in the house when they moved in and has proved to be a "fantabulous" tenant who often spends time gardening in the yard or raking leaves, says Crawshaw, 25.
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; c/ p) F# g1 c. ?- G4 u3 X& ]The downside, however, is the lack of space. The couple and their two cats share about 750-square-feet on the upper floor of the house.
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"It would be nice to have more space and to have another bathroom," she says.9 `$ t' G" X% S' b( t
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"But it does work out quite well. I don't regret it. But I don't want to do it for more than five years -- I don't think that anyone does."
% y, X9 p, B" W+ U" ^9 |© The Edmonton Journal 2007 |
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发表于 2007-5-20 07:27
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