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Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?( |/ [$ U& G) M1 p2 x! K
Nothing says home like the living room couch }& A, ?( j3 B: [( j
3 \* \, C2 d: ]: c: XAlexandra Zabjek- r5 a0 Q6 ^4 d! D, b% `1 v
The Edmonton Journal) {3 i q8 N- y. q8 I
/ w( D2 E; a: \ p2 a. t) L# TSunday, May 20, 2007
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Student 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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At Steve Li's one-bedroom apartment near NAIT, the living room is a bedroom for his roommate, Bill Chadwick.7 `% n* D- ?* N2 C- F4 k; X
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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 $275 comes into the picture, it works out quite well."
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4 w( ~" E8 B( y+ K7 B( X$ XAfter spending time couch-surfing with friends, Chadwick says having a "defined space" is great, even if it isn't a proper bedroom.
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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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' N( K7 H7 n' N% r"The people who can afford to send their kids to Canada to study are quite rich," he says. "(Their) apartments in China are big."7 Y! s; k0 W! x- ^7 i; j# d
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Splitting 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.
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3 U. x0 R) C$ q2 F$ C+ p: rSOMEONE IN THE BASEMENT TO HELP PAY THE MORTGAGE! A- x* b. l, Z' ]" Z; O
. G2 d: d& Y' t. y/ g( pWhen 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- H% s3 e- U m. ^
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"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."
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Their tenant pays $500 per month for the 750-square-foot suite. The money helps the couple pay down their mortgage more aggressively and provides a cushion in case either loses their job, says Crawshaw.
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The arrangement has worked out well, especially because the tenant was already living in the house when they moved in and has proved to be a "fantabulous" tenant who often spends time gardening in the yard or raking leaves, says Crawshaw, 25.
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The downside, however, is the lack of space. The couple and their two cats share about 750-square-feet on the upper floor of the house.0 S: m# D5 H ~
, w7 p, ]$ V; {/ S& E5 j9 G' M"It would be nice to have more space and to have another bathroom," she says.
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2 ~' k7 K& J# @0 ~"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."9 N: P0 f6 {7 }) R
© The Edmonton Journal 2007 |
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发表于 2007-5-20 07:27
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