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Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?6 H4 \; \0 o7 z
Nothing says home like the living room couch1 Z! h: v! D! }
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Alexandra Zabjek) E1 K+ X3 V$ W" h9 v, L$ Y) G
The Edmonton Journal
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/ {# |6 B- ?, w C! F' @; xSunday, 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.4 B$ {$ }7 `3 I+ I6 h
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At Steve Li's one-bedroom apartment near NAIT, the living room is a bedroom for his roommate, Bill Chadwick., a( }4 z( |+ f/ A
3 |' I8 }6 {# hLi and Chadwick, both students, split the $600 rent almost evenly -- Li gets the bedroom for $325 per month, while Chadwick pays $275 per month to put his bed in the living room.% B$ X" y, [$ R+ d$ R. j/ j
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"I receive approximately $700 per month (in grants) to go to school," says Chadwick, 32. "So when $275 comes into the picture, it works out quite well."
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" H2 k* F7 w) S" mAfter spending time couch-surfing with friends, Chadwick says having a "defined space" is great, even if it isn't a proper bedroom.
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7 \$ S; K# I0 H. A ESharing a one-bedroom apartment is a common arrangement amongst Chinese students studying in Edmonton, says Li, who has been living in Canada for the past seven years. It's a big change for many of these students, he says.6 k0 d7 K+ D& D6 K
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"The people who can afford to send their kids to Canada to study are quite rich," he says. "(Their) apartments in China are big."
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Splitting the rent on a one-bedroom apartment, however, make things much easier for students with limited budgets.+ u# P' g. G. I0 \; y2 z
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"I wouldn't say (it would be completely) unaffordable, but this way it's much more economical," he says.- Y1 q* }0 E6 B3 v# A2 k+ d- b5 Z
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SOMEONE IN THE BASEMENT TO HELP PAY THE MORTGAGE; l4 D5 c! H, W+ A
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When Caitlin Crawshaw and her girlfriend bought a bungalow in Bonnie Doon last summer, it wasn't just the location that sold them on the 1950s era house. It was also the basement suite.
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"It wasn't originally part of our plan," Crawshaw says. "But as soon as we started looking at houses and seeing what the market was, we thought that maybe we should consider it."
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7 w$ g( D" y R) D Y- d2 JTheir 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.5 z: a% t6 L7 B, O5 T
/ `" E5 `. j( ~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.
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"It would be nice to have more space and to have another bathroom," she says." R( g" g+ X |0 c: K) }) D# ~) \$ G
1 o' [* R) N, E8 P0 ?! F" `"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."! w; y6 y, i9 v4 @- D4 r: f
© The Edmonton Journal 2007 |
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发表于 2007-5-20 07:27
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