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Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?
- O9 V2 A( S0 r8 ]+ b- qNothing says home like the living room couch5 T) Q8 Y- [8 ^
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Alexandra Zabjek
, {# T7 f) g ]The Edmonton Journal' G h" b" R; A! t
8 P3 o" O6 [; x* zSunday, 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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' c9 ?* [( x" k' q! OAt Steve Li's one-bedroom apartment near NAIT, the living room is a bedroom for his roommate, Bill Chadwick.2 Y8 o* D( H/ O o
/ w4 ~. A. Z$ O! ^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.: L- M/ \, R% Q
) Y5 l' G4 ~2 j, [, a9 X" U"I receive approximately $700 per month (in grants) to go to school," says Chadwick, 32. "So when $275 comes into the picture, it works out quite well."
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After spending time couch-surfing with friends, Chadwick says having a "defined space" is great, even if it isn't a proper bedroom.
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Sharing a one-bedroom apartment is a common arrangement amongst Chinese students studying in Edmonton, says Li, who has been living in Canada for the past seven years. It's a big change for many of these students, he says.
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"The people who can afford to send their kids to Canada to study are quite rich," he says. "(Their) apartments in China are big."
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1 B& D+ f# R+ h. k" V% d5 L# hSplitting the rent on a one-bedroom apartment, however, make things much easier for students with limited budgets.
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: U" e0 r1 T- B9 k; ~$ V8 E- [- _: |- n"I wouldn't say (it would be completely) unaffordable, but this way it's much more economical," he says.
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SOMEONE IN THE BASEMENT TO HELP PAY THE MORTGAGE6 C* w3 i: D+ p: |5 B
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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.$ L5 f' r- u+ F3 w }
1 r' \& _- [# [# `0 {"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."- F' O6 z0 X" g0 i$ m7 j& e+ B
6 A* i/ r6 |# M6 ETheir tenant pays $500 per month for the 750-square-foot suite. The money helps the couple pay down their mortgage more aggressively and provides a cushion in case either loses their job, says Crawshaw.
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2 V5 }& v4 o. h- X6 D- v8 q3 QThe arrangement has worked out well, especially because the tenant was already living in the house when they moved in and has proved to be a "fantabulous" tenant who often spends time gardening in the yard or raking leaves, says Crawshaw, 25.: P+ s ?: l) X8 f$ E: ?
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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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! u. I' L4 ^+ q3 `6 j$ k; |4 g5 v, P"It would be nice to have more space and to have another bathroom," she says. n# \0 }- A, }+ a5 O
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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."
4 Y- q. a" _, U8 l4 H# {& F© The Edmonton Journal 2007 |
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发表于 2007-5-20 07:27
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