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Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?0 |- F- o- P8 o- O
Nothing says home like the living room couch2 K% M, t$ _* f! J5 o% l
5 b E0 ]" F. g1 u( fAlexandra Zabjek. r2 {- w5 p4 K& H9 Z
The Edmonton Journal: T x& v% g; \2 _! C: a
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Sunday, May 20, 2007' M, F4 C: c) m& e
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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." d2 A: H! s; X, c) n
8 V2 Y% R* a n, AAt Steve Li's one-bedroom apartment near NAIT, the living room is a bedroom for his roommate, Bill Chadwick." r. r) }0 V( X# ]) 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.! I9 f; [1 N/ N9 m8 `% y- @
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"I receive approximately $700 per month (in grants) to go to school," says Chadwick, 32. "So when $275 comes into the picture, it works out quite well."
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+ a! X0 U! B5 G! o7 y( B6 BAfter spending time couch-surfing with friends, Chadwick says having a "defined space" is great, even if it isn't a proper bedroom. o; \3 C( _ w
* C% b5 E1 }3 g# b ISharing a one-bedroom apartment is a common arrangement amongst Chinese students studying in Edmonton, says Li, who has been living in Canada for the past seven years. It's a big change for many of these students, he says.
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( H: }: K' b& S4 D+ W2 k"The people who can afford to send their kids to Canada to study are quite rich," he says. "(Their) apartments in China are big."
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Splitting the rent on a one-bedroom apartment, however, make things much easier for students with limited budgets.
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7 l( J: f* f$ N* P: A2 j! \' g. t" }"I wouldn't say (it would be completely) unaffordable, but this way it's much more economical," he says.& f; ~9 O$ G4 s$ c& }) j" r
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SOMEONE IN THE BASEMENT TO HELP PAY THE MORTGAGE
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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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! o% Z' n1 H- |8 U" f6 Z' `. T"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."- I) B6 l2 u- d: B' n
; p( h$ o" r e" i; w- |7 GTheir tenant pays $500 per month for the 750-square-foot suite. The money helps the couple pay down their mortgage more aggressively and provides a cushion in case either loses their job, says Crawshaw.7 e- R7 M9 d# I' A; Z; U
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The arrangement has worked out well, especially because the tenant was already living in the house when they moved in and has proved to be a "fantabulous" tenant who often spends time gardening in the yard or raking leaves, says Crawshaw, 25.
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% D* z( z9 C9 k& k8 ^" r# ?The downside, however, is the lack of space. The couple and their two cats share about 750-square-feet on the upper floor of the house.
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"It would be nice to have more space and to have another bathroom," she says.+ n, i9 e$ ^3 N b: U& x3 f
) g4 Y; A& c9 }, z. |( s# P: u"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."* t8 O+ P$ x* y: j
© The Edmonton Journal 2007 |
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发表于 2007-5-20 07:27
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