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Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?, r+ l1 B+ t* {0 T+ z
Nothing says home like the living room couch
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Alexandra Zabjek
3 o* n5 c! @/ H& R1 l7 uThe Edmonton Journal
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Sunday, 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.: C) W( C! z) v& E1 Z
0 V. g2 W9 z+ K) {' G/ ?- WAt Steve Li's one-bedroom apartment near NAIT, the living room is a bedroom for his roommate, Bill Chadwick.
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" m( M5 C N$ sLi 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.0 }! S, V! B4 O9 i8 U' g; x
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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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After spending time couch-surfing with friends, Chadwick says having a "defined space" is great, even if it isn't a proper bedroom.9 a6 U) w. g. a: u+ m' p8 t& T. S
N6 v0 s" C4 a1 ?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.2 h, J6 c/ y) Y! s" 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.
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) Y7 n7 E! I# z w" Q"I wouldn't say (it would be completely) unaffordable, but this way it's much more economical," he says.- ^) O! Y( e1 {. g) P
0 K4 `7 `* d: C! _# JSOMEONE IN THE BASEMENT TO HELP PAY THE MORTGAGE1 M/ ]. g! N; n- u% d( {' Q4 _
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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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Their tenant pays $500 per month for the 750-square-foot suite. The money helps the couple pay down their mortgage more aggressively and provides a cushion in case either loses their job, says Crawshaw.
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The arrangement has worked out well, especially because the tenant was already living in the house when they moved in and has proved to be a "fantabulous" tenant who often spends time gardening in the yard or raking leaves, says Crawshaw, 25.
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The downside, however, is the lack of space. The couple and their two cats share about 750-square-feet on the upper floor of the house.
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) t$ }) B+ D: j& k: o2 A"It would be nice to have more space and to have another bathroom," she says." t# N2 V, C- S7 \/ s; C
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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."3 |! G Y# t( D1 x5 `4 d
© The Edmonton Journal 2007 |
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发表于 2007-5-20 07:27
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