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Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?9 S6 ]1 J6 h0 F- |* l; F8 f4 [
Nothing says home like the living room couch
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Alexandra Zabjek4 d: M" b; x! z/ J3 R" }( c
The Edmonton Journal
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' n: F: |% N! W; ^- J2 P% 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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At Steve Li's one-bedroom apartment near NAIT, the living room is a bedroom for his roommate, Bill Chadwick.
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# J6 Y: N. ^9 @$ b! pLi and Chadwick, both students, split the $600 rent almost evenly -- Li gets the bedroom for $325 per month, while Chadwick pays $275 per month to put his bed in the living room.
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+ U! p0 A9 i$ _7 o7 `, m8 W"I receive approximately $700 per month (in grants) to go to school," says Chadwick, 32. "So when $275 comes into the picture, it works out quite well."
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/ c4 Y2 e& i" x/ I9 ^% c3 {$ cAfter spending time couch-surfing with friends, Chadwick says having a "defined space" is great, even if it isn't a proper bedroom.% J- H7 }7 J8 F6 z0 j
3 d ?9 J& e( m$ z8 Z9 s0 vSharing 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.% m& i+ \8 V! R; f2 P7 K0 G/ g% f$ @
' R3 \* p1 o- o, j1 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."# u$ M) X6 F: J9 x: l+ j% r% T
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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.$ P/ x$ z9 E5 J# |1 V: |
0 v0 C3 t4 x$ L! z; R. jSOMEONE IN THE BASEMENT TO HELP PAY THE MORTGAGE6 v2 Y% Y5 O" m, p }
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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.% j5 k+ u/ P0 r8 r8 A0 S% s* k# l
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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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4 \- a% J9 S0 i9 \- B5 Q/ ^- E! eTheir tenant pays $500 per month for the 750-square-foot suite. The money helps the couple pay down their mortgage more aggressively and provides a cushion in case either loses their job, says Crawshaw.
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The arrangement has worked out well, especially because the tenant was already living in the house when they moved in and has proved to be a "fantabulous" tenant who often spends time gardening in the yard or raking leaves, says Crawshaw, 25.3 Z I) b8 [' Q0 v
8 E, E6 H# ?, c) O( v- aThe downside, however, is the lack of space. The couple and their two cats share about 750-square-feet on the upper floor of the house.
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# r+ J. G6 G m8 @ \, A"It would be nice to have more space and to have another bathroom," she says.0 l$ @+ C) R7 \) T% m* K
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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."6 u* o) F# ^1 @+ A9 u; i. C
© The Edmonton Journal 2007 |
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发表于 2007-5-20 07:27
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