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Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?% I( X, S4 T$ h( L# _+ O
Nothing says home like the living room couch5 V7 q! [9 @# K" h1 k
/ Y6 }# L/ x8 h) ]Alexandra Zabjek$ k' J | ~$ _& I
The Edmonton Journal
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Sunday, May 20, 20073 }: f- ~0 I2 y( `- R
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J3 ^$ N8 f8 LStudent 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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$ i2 V" t& G' J' v5 VAt Steve Li's one-bedroom apartment near NAIT, the living room is a bedroom for his roommate, Bill Chadwick.+ n7 M$ ?3 T s4 j( \( E5 X
& V! t% `+ o& f# w- \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.
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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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, y4 U& A& _) ~2 ZAfter spending time couch-surfing with friends, Chadwick says having a "defined space" is great, even if it isn't a proper bedroom.: t% I; [3 Z9 x. H+ c5 l7 u m
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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.3 Z8 D) ^9 @+ T% e
7 _* f+ Y: h G" L7 S"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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* y& L% ?: i6 o. Y/ a: b6 O# BSplitting the rent on a one-bedroom apartment, however, make things much easier for students with limited budgets.! f1 \- m; S% |5 {
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"I wouldn't say (it would be completely) unaffordable, but this way it's much more economical," he says.
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3 K' N5 W% N+ y9 p8 g/ KSOMEONE IN THE BASEMENT TO HELP PAY THE MORTGAGE
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' ?+ H7 M8 R" O/ _: s" {5 vWhen 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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8 ?1 C+ r. b9 F% k( o! K6 A' S+ |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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8 G3 E, p& I+ M. g. J0 C1 e. ["It would be nice to have more space and to have another bathroom," she says.
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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."
! | K3 c* A/ l S© The Edmonton Journal 2007 |
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发表于 2007-5-20 07:27
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