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Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?- H* ~1 `5 I1 L' J) y# H
Nothing says home like the living room couch; l. ~8 H- n. ]( j
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Alexandra Zabjek( h+ v3 x/ f3 s M: p( e4 y
The Edmonton Journal6 f+ M9 @2 ?1 c# }2 d
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Sunday, May 20, 20072 e0 _8 \8 ?% t
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, h1 G2 R1 f2 i6 L0 C0 g3 AStudent 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.9 n0 u$ u" V" d
( V/ t. X' O' n; eAt Steve Li's one-bedroom apartment near NAIT, the living room is a bedroom for his roommate, Bill Chadwick.! ` M8 z1 V' i
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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. @) E- D7 @. U' |, B; `
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"I receive approximately $700 per month (in grants) to go to school," says Chadwick, 32. "So when $275 comes into the picture, it works out quite well."
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: ^5 H: j+ ~0 j$ d) l, vAfter spending time couch-surfing with friends, Chadwick says having a "defined space" is great, even if it isn't a proper bedroom." s/ D; b; E( G6 c
8 ?8 Q4 o& F; ^ V3 ]5 HSharing 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.' Z! y3 p9 X( X' q( O, ~
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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./ ]; z- E& s/ n4 G1 S# q5 x
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"I wouldn't say (it would be completely) unaffordable, but this way it's much more economical," he says." C6 @; A' G$ J5 ?$ Q9 }
+ z7 A2 x5 k. e4 c6 KSOMEONE IN THE BASEMENT TO HELP PAY THE MORTGAGE3 d, ]& P' ]% B4 p, h1 b
+ `% z5 `' A3 o" l9 _/ i; b; CWhen 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., y6 W2 V5 g: \" L. ^* f
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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."* |( ~' Q) |# c1 D: J: ]
, ^& h% W1 M" I* yTheir tenant pays $500 per month for the 750-square-foot suite. The money helps the couple pay down their mortgage more aggressively and provides a cushion in case either loses their job, says Crawshaw.3 w6 Z% T6 I8 o4 K
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The arrangement has worked out well, especially because the tenant was already living in the house when they moved in and has proved to be a "fantabulous" tenant who often spends time gardening in the yard or raking leaves, says Crawshaw, 25.' g+ d2 y, f5 S: R$ j/ N
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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.; q6 n+ u8 ?. D1 n# I, J. y
% Q a1 t- J D* R7 t5 }( M"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."& X+ o& b, W( m1 t
© The Edmonton Journal 2007 |
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发表于 2007-5-20 07:27
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