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Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?
0 g* ^4 Z. Q: z' q: q' ANothing says home like the living room couch
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5 O% \3 o; _0 ~4 _+ {Alexandra Zabjek) v2 N0 r( }9 g
The Edmonton Journal
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4 a7 i' b) Y* N' DSunday, 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.( z2 S1 C+ s% f' S4 p- [2 c+ m
8 O) m4 n4 F& I& q0 C# zAt Steve Li's one-bedroom apartment near NAIT, the living room is a bedroom for his roommate, Bill Chadwick.
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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 $275 per month to put his bed in the living room.
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% {( W1 f9 f3 b8 [! J- ~$ Z"I receive approximately $700 per month (in grants) to go to school," says Chadwick, 32. "So when $275 comes into the picture, it works out quite well."
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After spending time couch-surfing with friends, Chadwick says having a "defined space" is great, even if it isn't a proper bedroom.4 g. ^6 d% y' G) K+ ?$ l* M- N
# ^8 q. v. d R$ W# CSharing 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." A7 {8 `/ j" }
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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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' c0 a% H( h- @$ O+ H3 KSplitting the rent on a one-bedroom apartment, however, make things much easier for students with limited budgets.( d* {0 _: R$ O+ I* y5 n$ M
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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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SOMEONE IN THE BASEMENT TO HELP PAY THE MORTGAGE- ^: p5 V4 M0 k+ ~/ |3 v* K
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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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8 ]) o h. x+ Z7 k2 ]/ N7 S( O; \"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 $500 per month for the 750-square-foot suite. The money helps the couple pay down their mortgage more aggressively and provides a cushion in case either loses their job, says Crawshaw./ z3 f2 q- L) t" n, R) Y9 Y
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The arrangement has worked out well, especially because the tenant was already living in the house when they moved in and has proved to be a "fantabulous" tenant who often spends time gardening in the yard or raking leaves, says Crawshaw, 25.
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The downside, however, is the lack of space. The couple and their two cats share about 750-square-feet on the upper floor of the house.+ C- [% Y8 l- d8 o# N0 O
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"It would be nice to have more space and to have another bathroom," she says.$ r8 }& p; g0 j/ X
: f' @6 G' v" y- z& u# o1 @) C4 o"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."
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发表于 2007-5-20 07:27
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