Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?

Magrath · 发表于 2007-5-20 07:27

Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?
Nothing says home like the living room couch

Alexandra Zabjek
The Edmonton Journal

Sunday, May 20, 2007

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.

At Steve Li's one-bedroom apartment near NAIT, the living room is a bedroom for his roommate, Bill Chadwick.

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.

"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."

After spending time couch-surfing with friends, Chadwick says having a "defined space" is great, even if it isn't a proper bedroom.

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.

"The people who can afford to send their kids to Canada to study are quite rich," he says. "(Their) apartments in China are big."

Splitting the rent on a one-bedroom apartment, however, make things much easier for students with limited budgets.

"I wouldn't say (it would be completely) unaffordable, but this way it's much more economical," he says.

SOMEONE IN THE BASEMENT TO HELP PAY THE MORTGAGE

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.

"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."

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.

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.

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.

"It would be nice to have more space and to have another bathroom," she says.

"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."
© The Edmonton Journal 2007

BaiLing · 发表于 2007-5-24 12:00

MyFairy · 发表于 2007-5-24 12:19

A few days ago in the TV news, one of the "Homeless" guy lives in a tent in downtown park claimed that they cannot afford $2000 rent. $2000 rent !!!

TempID · 发表于 2007-5-24 12:22

That rent raise is not expecting him to pay, it is expecting he could not pay. He must behave badly and the landlord wanted him out. An envict will need court order. It is easy for the landlord to prove that he did not pay the rent, than to prove he behave badly.

80后 · 发表于 2007-5-24 21:00

"The people who can afford to send their kids to Canada to study are quite rich," he says. "(Their) apartments in China are big."

---留学生就是这样被宰的

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Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?

Different attitude, different life style