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Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?8 r0 B) R: U: k5 v
Nothing says home like the living room couch
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Alexandra Zabjek2 g0 J" R$ {5 H5 d) ]' X
The Edmonton Journal+ E1 l$ E& R4 o- g4 X
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Sunday, 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.6 ^, K' p+ h5 G; m7 h
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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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5 @2 `1 g" }" w0 c, } N4 f$ ?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 $275 comes into the picture, it works out quite well."
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After spending time couch-surfing with friends, Chadwick says having a "defined space" is great, even if it isn't a proper bedroom.
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Sharing a one-bedroom apartment is a common arrangement amongst Chinese students studying in Edmonton, says Li, who has been living in Canada for the past seven years. It's a big change for many of these students, he says., X7 ]0 X. N2 j2 q- J: ?
( G) M/ d, M+ _8 J2 V$ O/ L& w"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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3 g9 c% N4 j+ y- s: BSplitting 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.
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4 s$ b* w d) p/ f* FSOMEONE IN THE BASEMENT TO HELP PAY THE MORTGAGE
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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.% s0 D7 s$ v$ G; H X& U
- G: P) L* S- a; k5 m"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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; c7 X; q, N- o- T, N& u7 UTheir tenant pays $500 per month for the 750-square-foot suite. The money helps the couple pay down their mortgage more aggressively and provides a cushion in case either loses their job, says Crawshaw.
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The arrangement has worked out well, especially because the tenant was already living in the house when they moved in and has proved to be a "fantabulous" tenant who often spends time gardening in the yard or raking leaves, says Crawshaw, 25.
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The downside, however, is the lack of space. The couple and their two cats share about 750-square-feet on the upper floor of the house.
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"It would be nice to have more space and to have another bathroom," she says.
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) N# d7 ^) ~ p9 p# a1 i! Y"But it does work out quite well. I don't regret it. But I don't want to do it for more than five years -- I don't think that anyone does."! o0 v4 S5 T1 A& r$ l' @8 |
© The Edmonton Journal 2007 |
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发表于 2007-5-20 07:27
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