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Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?; G4 l N1 R4 r/ g- \2 I
Nothing says home like the living room couch, s& b8 N p z X8 s, y9 J2 q
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Alexandra Zabjek
5 ?% T' H" B/ x% A# ^# E# X6 i! eThe Edmonton Journal
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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.
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+ Z8 d+ Z# J% N) \5 l4 NAt Steve Li's one-bedroom apartment near NAIT, the living room is a bedroom for his roommate, Bill Chadwick.: b- K- m# s, |
" i: N- E$ d: }6 DLi 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 $275 comes into the picture, it works out quite well."" F5 v; f. k( Z
3 ]4 C4 Q5 k( s' GAfter spending time couch-surfing with friends, Chadwick says having a "defined space" is great, even if it isn't a proper bedroom.1 n2 P; e. B3 ?% r4 } L' m# e" l' l
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Sharing a one-bedroom apartment is a common arrangement amongst Chinese students studying in Edmonton, says Li, who has been living in Canada for the past seven years. It's a big change for many of these students, he says.
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"The people who can afford to send their kids to Canada to study are quite rich," he says. "(Their) apartments in China are big."7 ^( ]! X! u) x# H6 K
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Splitting the rent on a one-bedroom apartment, however, make things much easier for students with limited budgets.
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! x! V# N' i1 k, N! O/ ]5 B7 T' {"I wouldn't say (it would be completely) unaffordable, but this way it's much more economical," he says.
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SOMEONE IN THE BASEMENT TO HELP PAY THE MORTGAGE
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9 C8 f8 G, p" T$ A" a. Z9 E3 GWhen 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.", m; \* P8 g3 l) N+ p
! Z0 x# ?7 f# B' N1 fTheir tenant pays $500 per month for the 750-square-foot suite. The money helps the couple pay down their mortgage more aggressively and provides a cushion in case either loses their job, says Crawshaw.
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, J% \3 H2 x5 l1 a; IThe arrangement has worked out well, especially because the tenant was already living in the house when they moved in and has proved to be a "fantabulous" tenant who often spends time gardening in the yard or raking leaves, says Crawshaw, 25.8 e2 {5 _/ D/ ^9 P# C0 J a) V* O
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The downside, however, is the lack of space. The couple and their two cats share about 750-square-feet on the upper floor of the house.
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. {0 K! S4 q, `6 y, O9 O$ y"It would be nice to have more space and to have another bathroom," she says.1 x5 u1 o+ c7 p' |1 ~3 C
7 Q1 p5 E7 w; f8 Y/ P' \3 R"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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