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Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?
2 S0 a( Q" i" e( {6 ~Nothing says home like the living room couch
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g6 K& f! Z e' X5 e) u+ O, DAlexandra Zabjek6 u/ j+ E, P; n, h+ p. S- {
The Edmonton Journal2 _( F7 t" t- ?: `* o1 Q
' a: B5 M( d: ASunday, May 20, 2007
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% s" x2 ]- Y2 i' W9 VStudent 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.- _ R! x. ^+ N- P& t/ S/ p w
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At Steve Li's one-bedroom apartment near NAIT, the living room is a bedroom for his roommate, Bill Chadwick.3 ?2 r, u; `/ A# u* m! v
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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 $275 per month to put his bed in the living room.+ B* ]6 X2 {$ U( R, \6 O* }
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"I receive approximately $700 per month (in grants) to go to school," says Chadwick, 32. "So when $275 comes into the picture, it works out quite well."
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" d" _9 X& L3 Z! D* WAfter spending time couch-surfing with friends, Chadwick says having a "defined space" is great, even if it isn't a proper bedroom.* ~1 G3 d" D( p+ e1 n) T
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Sharing a one-bedroom apartment is a common arrangement amongst Chinese students studying in Edmonton, says Li, who has been living in Canada for the past seven years. It's a big change for many of these students, he says.
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* `- L; f4 d/ V"The people who can afford to send their kids to Canada to study are quite rich," he says. "(Their) apartments in China are big."' h% ~! ~5 y, k3 k$ a+ v
7 j. D7 a' k/ ]% [) R' ZSplitting the rent on a one-bedroom apartment, however, make things much easier for students with limited budgets." T! G) t5 N L" n4 a
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"I wouldn't say (it would be completely) unaffordable, but this way it's much more economical," he says.8 _* Q( r' q( a$ D" M9 z7 H7 E4 g
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SOMEONE IN THE BASEMENT TO HELP PAY THE MORTGAGE+ |- N, Q! d1 T* g7 {0 q: s7 J
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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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# X$ E u4 l; q! z"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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# w/ c2 v4 W( F/ p& c4 w s" Z d$ CTheir 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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6 }" G# E# E6 Y# u/ h" s- UThe 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, 25.0 L- u0 `% O1 i
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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.% F7 R! c+ g! Q3 L/ ^ B/ q: G
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"It would be nice to have more space and to have another bathroom," she says.6 g+ L+ v3 m* a" }8 \( h) O
# G0 u1 M; `, i* j, {+ Z2 A"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."
* a4 @' R: }, X4 s( l9 E4 Z n- A# @, {© The Edmonton Journal 2007 |
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发表于 2007-5-20 07:27
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