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Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?
9 U1 h, {+ ~, ~1 P; |Nothing says home like the living room couch
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Alexandra Zabjek
7 w( f; F% E0 GThe Edmonton Journal
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! b$ Y( V" {0 I, k) ASunday, 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., o7 t% ]# N) U* L* D
4 p6 U! }! s% W n+ P3 {; O7 q( `At Steve Li's one-bedroom apartment near NAIT, the living room is a bedroom for his roommate, Bill Chadwick.
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: O1 ^: |3 {5 ILi 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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! y' s% x9 d' U1 VAfter spending time couch-surfing with friends, Chadwick says having a "defined space" is great, even if it isn't a proper bedroom.* H1 p: M& K, h c( l6 R6 M5 b. F
7 ~/ B& A0 q( u3 G3 t; q, Q4 JSharing 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.+ C }3 J( y5 e+ L
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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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Splitting the rent on a one-bedroom apartment, however, make things much easier for students with limited budgets.
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( D8 C. B; B, f6 \. p"I wouldn't say (it would be completely) unaffordable, but this way it's much more economical," he says.
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- l+ ^9 F2 ^8 j, W1 o7 MSOMEONE 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.6 W' f+ e# P1 I
8 W# o) q: I) ?* L3 u: Z1 c5 N' r) \! Y"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.". ]+ A4 C0 Q4 c1 ]# H# N
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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." G: f i* E8 F
6 Y! j# b6 t7 u. [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, 25.9 Z) S, n* ^. @, S! X* q- [! b
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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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& j* V) J; g# W# T+ `8 p"It would be nice to have more space and to have another bathroom," she says.3 k% G+ i- B; b% z, J" z
+ Y+ T; z2 H8 f( k4 b9 v1 w- ~) 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."4 D% J" d: @2 d) N) P
© The Edmonton Journal 2007 |
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发表于 2007-5-20 07:27
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