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Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?
9 F' U& i1 g0 s* E1 b$ O$ |Nothing says home like the living room couch) [0 s# f7 m- k- z9 h4 k8 V
$ E0 D5 `9 t4 n( o8 U5 ~Alexandra Zabjek
5 b; n6 T4 H. B/ U8 b7 lThe Edmonton Journal) l3 d1 h5 G& j# v f0 s
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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., E4 q: K$ v8 I8 f: S
6 x: P2 }' o: [0 cAt Steve Li's one-bedroom apartment near NAIT, the living room is a bedroom for his roommate, Bill Chadwick.
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- v6 P" j5 z3 [ k: a" }* hLi 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 $275 comes into the picture, it works out quite well."
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After spending time couch-surfing with friends, Chadwick says having a "defined space" is great, even if it isn't a proper bedroom.
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Sharing a one-bedroom apartment is a common arrangement amongst Chinese students studying in Edmonton, says Li, who has been living in Canada for the past seven years. It's a big change for many of these students, he says.1 K3 V u+ x/ A+ p" x
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"The people who can afford to send their kids to Canada to study are quite rich," he says. "(Their) apartments in China are big.", W+ o$ O5 c9 }7 z7 C
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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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1 ?% E' o+ i2 o( i3 ~"I wouldn't say (it would be completely) unaffordable, but this way it's much more economical," he says.1 n/ L8 P0 e2 R: o1 h( p& F- B
7 Y! J- g3 J, `( _$ W/ YSOMEONE 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.7 k u$ i% v0 |
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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."# e. l" j1 B2 T
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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.
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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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: X+ k3 V- Y4 O' OThe 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.' Z; g- E6 E. @3 u) ~7 k
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"It would be nice to have more space and to have another bathroom," she says.
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1 G% m# B- p0 y2 _( j% V"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."
/ q- m& | m2 E. u! V5 B© The Edmonton Journal 2007 |
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发表于 2007-5-20 07:27
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