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Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?
- ~* b; b- G- v w- JNothing says home like the living room couch# z2 Y/ d& G. y9 s* \$ R' U! ~' d
- Y% e! a6 I( y, a( NAlexandra Zabjek4 B8 {9 A" ^* B+ X
The Edmonton Journal
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Sunday, May 20, 20073 _) v4 `7 o; c: N# M& ~0 ]# f
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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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At Steve Li's one-bedroom apartment near NAIT, the living room is a bedroom for his roommate, Bill Chadwick.8 V. T: B) F7 Z: K
# n( v! \+ ?$ w/ XLi and Chadwick, both students, split the $600 rent almost evenly -- Li gets the bedroom for $325 per month, while Chadwick pays $275 per month to put his bed in the living room.& A$ C7 R6 v/ m* S3 E
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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." Q& T% u4 Y) \) Q3 J
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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.; h( b; `* ~ q) `' `! G
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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."+ A6 J9 e$ X' c, t$ F) r3 H
0 O( m" a. \# U4 j" aSplitting the rent on a one-bedroom apartment, however, make things much easier for students with limited budgets.$ D* d( V0 q( m, N+ [
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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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. h# @; m8 t! @/ 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.( y' S% f, p$ B9 N$ G
9 Q/ `3 X+ d* G5 \' w"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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Their tenant pays $500 per month for the 750-square-foot suite. The money helps the couple pay down their mortgage more aggressively and provides a cushion in case either loses their job, says Crawshaw.
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The arrangement has worked out well, especially because the tenant was already living in the house when they moved in and has proved to be a "fantabulous" tenant who often spends time gardening in the yard or raking leaves, says Crawshaw, 25.
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The downside, however, is the lack of space. The couple and their two cats share about 750-square-feet on the upper floor of the house.
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"It would be nice to have more space and to have another bathroom," she says.& b% T- D5 [8 g1 k4 t
. z8 [4 A! q8 i* }$ W7 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.", K% V; E, I7 R, m% v! w
© The Edmonton Journal 2007 |
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