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Creative Solutions: How'd they do it?8 X) d( X0 ]0 O9 L j- I5 a1 P9 m7 h
Nothing says home like the living room couch
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! J- E5 ~3 j7 K# h9 w. I, kAlexandra Zabjek* j x7 T' F6 P) N8 r
The Edmonton Journal
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Sunday, May 20, 2007
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* U0 F$ u1 P6 h" tStudent 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.
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+ w5 W7 N7 H p: c WLi 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 $275 comes into the picture, it works out quite well."
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0 _( m( m2 p1 k. zAfter spending time couch-surfing with friends, Chadwick says having a "defined space" is great, even if it isn't a proper bedroom.
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b q) Q+ W+ a9 g( vSharing a one-bedroom apartment is a common arrangement amongst Chinese students studying in Edmonton, says Li, who has been living in Canada for the past seven years. It's a big change for many of these students, he says.# `( v2 x) B7 O* a4 t P. }
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"The people who can afford to send their kids to Canada to study are quite rich," he says. "(Their) apartments in China are big."
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$ l) s- \' V% W# B5 G# y" HSplitting the rent on a one-bedroom apartment, however, make things much easier for students with limited budgets.
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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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SOMEONE IN THE BASEMENT TO HELP PAY THE MORTGAGE
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4 j' m) i+ {4 O0 j0 j4 X6 eWhen 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. b" [4 J- z# M8 {
) c% Q; e7 l; s1 v"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 $500 per month for the 750-square-foot suite. The money helps the couple pay down their mortgage more aggressively and provides a cushion in case either loses their job, says Crawshaw.3 E; t6 a# N5 D, w) v1 ?
0 A; q) ]' Z/ \9 jThe arrangement has worked out well, especially because the tenant was already living in the house when they moved in and has proved to be a "fantabulous" tenant who often spends time gardening in the yard or raking leaves, says Crawshaw, 25.! U7 {/ G( n$ ^8 j3 @
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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.9 o. v/ [: s7 }% `, O3 l& x
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"It would be nice to have more space and to have another bathroom," she says.
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"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."
. h8 H9 d, k' P/ N8 F3 L) {© The Edmonton Journal 2007 |
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发表于 2007-5-20 07:27
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