Is it easy to get domestic help at a reasonable price? Do you avail of it?

Well I am having this maid servant for over fifteen years. She has been with us before my daughter was born. I think that the salary alone wouldn't have stick to our family this long. A good servant is a one who likes to work for the people of the house and not for the money they give. I have helped her in getting his son a job and gave her money for his wedding expenses. I am taking care of her medical expenses and she gets the new cloths every now and then. She eats what we eat at home and she take the food for her supper daily from my home. I think at a certain time down the lane the money and the name servant get dissolved slowly and a new affectionate relationship is formed. I can see this phenomenon in many Indian houses. This also could be a part of our culture I wonder.

i think its a blessing in disguise,here we have to put up with their tantrums and sometimes it becomes a big hassle.in the west,there is not so much dust and there are modern gadgets available at a reasonable price.

It's still a very common and prevalent practise in India, inspite of the fact that in the metroes getting domestic help has become more expensive simply because the cost of living has increased. It's still i should add not anywhere near what example you are sharing. $10 an hour is what we could pay per week here. Should the cost of living go up dramatically here, it would make getting help more difficult and unaffordable.

Hi dear! Getting a demestic help for $ 10 per hours looks quite expensive, in comparison to our our place. You know it very well that in big cities and Metros it is not easy to get domestic help at reasonable rates. Even if you get, you are forced to bear their whims and fancies and their sudden disappearance. At our place a part time maid servans charges Rs. 800/- for doing utensils, washing clothes and for mopping and cleaning. We also keep pampering her and keep asking about her well being so that she be punctual and regular to our house, else we'll be in trouble. We just cannot afford to show our annoyance to her, if she does something wrong. For my better half, her maid servant is more important than me and she speaks with her very politely.............LOL! Hope you are enoying your stay! Have a great day! Deepak

mimipi well I am here in the US and no we cannot get domestic'help cheaply as we pay living wages to people for most things they do'When I had my own home I was the only servant and alas I was not paid either. but that helped cause I was really cheap.TEn dollars an hour would be considered fairly reasonable to middle class and wealthy people. I dont know how much your reasonable price is where you are probably a lot less than here.

Hi mimpi, domestic help in the form of cleaners is readily available here in Greece, not that I have it, and the usual rate is between three and a half and five euros an hour which is roughly the same in pounds. Wages in general are low here whilst prices soar ever upwards so we end up in the situation of being now the most expensive country in Europe with the one of the lowest wages.

I think there is a fundamental mistake in converting dollars to rupees and evaluating something mimpi.I agree domestic help is cheaper in India; that is because India has a very high population and many are below the poverty line. In fact, in Mumbai the servants are quite expensive [though not in the range of dollars] but from what I have seen earlier, it is quite high here and this suits the cost of living of Mumbai too. The domestic help are pretty dignified here I do not justify domestic help by saying this but I am just stating a fact. I for one cannot do without domestic help mimpi--our living conditions are different; We labor much more in the kitchen than our Western counterparts. Now, for example, your sister might herself slog it out in the kitchen and do much more work if she does not have this help too. Another thing is, the meal preparation and housekeeping predominantly falls on the woman [even when she goes out for a job she does much more than her husband] I believe that if the woman is to be given the responsibility of running a household she should also be granted a bit of help.SHe has her limitaitons on reserves of energy[whether men should or should not help isn't the question here--assumption is our patriarchal system].I cannot manage without one[ though in this place I do so frequently ]irrespective of the cost I would get one at least infrequently, especially for cleaning vessels that becomes a neverending task.

I've been living in countries for the past few years where having domestic help is very common, but I would never avail of it, no. It's not something that's common at all in my home country and I personally don't feel comfortable with having someone take care of things that my Wife and I are perfectly capable of handling ourselves. I do appreciate the cultural differences in mindsets when it comes to things like this and I'm certainly not knocking anyone that does have domestic help, it's just not for me!

It is very difficult to get domestic help here. Even if you are ready to pay the price for it. I have been trying to get someone for my home for the past few months but nobody is ready to come at the odd timings that I am at home. And I do not like the idea of someone coming and doing the work in my absence because then I know they will not do a good job.

In my part I do not avail such services. We are 4 members in our family so we divide each task accordingly so we can save time and more money. Here in the Philippines, it is cheaper to have domestic helpers at home but the question is the safety of the house owner. There are many cases of crime related to domestic tandem with criminals, its not easy to trust someone particularly if one household depend on the agency support to provide domestics help.

I would love domestic help! If I ever come into money that is the first thing I’ll get. Household chores are the one thing that makes my life less than it should be but if I let the chores go I would feel worse! It is not cheap here to have help with the house, in fact a few years ago I was the help! (LOL) I look forward to the day when I can have someone come and clean for me!

Well we do have domestic help. Our driver dadu(it means grandpa bengali) and his wife had been working for us for years..While he served as our driver his wife looked after the house as all the elders of my family use to be working then..Now only his wife is alive and she stays with us looking after my grandparents..And a new lady has been appointed to do the domestic chores and we have a new driver though it keeps changing every half year!! Nobody is as efficient or loyal as was he..Domestic help has been a part of Indian culture for as long as history goes...I do accept many people look at them demeaningly but not all..and poverty is a huge issue here..so when they have nothing to do they opt for this job..atleast they aren't begging..And yeah technology have not yet become that affordable here as in the western world so people who have huge families(like our's a joint family) or all the members are working do have to opt for domestic help..

Hello Mimpi. I used to pay for help with the heavy housework once a month, due to a medical condition that makes it hard for me. It is very expensive here in the US, so no, I no longer have that. Nor did I have that all the years my children were young. Most people here cannot afford one domestic aide let alone several! What a blessing that you can do so in India. Karen

A reasonable price depends on whatever you think is reasonable. My family doesn't employ domestic workers because as much as possible we do things on our own, even if we can afford it. My mother and father also want to do things on their own because they believe if they don't keep active, they will easily feel the effects of aging. However, there are times when we encounter some people who are in very bad need of money. In those cases, we let them do little things in our home so we can pay them money and not just give it away. We don't pay per hour, we just pay per day for ironing or washing clothes.

Hi, as I am also from India and your city, it is quite similar here. But in our locality its difficult to get a new one for other tasks. we are fidning anpother for long but not getting.

forgive my ignorance, mimpi but I have no idea as to what domestic help is. Is it some sort of help for travelers? if so, that'd explain it. I have all I can do to travel back and forth to work.