What does everybody pay their maid?

[Hillbilly]

While Mr. Twit is an ignorant person regarding

life in the Dominican Republic, he has a point.

However, until he has been here for a while-a rather short while, I'm betting-he should refrain from commenting.

Those that have family, jobs (or outside things to do) know you cannot live like in the US or Canada (or any other first world country). With 99% of this country suffering from prolonged blackouts, how do you shop? Just think about that. No meat, fish or poultry in the house, ever! No veggies in the house, ever! So you have to go out and buy them on a daily basis.

Ever try keeping bread in the tropics? With very few exceptions, it doesn't. Again the daily trip to the bakery. Drinking water? In fact, all the things we take for granted in the above mentioned regions, are just not available. So there is a whole class of people that provide these services at very reasonable rates and permit young families to work and get ahead.


Leave them alone...they'll find out soon enough...

HB

Edited to add: I see I should not have gone and had breakfast with Mrs HB(That I cooked) before posting. Talldrink, a true Dominican lady who knows how things are tells it like it is...Learn! You Twit (Oh how I love that word!!)

 

[MommC]

When I'm there.....

my housekeeper gets $3000 pesos/month plus "transporto" (motoconch of RD$40/day).
She works 5 1/2 days per week with extra days off when we go on an excursion (usually to SD to shop). She also gets lots of "perks" like clothes, food, medicine etc as well as eating two meals a day with us. She cleans, does laundry, irons and helps with the food prep (I do the cooking!).

I think as a foreigner (who really doesn't need a maid as my house and yard at home are 4x the size and I do it all) I am helping to contribute to the local economy and providing a job where there wouldn't otherwise be one.
My only concern at present is if the same person will be available this year (had one lady for 10 yrs who is now in Italy with a neighbour as an "amas de llaves) as the woman I had this past winter was a good worker and honest!

 

[Talldrink]

Thanks Hillbilly, I see that Mrs Billy is very lucky - you cook! (or fry an egg or two...)

Like MommC and others have mentioned, good help (and honest) is very hard to find these days. My mom has lived there going on 8 years now and we can count how many she has gone through already.

So if someone has found good help, that individual is the one to decide just how much peace of mind and time to sip on Cafe Santo Domingo en la galeria after you've had a wonderful meal is worth.

 

[juanita]

Housekeeper!

If anyone is looking for a housekeeper in the Santo Domingo area, I know this lady that I can recommend. PM me for info.

 

[chuckuindy]

Reality Check

How about doing your own cooking : delicious

How about doing your own cleaning : does not take long

How about doing your own washing and ironing : My wife knows how I like it


Total cost : $ US 0000000000,00000000
Wow!!

Wales if you do 1/5th of the things you say you are going to do in the DR without any domestic help, you will not have the time to post on this board. $000000.00 USD, priceless.
Charlie

 

[Wales]

Maid

Wales if you do 1/5th of the things you say you are going to do in the DR without any domestic help, you will not have the time to post on this board. $000000.00 USD, priceless.
Charlie

You do not yet know Linda. I have live all over this World in 1st, 2nd 3rd or less - whatever that means - I always enjoy the difference and ensure that I have everything we need for a reasonable happy life. I have had maids, drivers & staff pouring out of every crevasse to look after me even to the extent of my putting my shoes outside the bedroom door at night and the following morning at six - bright and shiny. How about someone starting the car 45 minutes before departure so as to make sure it was ' COOL ' enough to get into. Come on I worked for the BINLADEN'S. Now I've had enough. Peace and quiet. Ask Linda, I am more than capapble of doing anything that is required.

If I give her this laptop, she's likely to tell you.

Brian

 

[Wales]

Maids

A perfectly valid question, Ken, & politely worded. Wonder if you'll get a response?

I do not think this was very politely worded : however here is Linda's response:

Hi Marjorie,

I must confess that when we went to view our new
home, it seemed that having a maid was totally expected of us but after
asking, why there were locks on the kitchen cabinets? ............ It had never
even crossed my mind! When we knew we had "maid's quarters", my
first thought was that we had extra room for our hobbies and I was
delighted! It had never even crossed my mind to have a maid! My
immediate thought was that of someone wandering around whilst I
was preparing dinner for later on in the day was to say the least unusual and an intrusion! Washing machine works itself, I iron as I go along because I am always sewing and therefore my ironing board is out all the time. We are both so tidy and organised, cleaning is as easy as a quick whip round with whatever is necessary

Of course this is all I know and must confess that it is not exactly
difficult. There are only two of us, after all! The other thing that
comes into play is that we BOTH LOVE COOKING!!! I prepare,
cook, serve, rinse and poke into the dishwasher - the whole deal!

HOWEVER, as I am sure you had already correctly surmised, Brian
cooks and plates............ I set table, clear table, worktops, saucepans, preparation utensils and wash up.!!!! Well, he is an English twit, isn't he? ( I love it!!) and I love him!!!!! but he is a great cook, a wonderfiul provider, good company - well, 90% of the time!?

Who knows? It's a new life! Maybe the Dominican Republic way of
life will eventually accomodate a maid? All that can be said is that
I really rather "enjoy" keeping things as I like them!

I truly enjoy all the comments, regardless!........


Linda (twit) Wales

 

[Talldrink]

Come on I worked for the BINLADEN'S. Now I've had enough. Peace and quiet. Brian

I know this is completely off the subject, but why are you so happy to name drop on this forum when it is a name that should bring you shame and disgrace to even know?? Do you realize that more than 50% of us posting here either live in the US or have lived here before?

Tell me how that sentence is revelevant to the original subject of the thread??

If you havent heard it enough yet, the word TWIT fits you more than perfectly - you Friggin A$$WIPE!

 

[Wales]

Binladen

I know this is completely off the subject, but why are you so happy to name drop on this forum when it is a name that should bring you shame and disgrace to even know?? Do you realize that more than 50% of us posting here either live in the US or have lived here before?

Tell me how that sentence is revelevant to the original subject of the thread??

If you havent heard it enough yet, the word TWIT fits you more than perfectly - you Friggin A$$WIPE!

I did not work for Osama Binladen. I worked for Salem ( deceased ) . I don't think you know, there were 54 Sons from twenty wives. That is why if you look : It is called Binladen Brothers. They were not all tarred with the same brush. I am sure that if I bothered to look into your antescedents ( if you have any ) there will be more than one black sheep in the family.

As a rider : ( you Frigginn ETC ) my Public School education - IN ENGLAND - taught me : that if you had to resort to obscene or offensive language in order to express yourself, it simply showed lack of education.

Regards

Brian

 

[Escott]

I know this is completely off the subject, but why are you so happy to name drop on this forum when it is a name that should bring you shame and disgrace to even know?? Do you realize that more than 50% of us posting here either live in the US or have lived here before?

Tell me how that sentence is revelevant to the original subject of the thread??

If you havent heard it enough yet, the word TWIT fits you more than perfectly - you Friggin A$$WIPE!

hahaha, this is getting hilarious. Can you move this over to the real estate thread where 2 guys are trying to clean my clock to take the pressure off of me please! LOL

 

[Wales]

Linda's response

I do not think this was very politely worded : however here is Linda's response:

Hi Marjorie,

I must confess that when we went to view our new
home, it seemed that having a maid was totally expected of us but after
asking, why there were locks on the kitchen cabinets? ............ It had never
even crossed my mind! When we knew we had "maid's quarters", my
first thought was that we had extra room for our hobbies and I was
delighted! It had never even crossed my mind to have a maid! My
immediate thought was that of someone wandering around whilst I
was preparing dinner for later on in the day was to say the least unusual and an intrusion! Washing machine works itself, I iron as I go along because I am always sewing and therefore my ironing board is out all the time. We are both so tidy and organised, cleaning is as easy as a quick whip round with whatever is necessary

Of course this is all I know and must confess that it is not exactly
difficult. There are only two of us, after all! The other thing that
comes into play is that we BOTH LOVE COOKING!!! I prepare,
cook, serve, rinse and poke into the dishwasher - the whole deal!

HOWEVER, as I am sure you had already correctly surmised, Brian
cooks and plates............ I set table, clear table, worktops, saucepans, preparation utensils and wash up.!!!! Well, he is an English twit, isn't he? ( I love it!!) and I love him!!!!! but he is a great cook, a wonderfiul provider, good company - well, 90% of the time!?

Who knows? It's a new life! Maybe the Dominican Republic way of
life will eventually accomodate a maid? All that can be said is that
I really rather "enjoy" keeping things as I like them!

I truly enjoy all the comments, regardless!........


Linda (twit) Wales

Marjorie,

Did you read Linda's reply?


satisfied now?

Brian

 

[Talldrink]

I did not work for Osama Binladen. I worked for Salem ( deceased ) . I don't think you know, there were 54 Sons from twenty wives. That is why if you look : It is called Binladen Brothers. They were not all tarred with the same brush. I am sure that if I bothered to look into your antescedents ( if you have any ) there will be more than one black sheep in the family.

This still does not answer my original question, what does mentioning who you worked for have anything to do with what people should pay a maid in DR - unless you forgot to add how much they paid you for scrubbing their toilets - even then, it wouldnt be revelevant to the original post anyway!

 

[Escott]

Comon Talldrink, tell us how you really feel and don't hold back this time.

Scott

 

[pasha]

What a clever....

I did not work for Osama Binladen. I worked for Salem ( deceased ) . I don't think you know, there were 54 Sons from twenty wives. That is why if you look : It is called Binladen Brothers. They were not all tarred with the same brush.

little rascal you are Brian...no, you didn't say you worked for Osama, just gave a hint wide as the Atlantic. You obviously learned squat from your time with the family....or at least remained ignorant of how Arabs culturally operate. One has to seriously be drinking his own bathwater to actually buy the story that the family and Saudi government really cut ties with him. No Arab mother would ever stop a relationship with one of her boys. Unless he changed faith to Judiasm, Hindu or something.

Think you need to get your head out of your butt. My opinion of course.

Thoughtfully yours, P

PS - I've lived out in the MidEast for decades, speak Arabic reasonably well and know these folks exceptionally well.

PPS - did you really "work for Salim" or were you one of the many British/ European white tea boys somewhere down in the bowels of the organization and are just throwing his name about? Take care in your response since I also know a good deal about the company.

 

[pasha]

Sorry, make that....

little rascal you are Brian....

Twit, not Brian

 

[Robert]

Children, stick to the original theme of the thread.

Is it really that hard?