Implications of not having a maids room | ExpatWoman.com
 

Implications of not having a maids room

121
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 23 January 2011 - 01:13

There have been a few threads about this in the past, I know :) We don't have a maid/nanny at the moment but would like to leave the option open for the future. In case I decide to go back to work etc, who knows? We are househunting at the moment and many villas at the lower end of the price range (which we are aiming for!) have no maids room. Does this mean that I would have to live without a maid if my circumstances changed or would I have other options (other than agencies providing maids by the hour)? Has anyone ever managed to sponsor a maid and provide her with live out accommodation? Is a maids room a MUST HAVE if a full time maid is flickering even faintly on your horizon? Thanks :)

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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 24 January 2011 - 16:25
I would definitely agree with others that a maid would want her own room (they obviously don't always get it!) However, if you are looking for a good relationship with your maid I would give her a room. We all need time off and away from work and personally I can't see how it would work if she shared an area. We are lucky as our maid has her own room and bathroom. There are many times in the day when she goes off for a bit and comes back depending on the day's routine. Even on her day off she sometimes chooses to spend time in her room (lie in?) etc and watch tv etc etc. Can you not put your office in the maid's room?? Put the maid in the bedroom? Usually a maid will bring nothing with them bar a change of clothes. You provide it all. I know it is tricky when you have limited space and I feel lucky in my situation. However, I think if your maid is happy it will all work out better for you in the end.
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EW GURU
Latest post on 24 January 2011 - 10:04
I guess everyone has to live with their own decisions (including maids) but I think we all need and are entitled to our own personal, private space.
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 24 January 2011 - 09:27
mrvm, I think you'll find your maid would rather be in the "maids room" than share the office space. The maids like to retreat to their room when not needed, they need their own space and quiet to rest as lets face they work really hard!. Would it be possible for you to either move your office to the end of your bedroom (which presumably is unused during the day) or to the maids room?. I hate some of the spaces some maids are forced to live in, I have heard of situations were the maid doesn't even have a room, they just roll a mattress out in the lounge once everyone has gone to bed. I think this is just cruel! Most westerners do provide their maid with their own space, a TV and a bathroom at the very least. Most people who do not have a live in tend to illegally employ a part timer, who is usually sponsered by and lives with someone else, or employ an agency maid, which is the only legal way to have live out. <em>edited by kiwispiers on 24/01/2011</em>
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 23 January 2011 - 23:27
We have the 'where do we put a maid, if and when we get one' dilemma too. Our apartment has 3 bedrooms and a maid's room. But the maid's room is not somewhere I'd put another human being. Not only is it too small in my opinion, all the power and data equipment is in there, resulting in a constant humming noise. Unfortunately our 3rd bedroom is an office, and we need it. So again, where to put the maid. I really don't want to have her sleeping in my son's room. Would a sofa bed in the office do, or would both she and we feel uncomfortable sharing this space? I really don't know what maids expect in terms of their own space and how much they bring with them...
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 23 January 2011 - 21:00
It is definitely illegal to sponsor a maid and have them live out - I know of someone who does that but you take the risks with it. And depending on the maid I think that there would be risks.
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EW GURU
Latest post on 23 January 2011 - 20:55
Personally I would not have a maid without a maids room that is separate from the rest of the sleeping rooms. I know people that do it but I would find it very intrusive on my own personal life. I think that you already have a huge adjustment having someone who isn't family living in the house with you and keeping the relationship a work one to the main part (which you need to if you don't want problems down the line) is already difficult enough. To have them in your very personal sleeping space (which I consider our bedroom floor to be) would make that even more problematic in my opinion. I may be opening a can of worms here but having them share a bedroom with one of your children is just plain wrong in my opinion....for all parties concerned.
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 23 January 2011 - 10:36
I have a friend who was living here in a 2 bedroom apartment. They had a young child (he was 3 months old when they arrived) and they had a full-time live in who shared the 2nd bedroom with the baby. It was not an ideal situation, but they were clear with her before they hired her, and she was okay with the set up. There were only 2 bathrooms, so the guest-bathroom (which had a shower) was also the maid's bathroom. Personally, I was contemplating moving to a villa without a maids room at one point, and our maid would have used the spare bedroom. I much prefer to have the separate maids quarters as it does give her much more privacy during her non-working hours. If your children are still babies it would probably work better than if you have older kids, as in this case they would be sharing a bathroom. So yes, it's possible, but not the ideal situtation as far as I'm concerned. Hope this helps.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 23 January 2011 - 10:33
I think it's illegal to sponsor a full-time maid who lives out. We don't have a designated "maid's room" in our villa. We have 4 bedrooms upstairs, one of which is our maid's bedroom. It doesn't work for everyone and some maids prefer a room with their own entrance etc. We lived in an apartment before so we've had this arrangement for a while. Aside from lack of privacy which we got used to, it's not really been an issue for us.