The best thing about living in Mexico?
When I first arrived in Cancun, two and a half years ago, I was talking to a fellow American, she was a “large” woman and she told me that the best thing about living in Mexico was that you could hire a maid to work full time for you and it would only cost $70 usd per week. All I could think was that if she did her own dishes she might burn a calorie or two.
Since then I’ve had many, many people tell me the same thing. The best thing about living in Mexico is the cheap labor. The best thing about living in Mexico is having a cheap maid to cook and clean for you.
I’m not dissing folks who want domestic help. It’s great to have someone help you with your housework. I love having someone clean my house for me.
But honestly I think it’s tragic that the economy here is so whacked that I can pay someone next to nothing and they will work hard for me and be happy about it. With $70 a week what kind of a life can that maid have? Can she own a car? Can she buy a house? Forget house, can she buy a refrigerator or a stove? Am I supposed to feel good about paying slave wages? I don’t and I can’t.
November 25th, 2005 22:46
I think you are right about the daily domestic help. I enjoy the convenience of having someone come in once in a while, when living in filth gets to be too much. Then it’s quick and cheap. Even last time, post-Wilma, when Saundra scrubbed so hard it took her 3 1/2 hours. She wanted to charge me $130, I gave her $400…