Roommaids

[Susan]

Not sure where to put this... I don't expect it to get heated so the kitchen didn't seem right, and its not really political, but... anyway... if there's a better place then so be it. :)

Anyone read the recent article in Time magazine about roommaids? I looked on their site for a link but didn't see anything so you'll just have to live with my synopsis. :lol:

The article mentioned a growing trend, especially in expensive areas, of a new type of roommate. Rather than inviting someone to live in your home and share the rent/mortgage, people -- mostly men, are looking for "roommaids" -- usually female, to move in rent free and take over some domestic duties. They agree to the terms up front, but typically they make it clear that there are NO sexual or emotional strings attached, and the woman cooks for the guy, does some cleaning, maybe takes care of his dog if he travels for work, that kind of thing. She lives there rent-free, has her own life, many times her own job, etc.

They interviewed a woman in LA who has lived with several different guys under these circumstances and said it allows her to save a lot of money and live in way nicer places than she could otherwise afford.

Would you ever consider doing such a thing? Would you look down on someone who did? Women's rights activists, the article says, are up in arms about it because it reinforces the "traditional" roles of a woman cooking and cleaning. To me it just seems like a different way of hiring a maid or that type of thing.

[marcy]

Interesting. I could see myself having done that years ago in the post-college years. Actually I could see doing that with people I already knew, not with some Joe-Schmo who placed an ad in the paper.

I see it more as a bartering agreement - I live here rent free if I take care of the house / apartment.

[Shanna]

I guess it would be okay. . . but I would probably draw the line at picking up dirty underwear :dunno:

[Melissa]

I don't really see a problem with it. The terms are outlined, and the person in question is being paid via free rent for their maid work. If I was a college student in NYC, Boston, etc... I could see doing that, especially if the apartment/house was in a very nice area.

[Girlo]

I did this for about a year and a half. :nod:

A couple of months before I met Paul, I had been laid off and the odd summer jobs I had been doing were winding down and I needed somewhere else to live that was WAY cheaper than where I had been living. I lived on Vashon Island (near Seattle) and I wanted to try to work on the island so I wouldn't have to commute.
I belong to the FOE auxillary and a really nice older guy who was also an Eagle offered for me to live in his house rent-free and in return I had to keep it clean. :) Housing on Vashon is crazy! You have very expensive houses where families live....and then you have big houses where you have mini-communes of a ton of people living. There is one apartment complex on the island, and the rent there is very expensive. Most people I knew/know there live in converted chicken coops, spare bedrooms, MIL apartments, crawlspaces over garages, etc. So, an arrangement like I had was pretty common and not weird or unusual to anyone I knew there.
A few weeks after I moved in, I got a PT temp job with K2 Sports (based on Vashon), so I was able to stay on the island to work, which was ideal.

My responsibilities were to do the laundry - incl. folding and putting it away, clean the kitchen (counters, floors, dishes, etc.), vacuum, dust, clean the bathrooms, and general picking up and keeping the house looking nice. I didn't have to wash all the dishes all the time, and I did most of the work one day a week. It was a fantastic arrangement and I was lucky to have it. I had my own bedroom and bathroom, and I am still good friends with this man. :)

As you can surmise, I don't see anything wrong with such an arrangement. It's a great way for the homeowner to get some help around the house and the boarder to live in a great house and save some $$. :aok:

[Karri]

I see no issues with it and post-college, I could have seen myself doing it, as well. In my eyes, I really see it no different as the agreement that many maintainance people who live rent-free in apartments have. Only this is more domestic :dunno: Some people don't mind cooking and cleaning...I am one of them. That certainly doesn't make me any less of a strong woman.

[Michal]

Dang, I wish I had thought of this when I was in school. I had to live with crazy roommates that would leave food to rot and mould in their bedrooms. :dead:

[magoo]

I don't have a problem with it. A guy could also live rent-free if he cleaned for someone, so I don't really think it's sexist. If a woman chooses to do it and wants to do it, then why not?

[redhairedgirl]

I would be into it. But like Shanna - draw the line at picking up underwear. :lol:

[Bev]

Where do I find one of these? :lol:

I see no problem with it. The person who chooses to do it is an adult and capable of making his/her own decisions. It sounds ideal for a college/university student.

[Clare]

I agree, I think it's fine.

[Theresa]

I don't see anything wrong with it at all. Hey! I would have considered it before I got married. To me, it's no different than hiring a maid.

[Cortney]

I have no problem with it. Solves everyone's problems. :lol: