July 7, 2009

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Ins And Outs Of Having A Maid In Panama

By Matt Atlee

If you’re planning a move to Panama one of the most attractive aspects of living in the country is having a full-time live-in maid. Having a full-time maid in the U.S. or Canada is something reserved for the very rich, but in Panama it is very common for middle-class families to have full-time maids in their homes. In Panama, there are almost no baby-sitters; you have to have a maid to watch your kids.

How Much Does A Maid Cost?

On average, to have a full-time live-in maid in Panama will cost you somewhere between $200 and $300 a month, a small price to pay for no cleaning, no cooking and no baby-sitters. It is cheaper to have a live-in maid than one who comes and goes because you are providing room and board for the maid. If the maid has to live somewhere else and commute to your house to work, it dramatically increases her costs and may make it difficult for her to stay on as your maid.

Finding A Good Maid

After deciding that you want a maid, then you need to begin searching for a good one. The best maids in Panama come from the countryside. Maids from the countryside will live in your house so you´ll need maid quarters; most homes and apartments come with maid quarters. The province of Veraguas is well-known for producing very good maids, especially in the area surrounding the town of Canazas. At the risk of sounding sexist, most maids in Panama are women. There are good maids in Panama City, but they’re often very hard to find and you can often end up with a bad maid – more on that later.

If you are part of the expat corporate crowd in Panama, then you will normally have a maid that worked for someone else in your corporation. That someone is probably leaving as you arrive. You will inherit the maid. Good maids are kept by good expat employers – one way of getting employees to stay in Panama is to provide them with a good maid. A good maid will also help a family make the transition from their home country to Panama. A good maid will give new expats important insights into how Panama works.

If you are not coming to Panama with a large company then you might start looking for a maid in the newspapers or with an agency in Panama that provides maids to expats. Both newspaper ads and agencies can be a bit sketchy as far as finding a good maid. I would only go to either if I had no other choice.

One way of finding a good maid is to ask around the neighborhood where you live. There will be other maids working in the neighborhood; find out if they know anyone who wants to be a maid. Expat friends of mine found good maids by asking maids at the hotel where they were staying when they first arrived in Panama. So if you’re staying in a hotel and you strike up a friendship with one of the maids at the hotel, they might be able to help you find a good maid.

One important point to make is that if you have a very small child and you are looking for a maid you need to be very careful who you get. Most wealthy Panamanian families get a Colombian maid to take care of their babies. This is referred to as “practica” in Panama. If you are looking for a maid and you have a baby, see if you can find a “practica”. A practica´s¨ job is somewhere between a maid and a nurse.

Adjusting To A Live-In Maid

Now, the question you need to ask yourself when looking for a maid in Panama is: “Do I really want a maid?” and that is not always an easy question to answer. Having someone you don’t really know coming into your house and life on a 24 hour schedule is something that lots of people have never done. This is something that is completely normal for Latin American families, and the larger and richer the Latin American family, the more maids and staff.

It can be very hard for North Americans to integrate a maid into their family life because we just don’t have maids. A myriad of problems can occur once you hire a maid, from culture clashes to misunderstandings and language barriers. Dealing with someone who is living in your house and suddenly becomes a problem can be a headache to say the least. Things can run wild.

Advice

Be sure that you integrate your maid into your family life; the relationship with your maid must be more than just employer and employee – it has to be closer. If you hire the maid make sure you trust her, and if you trust her allow her to really help, especially with your kids. Remember, at first it will feel awkward to have a maid, to get rid of the awkwardness you need to relax, your relaxing will calm the maid and allow for a real friendship to begin.

If you are single, or single with a child, you will need to let the maid know how you run your home. Most maids will come from a traditional family structure; single parents, though common in Panama, might be a little different family structure for your maid. You need to integrate the maid into your lifestyle.

Bad Maids

Normally, you will know during the first week whether or not you have a good maid. If your maid begins to regularly bring her cousin or aunt into your place then she shouldn’t be around long. If the maid is really bad, objects or money will start to go missing. You can test your maid by leaving small value items or change laying around to see if she takes them. Usually a maid is not bad because she can’t clean or cook, she is bad because she rips you off or abuses your generosity.

Firing A Maid

Remember, if you fire a maid expect them to go to the Ministry of Labor to file a complaint. You need to pay a maid, or any Panamanian employee, liquidation if you decide to fire them – it’s the law.

Conclusion

Having a maid in Panama will make your life much easier, especially if you have kids. Many of my expat friends who have gone back to the U.S., Canada or U.K phone me and tell me how much they miss Panama because back home they don’t have hired help in their homes. Having a good maid in Panama will help keep your family and you relaxed so you can sit back and enjoy your overseas experience.

Written By Matt Atlee

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