Sao Paulo - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the availability and cost of household help, and what types of help are typically employed by expatriates?
I am physically capable of doing my own cleaning and laundry etc., though certainly some expats hire part time or full time help. I have not heard anyone complain about this being a financial burden. I have not heard of people hiring drivers here. - Jun 2024
Hiring full-time help requires a lot of hoop jumping. Anything over 3 days a week is considered FT. Most dips hire day workers at/around $40-$50/day. - May 2021
Lots of availability. I think people pay about US$50 for a day of work. People frequently have domestic help for cleaning, cooking, and childcare. - Apr 2021
Expect to pay around $180R (US$45) for a half-day of work. No idea about full time costs, but many people hire nannies, etc. - Aug 2019
Household help is very inexpensive. We paid the equivalent of $30 USD for a full day of cleaning and errands. Many friends also employed cooks and nannies which are readily available. - Nov 2017
Pretty cheap and pretty good. USD$50 a day for someone to clean the bejeezus out of your apartment, wash and iron your clothes, etc. Some of them will cook a dish or two if you want and are willing to forgo them spending that time detailing the grout with a toothpick. - Apr 2017
It's usually easy to find good help through word of mouth at the US consulate and rates are reasonable. - Apr 2017
I pay $1000 a month for a nanny and a housekeeper comes once a week for $50 a day (for 8 hours of work). - Jan 2017
Cheap. - Jan 2017
We don't use a domestic employee, but many people hire someone for one day a week. With the exchange rate, it's about US$40 per day. - Aug 2015
It varies, the laws have just changed. Full time help is pretty affordable and very easy to find. (My experience, the average is US$600-$1000 for full time) - Aug 2013
Domestic help is becoming less available and more costly every year. We paid about $320 a month for someone to clean our house and do laundry 2 times a week. That was about average at the time for US expats. - Dec 2012
Widely available but expensive; we pay about US$50 per day for our maid. - Jan 2012
Pretty expensive--about $600 or more a month for full-time help. - Jan 2012
Very reasonable, but most people have had problems with theft. If it is full-time employment, you will pay for limited benefits also. - Jan 2012
I pay R$65 every time my maid comes (about $33 bucks) and she does everything. It"s easy and cheap to find someone to live in and cook and clean, and the same to find someone to live out and do the same. - Oct 2008
I pay US$40 for the maid to spend the day at my place. - Aug 2008
