Luanda - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the availability and cost of household help, and what types of help are typically employed by expatriates?
Household help is easy to find and inexpensive. This is particularly the case at the moment after many of the families over here with oil companies returned to the US during the pandemic last year. - May 2021
There seems to be a surplus of household help, it can range from ~US$30 to ~$50. You can always negotiate cheaper. - Jun 2019
You can find good housekeepers via word of mouth, and monthly wages are not that high. - Mar 2017
Domestic help is plentiful but of low quality. It is also inexpensive. We do not employ anyone currently. Many oil people employ maids, guards, nannies, and drivers. The embassy provides us with guards. - Apr 2016
Available but mediocre quality and expensive for Africa. US$300-$500/month and up. - Mar 2015
Available but costly, quality and reliability is varied. If you are part of the diplomatic community, you will pay more. Expect to pay between US$8 and $10 an hour; there is no live-in help. Maids often arrive late due to traffic and there are regularly sicknesses and deaths. Services vary from traditional housekeeper who only clean to nannies to those who also cook and will do your shopping. Quality is a big issue. Our housekeeper was reliable and honest and had worked for other diplomats but I had several suits ruined after they were thrown in the wash. - Aug 2014
Expensive, and it is hard to find someone good and reliable. No one lives in here, and all staff have transport problems. None of them want to work after dark due to (legitimate) fears about crime going home late. That makes it tough for parents to ever get a babysitter for a date night, and hard to throw a dinner party when your staff want to go home by 7pm. - Jul 2013
10-20usd an hour - Apr 2013
price range from usd 250 - 400 per month, depending on area and duration of work. very easy to get, but difficult to get a 'good' one - Aug 2011
Very available, but poorly trained and generally not motivated to learn/work. Costs are similar to what it would be in NYC or DC. - Aug 2011
US$250 for a helper (1/2 day) for 5 days a week. - Apr 2009
