God yes! I would love to live in a world where clean clothes just appear in the drawers neatly folded and the kitchen and lavatories are magically clean all the time, and I get to eat lovely fresh homemade food that I don’t always have to cook.
I would spend my time painting in my studio all day or reading all the stacks of books in can’t ever get into because I have pots to scrub or once again somebody’s thick hair has clogged the drain and I have to stick that plastic thing down there…
I would definitely pay somebody to stick the plastic thing down the drain.
I wouldn’t hire live-in servants–I don’t like people in my house messing with my stuff and I’d be constantly worried they’d leave a door open and let the cats out. Maybe an occasional housekeeper (while I’m home). It would be fun to have a personal chef, but my food tastes are so boring the chef would probably quit in protest.
I’d definitely hire a personal trainer, though–either to come to the house if I had a bigger house and more room to work out, or to meet me at the gym several times a week, design workouts for me, and provide encouragement and accountability.
There is no amount of wealth that would make me want live-in anything. Ugh.
Once a week, I’d like someone to clean, mow the yard, and tend the pool I’d have. I’d like a personal trainer probably 2-3 times a week. Beyond that, get the hell out of my house.
This sentiment is not something in which you are alone. It isn’t even particularly modern.
Wealthy people of the Victorian, Edwardian eras, gilded age, what ever you call it, all felt this way. That is why the servants, particularly those doing the most menial tasks, were taught how to move about the house and time their work without being seen and heard.
If I had a large enough house that I could have my privacy when I wanted it, and the servants respected my boundaries, I wouldn’t mind having live-in help.
We had a live-in nanny when my kid was an infant. Though she was also a relation of my wife - an aunt from the old country (Ukraine). We paid for her to come to Canada plus a generous monthly salary (which she saved, as money went much further in Ukraine).
I was very apprehensive about this to begin with, particularly as we had no language in common (my wife speaks fluent Ukrainian; I don’t speak a word, and I’m not of Ukrainian heritage).
As it was, she was amazing. She did everything–cook, clean, took care of the kid–and way better at all of it than either of us were. Plus always in good spirits, and never intrusive (she had her own basement apartment for herself). If I could be guaranteed of finding her like again, I’d hire her if I could.
She was like an elderly Ukrainian Mary Poppins.
Though being family certainly helped - she wasn’t a stranger, but family; my wife had seen her before and trusted her.
I’ve thought about this along with my lottery fantasies. I probably wouldn’t get servants per se, but I might fund a position with an NPO (post-tax dollars, nothing I’d try to write off) where 75% of their duties were working for the NPO (e.g., editing a creative writing journal) and 25% were making sure my personal stuff got done - maid service, lawn service, dog watched, travel arrangements, etc. I wouldn’t need a butler.
We’ve had regular scheduled housekeepers, gardeners, and pool cleaners. But they are not servants.
I have known people of very modest means who had a nanny come in every day when their kids were young, because it was cheaper than paying daycare. But then again, that’s in southern California where the undocumented trade is cheap and readily available.
My spouse, in an earlier marriage, had a daily nanny/housekeeper. I came to believe that experience left my spouse unable to take care of themself, in terms of cleaning and chores (spoiled lazy…but I digress…)
But I would say that the idea of a full-time servant is alien to me, and I don’t have any reason to believe my situation would change so that it would make sense. I have been on cruises where for more money you could get a higher tier of service that included a butler. I couldn’t imagine what I would do with them. Unless maybe just have them follow me around and trade quips, ala Jeeves and Wooster. Hmmmmm…now there’s an idea!
I’ve actually contracted with a cleaning service before, for a while, before the cost of it started eating into my soul. At no point did I consider them my servant; per-hour they (or at least their company) probably got paid better than me!
IMO the “servant” concept is from another era - servants defined the “upper classes” and you couldn’t run a large household without a staff.
Keith Johnstone has an interesting take on servants in his book “Impro” where he says the purpose of a servant is to silently elevate the master’s status. It’s not like having a roommate who has the same right to occupy the living space as you do.
With a “service”, a “contractor”, or an “employee”, they are admitted to be human beings with rights, who happen to have a job to do.
If I won ‘big lottery’ money I might hire an assistant but not live-in. That’s not necessary any more.
I would have several homes in various countries and each would have a caretaker, also not live-in. They would just keep the place ready for when I showed up.
That would cover all of my needs without bringing someone into my family.
Live in servant? Not a chance. Well, right now. In 25 years I may need assisted living.
I think I’d need to hire someone though, as if I had an 8 digit ($10+ million) net worth, I’d own a number of different properties that I’d need checked on and maintained, and someone to watch my cats when I went on vacation.
But I’m not the guy who would have mansions in Florida and a condo in NYC or London or anything. I’d have a vacation property in the Black Hills, a lake home, some woods to play in, stuff like that.
If I somehow ended up with a 9 digit net worth ($100 million+), I might need a couple of people.
I don’t think I’d need a bodyguard unless I somehow blundered into billionaire territory. At some point I believe “small private army” becomes mandatory.
I was going to make a joke about why paying for a servant when you’ve got a wife, but then I realized that not everyone would appreciate it.
We have a Vietnamese woman who comes in every other week for cleaning. When we were in Tokyo, we had a Filipino who did the same. She was fantastic.
I really won’t mind never scrubbing toilets again. I’m not really that great of a cook and both my wife and I get tired of deciding what to eat and doing all of the shopping. I wouldn’t mind having someone take over that.
<in emperor palpatines voice>
If all of my plans unfold as I have forseen it…
I will have on site staff. Mostly for cleaning, laundry, grounds-keeping, and light handyman stuff. Maybe try to find a young couple to tag team it and live in a studio on the property.
My engineer in Mali was a native Malian who had graduated from the U. of Arizona. One day he asked me about our household help and I told him that the guy was a huge help, very honest, and hard working. He listened to me and then said, “Yes, he is a good Boy.” I was startled by the use of the word, and he saw it on my face. He chuckled and said “Yes, that’s not a good word to use in America, but here it is an honorable job title.” Live and learn.
My in-laws live in the Philippines. Father says his experience with maids there was that they were little more than people you pay to come to your home and steal from you. Whenever he caught one, like red-handed, they would get all defensive and insist it was no big deal, they were owed, he wouldn’t miss whatever… Eventually the kids got old enough to be useful around the house so they didn’t hire maids anymore.
As for me, I rather enjoy the domestic stuff. I like being able to keep a mental inventory of what’s in the kitchen, and where other stuff is in the house. If I were truly wealthy enough to have servants, I’d just stop working for a paycheck and tend to the house myself. I might have some professional landscaping designed and installed, some nice but not too expensive shrubberies perhaps, and I might have a professional contractor out to do some mods on the house. But I’d be perfectly happy maintaining all that myself. I absolutely loathe having strangers in my domicile.
