Wow. Things really are getting tough out there. We just ran across this post in the housing section on Craigslist, which advertises a room in the Mission for the bargain price of $1,175 – plus a commitment to do some babysitting! [Update: post has been flagged for removal now.]
Applicants are also expected to throw money towards a “non-negotiable” cleaning service ($140), and help clean in between maid visits. Examples of chores include: “clean out fridge, wipe out the sink, pantry, and counters, sweep floors if they get dusty, keep panty (sic) organized etc.”
By the time someone is done with the refrigerator, babysitting might actually seem “VERY easy,” as the post claims. After all, the kid “sleeps through the night (95% of the time) so all you would have to do is respond in an emergency or in the extremely rare occasion that he wakes up and cries longer than 15-20 mins. The night hrs would be 8/9 p.m.-2/3 a.m.”
Awesome. A fourth job on top of the three jobs we’ll need to make the $1,175 rent. And this one comes with the added responsibility of a human life. At 3 a.m. Oakland's looking better all the time.
Now before some of you chide me for picking on a single mother, examine the facts: the person posting has a maid, cable, her own business, loves to go snowboarding, and says she only works three nights a week. It seems like she could afford a babysitter.
Then again, maybe this is just what it takes to make it in San Francisco these days as a single parent, or a roommate.
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