Fewer jobs for european students this summer
Madina Marzhokova, a Russian design student who works 36 hours a week at Kohr Brothers frozen custard, said it took her about two weeks to find a second job working about 25 hours a week at a restaurant.
"It's difficult because there are so many students looking," said Madina, 21.
As owner of the Bellyfiller, an ice cream and food shop, Talat Merchant said business hasn't really been hurt by gas prices. So, just as in previous years, she hired five foreign student workers this summer.
In fact, Merchant said, she's heard that exchange students who couldn't find jobs in other states have come to Delaware in search of work.
"Last week there was this Ukraine group who, when they got to Texas, had no jobs, so they came up here," she said.
While other destinations have reported that they are losing students, so far Rehoboth is holding its own, said Carol Everhart, president of the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce.
"We are very competitive because we're tax-free and we're sitting in a sweet spot with over 20 million people living within a four-hour drive or less," she said. "In the past we've benefited from higher gas prices because instead of vacationing farther away, those 20 million-plus people will stay closer to home."
Of course, the peak beach season, July and August, is just getting under way, so things could change, she said. The Fourth of July holiday typically draws more than 150,000 visitors, Everhart said.
Available student housing is another sign of hard economic times.
Unlike other summers, Funland, which offers housing to its visiting workers at $1,200 for the summer, has several vacancies, Darr said.
"We're finding that they'd rather cram in with 13 other girls and pay $1,000," he said. "For them, it's all about saving money."
Dima Danylchenko, 20, is working for the second summer in a row at the Bellyfiller. The Ukrainian economics student is paying $100 a week to live in a house with 10 other students.
"It's cheaper that way," said Danylchenko, who earns $8 an hour and works 60 hours a week. "We just sleep there, because everyone's working all the time. And if we're not working, we don't want to be at home. So it's OK."
