As much as they always seemed to pinch pennies b/c they only had Ricky's salary when they lived in NY, I could understand having the money to move to a house in the country, BUT how could they afford to hire Fred and Ethyl full time as their "groundskeepers" (or whatever you would call their job).?

Fred and Ethel actually paid the Ricardos rent for living there. Even in the Lucy/Desi Comedy Hour there was an episode when the Ricardos rented out their home and later, the Mertzes rented out their home and it was mentioned how much Fred pays Ricky for rent.

I am not clear as far as the salary is concerned. They were the "chicken farmers"...they tended to the hens and the upkeep.

I believe the rent price was $75 a month in the episode Lucy makes room for Danny. Because Fred wanted to charge Danny $150 a month for the guesthouse which led to the snowball fight. I think Ricky made decent money then because a while before they left NY, he had bought a piece of the Tropicana which was mentioned in Lucy and Bob Hope...I think.

Speaking of The Ricardos moving to the country, this is alittle when the show got ... not as funny, say as earlier episodes.

And I might add, when I was watching it, I noticed a very familiar and distinct voice when the Ricardos moved in. The older lady who I guess was selling the country home, her name was Eleanor Audley. I noticed her voice when she said 'Ice?' She was the voice of the wicked stepmother in 1950 Disney's Cinderella.