What’s it like to Au Pair?

What’s it like to Au Pair?

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I was an au pair in two countries – Spain and the Czech Republic. There were a number of reasons why I decided to au pair, but one of the main reasons (if I’m honest) is that I was running out of money but didn’t want to stop traveling.  

I had two completely different experiences in the countries and although I can’t see myself being an au pair again I loved both experiences because I learned a lot and got to do a great deal of travel.

Being an au pair in the Czech Republic:
I ended up choosing a small town called Pocatky which was about 1.5 hours away from Prague. I always wanted to go to Prague – I remember I once saw a photo of Charles’ Bridge and immediately fell in love and decided that one day I would visit Prague. I was set to be teaching English in Seoul, South Korea and when my contract finally came through I freaked out and decided that I wanted to see more of Europe. I joined an au pair website and started searching for families in Prague. I ended up finding a few families that I was interested in, but ended up skyping with the host mother of the family I ended up choosing.

As I later learned when I was an au pair in Spain, it’s much more important that you choose a family you like (and host “parents”) because that will make your time much more enjoyable. My family in the Czech republic were great; I’ve visited them since, still keep in touch regularly and miss them immensely. I had a lot of fun, got to explore a lot of the Czech Republic and surrounding European countries.
 

I ended up in a really casual arrangement with my family – the boys I looked after were home schooled in the mornings and would spend most of the afternoons with me. I could take long weekends when I wanted to travel (amazing) and took on teaching some of the host mother’s English classes which was a great way to earn a little extra cash and gain some great experience. I was originally supposed to be with this family for three months, but had such a great time I extended it to six.
 

Being an au pair in Spain:
After living so far away from a city when I was in Pocatky, I had decided I wanted more of a central experience in Spain so chose to be close to Madrid. This was only a summer position and I was with the girls in the mornings and had the afternoons free. The host family gave me a monthly metro pass as well as an allowance and it was a great base to explore Spain – a highlight of which was the Alhambra – and to learn a little more Spanish.
 

This experience was slightly more challenging as only one of the two girls really spoke much English, so there was a bit of a language barrier. However, it was also really cool to see how much of an impact I had on their English and to see the younger girl experimenting a little more with the language.
 

Spanish families are quite different to those in New Zealand – just because you have kids doesn’t mean you slow down – it was not uncommon to see parents towing around small children to ice cream parlors at 11pm at night.  I also managed to find a great group of girls who were au pairs here and we had a pretty awesome social life together – it was heaps of fun. 

Why be an Au Pair?
I probably wouldn’t au pair again, just because I’m a bit older and like the idea of being slightly more independent in my travels. However, it’s a very easy way to get set up in a new country and can be incredible social, too. Depending on your family you will get to see a new side to a culture that would otherwise be difficult to be invited into. It’s pretty cool knowing you can move somewhere, have a room, have food, have some money and the opportunity to easily explore another part of the world. Depending on your language goals, being an au pair can be a great way to get extra exposure to the language you want to learn.
 

If I ever have children of my own I know that I’ll have an au pair, because it’s a great experience for them too – I noticed that children who had au pairs were a lot more confident, their language skills were better than average and it’s just a great way for them to gain an “older sibling”.
 

Has anyone else been an au pair? If so, what were your experiences like?

 

24 Comments

  • Lenka says:

    Totally agree! I did my fair share of aupairing (USA and UK) and it really was a great way (and probably the only way I could afford to) to live abroad for an extended period of time. I ended up aupairing for 3 years, even though I thought I would only do that for 1 year. However, after a year I decided I wanted to study and couldn’t afford college, so this was a great way to study part time. I’m really surprised you were an aupair in the Czech Republic (I’m from there), you are the first person I hear they were and I’m really glad you enjoyed your stay here!

  • mommer says:

    Did you feel safe as an au pair? Do you make any money or is it more for the travel opportunity?

    • Izy Berry says:

      I felt really safe. I skyped with both families in advance and asked for references. You do get paid money but neither Spain or the Czech Republic pay particularly well. Other, more expensive countries pay a lot more 🙂

  • Olivia says:

    Hey Izy, what aupair website did you use?
    Thank you!
    🙂

  • Helen says:

    Really insightful.
    Its not something I’ve actively thought about doing before but like you I think it is something I would do it to extend my travels.

    • Izy Berry says:

      Yeah it’s a great way to move somewhere and not have to worry about all the fiddly things of getting set up – or great for spending a summer away 🙂

  • MH says:

    I’m going to Spain in 2 weeks to be an au pair for the summer. It sounds really good so far so I’m just hoping I get on with the family. I really want to learn more Spanish as I’m going to be properly living in Spain from September to work in a school. I can’t wait! Bit worried about being lonely though, but I’m staying in an area that looks quite busy and popular so hoping I find people to hang out with!

    • MH says:

      Oh and check out my blog, nothing too exciting so far but I’m hoping to keep a diary of my time in Spain 🙂

    • Izy Berry says:

      hey MH! It’s really great to hear from you. Spain is awesome – I’m so jealous you’re going there for the summer, I wish I was too. Where in Spain are you based? You should search on Facebook for groups of Au Pairs in the city you’re living in – I met a huge group when I was in Madrid, it was heaps of fun. Happy adventures and I’ll definitely check out your blog 🙂

  • Natalie says:

    Hi Izy! Your experience sounds incredible and has been really helpful 🙂 I am looking into become an Au Pair in Prague and I was wonder what sort of Visa did you need and what requirements did it how? That information has been hard to find! Maybe you know a good site I could look at?

    Thank you,
    Natalie

    • Izy Berry says:

      Hi Natalie, I had such a great experience and Prague is really wonderful. The visa situation will depend largely on where you come from. Which country are you from? If you’re from Canada or New Zealand you can get a working holiday for the Czech Republic, which is what I did. It allowed me to be there for a year.

      I think it is a lot harder for Americans – because they make it hard for other countries to stay there!

      If you give me an idea of where you are from I can try to point you in the right direction.

      All the best,

      Izy

  • April says:

    Hi!
    I was writing to ask, how was it with your working contract/visa when you worked in the Czech Republic? Was a working contract needed? I was an au pair in Germany and I only needed a visa (I’m from US) but I heard that it’s impossibe to work in the Czech Republic as as au pair without a working contract. You’re the first person I’ve come across to ask, who has actually worked there. 🙂

  • April says:

    Sorry 🙂 I didnt read through the comments and noticed someone already asked a question like that. :)))) I am from the US, but I had no idea it was harder for us to get permission to work in the Czech Republic. :O

  • […] year later, I came home only to meet someone who would stay on my mind for a long time. I left, was an au pair in Spain, sipped on tea in Morocco, and came home. We worked things out and we’ve been happily […]

  • metta says:

    I’d like to have one question, what is the right for life insurance over Czech? Since I am going to be an aupair over Czech. Is it still available to be an au pair in Czech ? Because it is not its program. I need an answer ASAP, Thank you

    • Izy Berry says:

      Sorry Metta, I’m not really sure what you’re asking. You’ll need some kind of health insurance while you’re there. Talk to your host family about what they suggest. I don’t think you need life insurance at all – just health insurance.

  • metta says:

    I am from indonesia

  • […] I went to Coachella, home to New Zealand for a visit and was an au pair in Spain. During that time money was tight and I started casually looking into freelance writing on Elance. […]

  • cheyenne says:

    Hi Izy I just wanted to ask is it safe to au pair in Spain? I found this web sight called Bilingual. Com and is talking to a woman about au pair in Spain for three months. I have skyped with her a couple times and everything is pretty much set to go. But I’m new at au pair and am just a little scared. Do you have any advice??

    • Izy Berry says:

      Hi Cheyenne, I think if you have skyped with someone and have a good feeling about it, trust your instinct. There’s not much more I can say, Spain is a relatively safe country. The only thing I would would advise is that a lot of the girls that were au pairs when I was, had problems with their family wanting them to work way too many hours during the weekends, blah blah. So I would suggest to be clear with your host family about that 🙂 Where are you thinking of becoming an au pair?

  • shynee says:

    Helo i got host family that interested in me…yet i am not sure how to do it…what is the requirements to be czech au pair???

  • Vivian says:

    Hi! Do you know if there are any requirements to work as an Au Pair at Czech Republic? Do you need a special visa or something? Or what steps did you take? Thanks 🙂

    • Izy Berry says:

      Hi Vivian,
      It was really easy for me. I just found a host family on a au pair website: https://www.aupairworld.com/en and talked to them. Each family will have some things they’re looking for – such as someone who can drive, someone who speaks a certain language, etc so it’s just best to message families and see who is a good fit for you 🙂