Great family! Boring neighbourhood.

What I learnt:

• Check the location of the placement.

• Check if there are other au pairs in your area.

• Make sure you're eligible to be put on the car insurance and that the family is aware of how expensive it can be for young drivers.

• Public transport is EXPENSIVE!! Even if you're only just outside of a big city it can be quite expensive to get where you want to go.

Last year I was au pairing for the second time in England just out of London in a small village. I was looking after a little boy who was 4 years old and it was really great! The family welcomed me into their home, gave me a great bedroom and always bought the food I wanted! Before I started, the parents told me they would put me on their family car insurance plan so I could take their son to activities and use the car outside of my work hours. It was perfect.

The parents worked full time so it was up to me to keep the boy entertained after he got out of daycare at midday until the parents came home around 6:30. A few weeks past and I asked about when I would be able to use the car. I was told that they were unable to put me on their insurance as it was more expensive than they originally thought. Shit! So, the public transport situation didn't take long to figure out, seeing as how there was only one bus that went past the house to take you to the towns in both directions from the house. The towns were nothing special at all, just shops, libraries, parks and a lot of older people.. Oh, and the train station to take the train to London. Not the underground, the normal trains so it took quite a while to get there. Uh oh.. I was stuck with a 4 year old boy doing very repetitive activities that didn't require a car or taking him on the bus and asking the parents to repay the bus money every time. One week I took him on the bus every day and the parents asked me to stop going so frequently because the bus is quite expensive!

Then, a friend of the mother hired an au pair and we got introduced. THANK GOD! Their au pair had use of the family car and I was able to meet up with her once or twice a week and we would take the kids somewhere together. She was awesome and we ended up going out together every weekend, doing one thing or another. I was so glad I met her because I was then able to meet her friends and build some connections to nice people who had cars that were nice enough to always pick me up to join them.

I got through the au pair placement thanks to my new friends and the family being nice and was able to leave happy. I just think it's something you really don't think about when going to au pair somewhere new, in a country you don't know anything about. You have to make sure these things are well thought about before you go as you may end up in the middle of nowhere bored out of your mind with a kid who feels the same way!

-Lizzi Q.

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