Today we’re hearing from Edna, one of my best friends who has been working around the world since 2008. We met back in 2012 when we were both living in Paris and have been friends ever since! Although Edna and I lived in Paris at the same time, we had fairly different jobs. Edna worked as a … Read more
Figuring out what belongs on your au pair packing list can be daunting. You want to make sure you have everything you’ll need, but you don’t want to overpack either. The key to packing for au pairing is versatility – an au pair packing list should be versatile above all else. (Comfort and style are … Read more
Today we’re hearing from Phoebe, an American travel blogger (and fellow Midwesterner!) who au paired in Sydney, Australia last year. Hearing about her experience in Australia made me green with envy- it sounds pretty glamorous! Read on to hear about what a day in the life of an American au pair in Australia is really … Read more
Today we we’re hearing from Agnieszka, a young Polish woman who fell in love with (and married!) her divorced host dad. Here, I ask her what it was like to be a young au pair who married her host dad. When did you realize you had a connection with your host dad? It depends on … Read more
Today we’re kicking off my new series Au Pair Horror Stories by hearing from Scottish au pair, Karina. Karina, 24, decided to leave her host family in Venice after only 2.5 months. Karina’s story is a reminder that it’s important to know your rights as an au pair. As Karina’s experience shows, some families will … Read more
After living in France with a host family and then backpacking the world for a year, I was ready for a place of my own. After all, I hadn’t had my own space in two and a half years! So I’ll admit- I got a bit, um… carried away. I spent way too much money on my … Read more
Today we’re hearing from Canadian au pair Sara about the 6 best host countries for Canadian au pairs. As an American, I found this seriously interesting as we have such different visas and regulations than Canadians- I so wish we were eligible for the U.K.’s Youth Mobility Scheme, for example! . . . . . … Read more
Today we’re hearing from Megan, an American au pair in the Netherlands. (NOT Holland, as she corrected me- only two of the Netherlands’ 12 provinces are called Holland!) Anyway, I really enjoyed reading about Megan’s experience as I’ve never met anyone who has au paired in the Netherlands. But honestly it seems pretty fantastic: who … Read more
While on my RTW trip I loved posting monthly updates as they’re so much fun to both write and look back on. So I figured why not recap my life out west too? Read about month 1, months 2&3 and months 4&5 here. All these photos are from Instagram, @ashleyabroad– find me there for travel inspiration and mountain … Read more
Today we’re hearing about the pros and cons of au pairing in the US from Anna, a Polish au pair. Anna currently is au pairing in small-town Pennsylvania and has mixed feelings about the US: there are aspects she loves and others she hates. I really enjoyed Anna’s honest take on living in the US as a foreign … Read more