Au Pair in UK - Australian Au Pair Jaynie Experience Highlight

Jaynie is currently au pairing happily in London via Smartaupairs. We did a little Q&A with her and here is what she said!

1. Au Pair Experience Highlight:

My highlight so far into my au pair career has been an evening dinner and drinks with other au pair girls who have now become some really good friends! It felt a little surreal to be hanging out casually in central London and was a moment for me where it sank in that ‘I live in London now’!! It felt very cool to be discussing future plans with other au pairs to hang out and really assisted with the adjusting of moving to start broadening my social circle!

2. Why did I choose London?

I chose London for many reasons, some being my love for history and travel. The history aspect of this city is fascinating, the countless museums and historical sites is something I love exploring! The travel side of London is an added plus, the distance to other European countries is so small and easy to do weekend trips, this is something I have as a priority to do whilst living here. I also fancied moving to this city because I have family who live here and friends! It made it a little easier to move over knowing some familiar faces☺️

3. Best thing about being an Au Pair?

My favourite aspect of being an Au Pair is having the opportunity to move to a city that otherwise would be hard to achieve moving by myself. It’s a cool balance between being independent in my own time and planning exciting things as well as be able to have a sense of familiarity and comfort in moving in with a family too.

4. Top tips for future Au Pairs?

My personal tips for future Au Pairs/ any current Au Pairs would be to really make use of planners/ visual timetables. This helps to physically see how the week for a host family typically runs, their events, daily routines and schedules to be all laid out and structured to help not be overwhelmed. Receiving all new information can be a bit daunting and overwhelming, but when you structure what happens/ what is expected of you everyday you can optimise your free time and have a clear idea of the day rather than feeling unprepared and confused!

I would also keep a notebook, either a physical one or a note page on your phone. Writing down any helpful tips/ information your host family gives you or what you observe can be really helpful to read back on time-to-time. It also makes it easier to discuss with your host family  any concerns, questions and uncertainties when they are all written down.
Both of these things can assist in creating daily routines and really helped me feel organised and comfortable when adjusting to my new role!

A last little tip I would recommend prior to moving and starting the au pair role is to make use of the au pair whatsapp group chats as much as possible! This is where I met/ reached out to most of my friends that I have met here. Everyone is of all different ages but it’s one giant social group that works so well! Even messaging anyone from the group privately to organise a hang-out before meeting a bigger group was how I first met another Au pair, her and I are now going to France together for a weekend next month!! These whatsapp chats are a really good way to discuss any worries, ask for help and to make friends- use them as much as you want☺️☺️☺️