03/11/2024
Welcome to my page! I hope this is helpful for anyone considering an au pair for your childcare needs!
I’ll kick it off with an introduction and our story - We moved to Charlottesville, VA in March of 2022. We were moving from Northern Virginia, an area with an abundance of childcare solutions. We were a daycare family. It was easy, predictable, and didn’t require much effort beyond finding a suitable center with an opening. Since my husband and I both work outside the home full time, we needed to secure childcare in our new city. We assumed we would continue in one daycare center or another - until we started calling around. Charlottesville is an amazing, charming little town, but daycare centers with availability are hard to come by. I was met with waiting lists that were months-long…months of time we just didn’t have. (Think getting on daycare waiting lists before you’re even pregnant!) Because of that, we had to pivot. Initially I thought nanny, but that search also proved to be a challenge. How could I find someone reputable to care for my babies - and how would I afford them? Thankfully, we had heard of the au pair program through family and friends, and we decided to explore this option further. Was I a little nervous about committing to a year of live-in childcare from a stranger? Admittedly yes, but I was also excited by the cultural exchange aspect of the program and what that would mean for my children. After a few weeks of searching and interviewing, we matched with our first au pair. She joined our family shortly after our move, and she was incredible. We’re still in touch with her, and we miss her dearly. (She returned home to Austria after her program year.) One thing that was lacking in her year was local program support, and one thing I experienced firsthand was the gap in affordable, reliable childcare solutions in Charlottesville. As a result, I felt called to step into this role as a local childcare consultant with our au pair agency, Cultural Care Au Pair. My hope is that through this page I can educate others on the benefits of the au pair program and help you decide if this is the right fit for your family. Please ask me any questions - I’m here to be a resource, and I truly am passionate about this program.
As for our family, we will continue to be a host family for the foreseeable future! We have three kiddos, and we’re in our third year of hosting! We love building this global family of ours, and our kids have a deeper understanding of the world and the beauty of cultural exchange. 🌎
If you know of anyone looking for childcare, please share my page with them. I’m based in Virginia, but our agency services the entire U.S.!