When to start looking for an au pair?

[Anonymous]

We have a 2yo boy and 1yo girl; both doing great in daycare. Both of us work in DC (DH at times travels for work maybe 5-10 days a month) and we take our kids into work-sponsored/subsidized DC daycare. Do most of the families start looking for an au pair when kids start school/kindergarten? I would think we would be pretty attractive for any au pair with just two school-aged kids? My only concern is that we live 50 miles out in the country and the au pair will be bored out of her mind living with us and will want to rematch.

[Anonymous]

Most families start looking for an AP when they need the childcare within 4-6 months. You’re looking for 4+ years from now?

[Anonymous]

Each family is different. We started to look for an AP when I was still pregnant. Our AP arrived when our twins were 2mo. As you pointed out yourself, your problem is not the ages of your kids, but rather your location. And I assume that the latter won't change a couple of years from now. With that being said, you can start whenever you are ready.

[Anonymous]

your location will be an issue for most APs, but not all. if you have a dedicated AP car and are ok with it going into DC or closer to the city for the weekend you will find an AP.

[Anonymous]

We thought about it for more than a year before starting our search. We talked to a lot of host parents, followed this board a bit, etc. I wanted to get a sense of what I was getting in to.

I'm not one to offer bonuses before knowing what kind of candidate you are getting, but... Maybe a few sweeteners would be worth it.

Would they have a car to use? Just in the local area or could they drive an hour or two away?; Would you provide a phone?; Just two weeks vacation or possibly more?; are you the kind of family to do a lot of cultural activities so they will other types of fulfillment?; are you near any colleges with educational opportunities?

Have you reached out to any of the agencies? Sometimes there are small clusters in some of the suburban areas. It might be worth asking if you could speak to a couple local leaders (CC calls them LCC's). They might be able to tell you if there are other families nearby. A good cluster helps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We thought about it for more than a year before starting our search. We talked to a lot of host parents, followed this board a bit, etc. I wanted to get a sense of what I was getting in to.

I'm not one to offer bonuses before knowing what kind of candidate you are getting, but... Maybe a few sweeteners would be worth it.

Would they have a car to use? Just in the local area or could they drive an hour or two away?; Would you provide a phone?; Just two weeks vacation or possibly more?; are you the kind of family to do a lot of cultural activities so they will other types of fulfillment?; are you near any colleges with educational opportunities?

Have you reached out to any of the agencies? Sometimes there are small clusters in some of the suburban areas. It might be worth asking if you could speak to a couple local leaders (CC calls them LCC's). They might be able to tell you if there are other families nearby. A good cluster helps.

We're in Western LoCo in Va and there is a good cluster. Our next door neighbor have a wonderful au pair from Poland, but their kids are older. We would have a car to use, will provide gym membership, phone will be provided, AuPair will have a basement apt with full bath. We could be flexible with vacation.

[Anonymous]

Some au pairs love the country. My Swiss au pair told me numerous times how much she loved the boonies and it reminded her of home.

Find an au pair that would like that area and you'll be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most families start looking for an AP when they need the childcare within 4-6 months. You’re looking for 4+ years from now?

+1