Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course APs compare benefits and perks. If I were choosing between two jobs, I’d absolutely gather as much info as possible about the benefits, and even try to negotiate more benefits. Lol at you HMs who think APs should just be grateful to be in America, wiping your kids’ snotty noses.

I hope no one lets you near their kids you sound like someone who hates children.

Dp...why?

Bc she wants to get the best experience coming to America? Bc you think she should just be grateful coming here to take care of your children for a low wage? Do kids not have snotty noses? Is this suppose to be her career?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have an extraordinaire, very busy work travel schedule (all those extra rooms add up).

Your work and travel schedules as well as your living arrangements are not your AP's problem but your choice.
You cannot count your choices against what your AP cost you. If you decide to buy a $125,000 Porsche and let your AP drive it you can't claim your AP cost $150,000 a year.

Not really true - it’s more expensive to bring an au pair on travel than to hire local care - but the travel is a perk to the au pair, so yes, absolutely can count in tabulation of cost of au pair.

How is the travel a perk? Did the AP get to chose the location? Does she not have to take care of the kids while there? Isn’t she working?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course APs compare benefits and perks. If I were choosing between two jobs, I’d absolutely gather as much info as possible about the benefits, and even try to negotiate more benefits. Lol at you HMs who think APs should just be grateful to be in America, wiping your kids’ snotty noses.

Comparing benefits--fine.

What is not okay is not having the capacity to realize what aspects of their jobs are actually positive--they only see the negative. And materialism often wins.

And yes, it is an amazing opportunity to come to the States, just like it was an amazing opportunity for me to work in Peace Corps. Challenges? Yes. But I chose and dealt

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course APs compare benefits and perks. If I were choosing between two jobs, I’d absolutely gather as much info as possible about the benefits, and even try to negotiate more benefits. Lol at you HMs who think APs should just be grateful to be in America, wiping your kids’ snotty noses.

Comparing benefits--fine.

What is not okay is not having the capacity to realize what aspects of their jobs are actually positive--they only see the negative. And materialism often wins.

And yes, it is an amazing opportunity to come to the States, just like it was an amazing opportunity for me to work in Peace Corps. Challenges? Yes. But I chose and dealt

Anonymous wrote:Of course APs compare benefits and perks. If I were choosing between two jobs, I’d absolutely gather as much info as possible about the benefits, and even try to negotiate more benefits. Lol at you HMs who think APs should just be grateful to be in America, wiping your kids’ snotty noses.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course APs compare benefits and perks. If I were choosing between two jobs, I’d absolutely gather as much info as possible about the benefits, and even try to negotiate more benefits. Lol at you HMs who think APs should just be grateful to be in America, wiping your kids’ snotty noses.

I hope no one lets you near their kids you sound like someone who hates children.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have an extraordinaire, very busy work travel schedule (all those extra rooms add up).

Your work and travel schedules as well as your living arrangements are not your AP's problem but your choice.
You cannot count your choices against what your AP cost you. If you decide to buy a $125,000 Porsche and let your AP drive it you can't claim your AP cost $150,000 a year.

Not really true - it’s more expensive to bring an au pair on travel than to hire local care - but the travel is a perk to the au pair, so yes, absolutely can count in tabulation of cost of au pair.

Anonymous wrote:Of course APs compare benefits and perks. If I were choosing between two jobs, I’d absolutely gather as much info as possible about the benefits, and even try to negotiate more benefits. Lol at you HMs who think APs should just be grateful to be in America, wiping your kids’ snotty noses.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have an extraordinaire, very busy work travel schedule (all those extra rooms add up).

Your work and travel schedules as well as your living arrangements are not your AP's problem but your choice.
You cannot count your choices against what your AP cost you. If you decide to buy a $125,000 Porsche and let your AP drive it you can't claim your AP cost $150,000 a year.

Anonymous wrote:We have an extraordinaire, very busy work travel schedule (all those extra rooms add up).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With one kid, which is our only comparison point, we spent almost $40k for an au pair last year. This is a lot more than daycare and also more than a typical nanny share. It is a lot less than a nanny, and the care is more flexible (although the only flexibility we needed was working federal holidays, because we do). We can afford $40k, but no, it's not cheap child care, and yes, the increase to our car insurance was over $1k. What some of the privileged (and nasty) on this forum are saying is that government workers, teachers, non-litigators, and small business owners are "not good enough" to host the au pairs that make them feel like to the manor borne with the requisite German governess.

How did you manage to spend 40k on an au pair in one year? Are you including your mortgage in that? That is above everyone else, where even the generous families end up around 26-27k after gym, travel, insurance, etc. what are you burning the extra 13k/year on?

I was wondering the same thing! But it definitely does counter the argument that they are using an AP for cheap child care.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With one kid, which is our only comparison point, we spent almost $40k for an au pair last year. This is a lot more than daycare and also more than a typical nanny share. It is a lot less than a nanny, and the care is more flexible (although the only flexibility we needed was working federal holidays, because we do). We can afford $40k, but no, it's not cheap child care, and yes, the increase to our car insurance was over $1k. What some of the privileged (and nasty) on this forum are saying is that government workers, teachers, non-litigators, and small business owners are "not good enough" to host the au pairs that make them feel like to the manor borne with the requisite German governess.

How did you manage to spend 40k on an au pair in one year? Are you including your mortgage in that? That is above everyone else, where even the generous families end up around 26-27k after gym, travel, insurance, etc. what are you burning the extra 13k/year on?

Anonymous wrote:With one kid, which is our only comparison point, we spent almost $40k for an au pair last year. This is a lot more than daycare and also more than a typical nanny share. It is a lot less than a nanny, and the care is more flexible (although the only flexibility we needed was working federal holidays, because we do). We can afford $40k, but no, it's not cheap child care, and yes, the increase to our car insurance was over $1k. What some of the privileged (and nasty) on this forum are saying is that government workers, teachers, non-litigators, and small business owners are "not good enough" to host the au pairs that make them feel like to the manor borne with the requisite German governess.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the poster who made a statement about insurance being high. It was not a complaint--merely a statement. I was trying (albeit now well) to communicate that this is a "hidden perk". Host families who put the AP on their insurance do pay a higher premium. It' s a hidden cost (one of many) that APs may not be aware of--so when they compare perks--they don't realize that families are investing in different ways.

Now, some families do not put the AP on the insurance (which I don't quite understand), but that is a different issue.

They don’t need AP to drive, so AP doesn’t need insurance.

I am specifically referring to families who do have the au pairs drive as part of their duties.

The new it’s part of your childcare costs, not a perk.