Key Takeaways
- One of the biggest challenges for people is saving up for a world trip. It can be daunting trying to save thousands of dollars for your next big trip.
- The world has an abundance of jobs that travelers can get. Millions of travelers fund their trips by working their way around the world. Today, I want
- Angela works as an au pair. This funds her round the world travel dreams, let’s her stay in a place longer, and get to know a culture better. Today we
One of the biggest challenges for people is saving up for a world trip. It can be daunting trying to save thousands of dollars for your next big trip. Yet we always say “If you can’t save, go work.”
The world has an abundance of jobs that travelers can get. Millions of travelers fund their trips by working their way around the world. Today, we’re profiling one of our community members who does just that.
Angela works as an au pair. This funds her round-the-world travel dreams, lets her stay in a place longer, and helps her immerse deeply in local culture. Below, we share her story—and actionable tips for anyone considering this path.
Route for Less: Hi Angela! Thanks for doing this. Tell us about yourself!
Angéla: I’m Angéla and I’m 28 years old. I was born near Lyon, France, and am the eldest of four sisters. After graduating from school when I was 21, I started working as an au pair in Germany. I wanted to get out of France and work with children, so this was the perfect job!
Seven years later, I’m still an au pair, currently in Japan! I love what I do because I get to travel and work with children—the two things I love most.
Were you always interested in travel? How did you get started?
Funny enough, out of all my big family (I have three other siblings and lots of cousins), I’m the only one who likes to travel a lot! Nobody around me ever went abroad for more than a few days, and especially not very far away. So I didn’t know much about traveling, except from watching movies and pop culture.
I didn’t begin traveling until I was 21. I guess it was because I never did it that I wanted to do it. I’d always dreamed of traveling the world and seeing the places I saw in the movies.
How did you decide to become an au pair?
It happened seven years ago when I was looking for a job in France and, after finding nothing interesting, I decided to explore the au pair option. It sounded appealing—working in another country while living with a host family.
By being an au pair, I would be able to have a job, accommodation, food, lots of free time, and some extra spending cash. It was perfect. I could enjoy traveling without needing a lot of money because I could use the money I earned during my stay. It lets me travel without huge savings.
In 2010, I found my first host family in Germany and stayed with them for one year. I loved the fact I could work in another country and use my free time to explore a new place.
Plus, I get to work with children all the time, which is my field of work, so now I have accumulated years of experience. I was hooked after that first year and decided to do it again instead of going back to France to find another job.
Where have you worked as an au pair?
I’ve been to Germany, England, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Sweden, and I’m currently in Japan.
I stay from eight months to one year in each country. All of them have been great experiences. I’ve been lucky enough to stay with very good people, and everybody I met while traveling has been super nice.
My favorite place has been New Zealand. It’s simply breathtaking! The landscapes are unbelievable. I can’t recommend it enough.
Canada is probably my next favorite. It is a relatively safe country to live in, the people are nice, and I love the cold winters. I got to try ice fishing and totally loved it!
How does someone become an au pair? Is it easy? Hard?
I personally think it is easy. Your main job is to take care of children, so you must be comfortable working with them—but other than that, the tasks are often straightforward and you have lots of free time. You work on average between 25 and 30 hours per week.
All your weekends are free, as are the evenings as soon as one parent gets home. You may be asked to babysit from time to time, though.
Everything is included when you live with the family, so you don’t have many expenses. The only thing I paid for myself was my plane ticket (although you can be lucky enough to have a family that pays it for you). I never felt like this was a so-called “job”—more like helping out a family and being a part of it.
To become an au pair, you can either use au pair agencies or websites like:
With an agency, you pay them and they handle the paperwork, show you different family profiles, and connect you with potential hosts. During your stay, they remain available for support in case of any issue. It’s like any other job placement service.
On the internet, there are a lot of websites for au pairs. This is more DIY. You create a profile, search for families (they can search for au pairs too), and if one catches your interest, you start by sending a message—and if both parties get along, you move forward with video calls and interviews.
