Falling in love abroad as an au pair

Normally, the choice of becoming an au pair initially comes from the desire to explore a new way of life away from home, the willingness to spend time with children and to build a long-lasting relationship with a host family.

However, while experiencing all these incredible changes, you may also find yourself falling in love (and trust me, that’s more common than you think)!

If you think about it, being on your own in a completely new environment places you in what could potentially be the best position to find love:

• You are out of your comfort zone, growing and exploring other and new sides of yourself and your personality.
• You are far from your familiar circle of friends, so you are more likely to want to get to know more people.
• You are in a world full of new, exotic and intriguing things and everything (people included) can seem a little more special.
• You are maybe also looking for orientation and something (or someone) to hold onto or to share wonderful experiences with.

In the end, it’s no secret that falling in love is one of the biggest adventures that life has to offer. And adventure is one of the key aspects of being an au pair, right?

Surprised by love: Julia and Michael’s story

When Julia left England to become an au pair in Germany, her main focus was to make progress with learning the local language. She also wanted to establish a strong connection with her new host family in Munich, as well as with the new people she would have met. This, indeed, has all worked out very well. 

Totally unplanned for her, but now just as important end exciting, is her relationship with Michael, a German student from Munich, which developed "out of nowhere".

A relationship like no other

This relationship feels undoubtedly very special. Julia says that she's now able to learn about a side of life in Munich that she would have never discovered if she wasn't together with Michael, who she addresses as her "native guide". 
"We go to places that simply weren't on my list before. I’m so glad I get to discover this all“, she says. 

Of course, there's a more personal and emotional aspect of this all as well. Julia says that "Falling in love in Germany and having a German boyfriend is different from anything that had ever happened to me with boyfriends in England. In a way that I would have never expected, it's truly different and it's kind of amazing what you start to learn about life“.

Being in a new relationship far away from home is indeed a a very exciting experience for Julia and Michael. 
But as all things, it’s not only easy and fun. "We have a lot of questions ahead of us," explains Michael. "What's going to happen then, when Julia's au pair stay is over? Will she stay here longer? Should I try to find a way to study in England, somewhere? Would that make sense? Could we really manage a long distance relationship? We just don't know.“

This is just the beginning…

Falling in love abroad, with people met during experiences that are destined to end (such as an au pair stay, an exchange year, a holiday and many more) is super exciting on one side, but also "risky", "scary" and uncertain on the other.

Despite not being too easy to deal with, long distance relationships are possible; and there’s no best thing to see them work out!
If the feelings for each other are strong enough, the willingness to be together is there and both the people give their best to make things work, who says that such an incredible adventure should end whenever your stay ends?

If you find yourself in such a situation, you might want to get to know a few valuable tips to make a long distance relationship work.

Have you fallen in love as an au pair (or with an au pair)?

Write us an email and share your experience with us!
The AuPairWorld Blog will bring your inputs together and make them available on these pages for other readers - from members of the AuPairWorld community from all around the globe. 
So, take the opportunity to share your story with other readers!

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* Names changed by the editors.