Anyone consider moving for nanny/au pair set-up?

sdlaura · October 2013

Our house right now isn't set up to have a live-in childcare provider (4 bedrooms all upstairs and very close together). But given that we will soon be paying $30k annually for childcare, I'm wondering if it would make sense to move, so that we would pay part of that as additional mortgage payments and have less expensive childcare by having someone live-in. Of course, the downside is that then we would still be paying higher mortgage costs after kids are in school.

We will have 3.5 years of at least two kids needing full-time childcare, and have considered trying for a third at some point. Just wondering if anyone else has thought about the trade-off. Any info on how much live-in childcare would cost vs. live-out would be helpful, too. We're in a HCOL area. Thanks!

cecilyandgautam · October 2013

I've thought about it - so many people in my town have au pairs - but the 1.2k/month stipend + annual fee to the placement agency is at least 22k/year plus you have to pay for classes for the au pair. If you want her to drive, you pay for her to be added to your car insurance. She eats out of your kitchen and you need to be able to give her her own room - so if you'd have to get a bigger home to pay for that extra room, I don't see how an au pair would really cost much less than what you're already paying.

For us, one kid in full time preschool + a baby in full-time in-home care would be cheaper than a nanny or an au pair.

sdlaura · October 2013

Wow, I didn't realize that au pair costs were that high, and I appreciate you pointing out the extraneous costs. Thanks!

cecilyandgautam · October 2013

Sorry to be a bummer - hopefully some one with an au pair will also chime in. It sounds like a great set up and so many women at my work have them but it's out of our price range.

Iblamethebeer · October 2013

I think @mammabear81 is the expert on au pairs -- she is a big fan, from what I recall, but also has a lot more kids than you, which changes the math a bit.

MammaBear81 · October 2013

I have had several au pairs and have had great experiences. The agency cost is about 7K per year, and the weekly stipened is $200 making the cost a little over 17K per year. They have to take 6 course "credits' during the course of the year which you are responsible for up to the first $500. I've had au pairs use the full amount, and others only use $350 or so.

Yes, they eat out of your kitchen, but in my experience they don't each much, they are used to eating much smaller portions than we do, and with $200 a week of basically "spending money" they tend to go out with friends and eat out a lot.

There is no problem with the au pair living in one of your bedrooms that is upstairs, but that is a personal preference. We happen to have our 4th bedroom in our basement, but if all our rooms were upstairs we still would have an au pair.

If you have any specific questions I'd be happy to answer them!

Thanks for the tag @iblamethebeer

traveltheworld · October 2013

The cost of au pairs / live-in nanny and agency costs also vary greatly by area. DS goes to DC but we've already decided that we'll hire a live-in nanny if/when we have another LO so I've researched this quite a bit. In my area, you can find reputable agencies that charge a one-time fee for the initial placement, and they can find you nannies that are already trained and have worked in the US or another English-speaking country for a number of years. You can also request to have a nanny who already has a drivers' license. In addition to the cost of the nanny, you'd need to think about the need for an extra car, classes for your LOs (so that they are not stuck at home all day), etc. However, for us, since DS' DC is so expensive, we figure that live-in nanny + half-day pre-school for DS would still be cheaper than having 2 LOs at DC. If you have a third, then I think a live-in nanny is a no-brainer.

In my area, live-out nannies are generally much more expensive than a live-in nanny.

To answer your original question - we bought our house specifically with the intent of having a live-in nanny. We paid for a more expensive house; so yes, in your case, I'd move. While it is true that your mortgage payments will continue after your childcare costs are gone, you also end up with a bigger and (presumably) better house in the end.

MammaBear81 · October 2013

Nanny costs change with area, au pairs do not. The only thing that will change with an au pair is the agency fee, which will range from 7K-8K. Their stipend does not depend on your COL or where you live in the US, it's a set fee. (I think it's $194.75 per week, but we just round to $200). It is tied in to minimum wages, so if they do increase minimum wage their stipend will go up slightly (maybe $10 per week) but that hasn't happened in a few years.

SoMoNY · October 2013

Keep in mind au pairs can only work so many hours a week so if you are gone 12 hours a day you won't get M-F coverage from au pair.

This is why we went nanny route instead

cecilyandgautam · October 2013

@mamabear81, thanks for replying! I thought I had read that the stipend was $1200-1500/month, glad to learn I was mistaken. $17k a year does make it sound like more of a bargain and for your 5, I'm sure it's a steal

MammaBear81 · October 2013

cecilyandgautam said:

@mamabear81, thanks for replying! I thought I had read that the stipend was $1200-1500/month, glad to learn I was mistaken. $17k a year does make it sound like more of a bargain and for your 5, I'm sure it's a steal

If you include stipend+ agency fee it comes to about $1450 per month, so it's easy to get mixed up. I try not to think of it that way, because if your au pair stays for two years you get a 'discount" on the agency fee (about 2K) so I like to keep them separate (also most places you pay the agency fee in full, or make a few payments, its not a monthly fee)

And yes, with 6 of them it's a STEAL. I live in a HCOL area and daycare for ONE would run me about $1200 per month, it's a no brainer

MammaBear81 · October 2013

Keep in mind au pairs can only work so many hours a week so if you are gone 12 hours a day you won't get M-F coverage from au pair.

This is why we went nanny route instead

This is true... Au pairs can only work 45 hours per week, no more than 10 hours per day. If you work long hours or have a long commute, you might need to have you and our DH stagger when you leave for work so you have enough hours for M-F. Of course unofficially, MOST au pairs are willing to work extra hours for more pay. They aren't allowed to, and you can't make them, but all of my au pair, and their friends, have jumped at the opportunity to make an extra $20 a week.

SoMoNY · October 2013

MammaBear81 said:

cecilyandgautam said:

@mamabear81, thanks for replying! I thought I had read that the stipend was $1200-1500/month, glad to learn I was mistaken. $17k a year does make it sound like more of a bargain and for your 5, I'm sure it's a steal

If you include stipend+ agency fee it comes to about $1450 per month, so it's easy to get mixed up. I try not to think of it that way, because if your au pair stays for two years you get a 'discount" on the agency fee (about 2K) so I like to keep them separate (also most places you pay the agency fee in full, or make a few payments, its not a monthly fee)

And yes, with 6 of them it's a STEAL. I live in a HCOL area and daycare for ONE would run me about $1200 per month, it's a no brainer

Do you have one au pair for 6 kids? Thought there was a limit to how many kids could be left in their care.

$1200 would be a steal, we are over $2k between school and nanny

sdlaura · October 2013

Thanks for all the info! Our hours would work for an au pair, so now it's just a matter of looking at costs of a bigger house vs. childcare.....

MammaBear81 · October 2013

SoMoNY said:

MammaBear81 said:

cecilyandgautam said:

@mamabear81, thanks for replying! I thought I had read that the stipend was $1200-1500/month, glad to learn I was mistaken. $17k a year does make it sound like more of a bargain and for your 5, I'm sure it's a steal

If you include stipend+ agency fee it comes to about $1450 per month, so it's easy to get mixed up. I try not to think of it that way, because if your au pair stays for two years you get a 'discount" on the agency fee (about 2K) so I like to keep them separate (also most places you pay the agency fee in full, or make a few payments, its not a monthly fee)

And yes, with 6 of them it's a STEAL. I live in a HCOL area and daycare for ONE would run me about $1200 per month, it's a no brainer

Do you have one au pair for 6 kids? Thought there was a limit to how many kids could be left in their care.

$1200 would be a steal, we are over $2k between school and nanny

Yes, one au pair for the six. Au pair care has a 4 child maximum, cultural care au pair does not. There are a few things that vary by agency (i.e. au pair care will cost you an extra $1K for an infant "specialized" au pair, which I later found out was a 1/2 day course on infant care, that I could have, and did, go over myself with the au pair)

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Anyone consider moving for nanny/au pair set-up?

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