Being an au pair in Paris will be an unforgettable experience, and I feel like I got super lucky when I was an au pair in Paris.
I worked for a wonderful au pair mom in a live-out situation and formed bonds with her kids that persist today. It was not all roses and sunshine and at times I felt unprepared for the intensity of the experience. But when you’re close to a family for a year, that’s what happens.
In the end, I came away from the experience with a deeper understanding of myself and what I value in a partnership. In hindsight, it seems obvious, but au pairing is a great way to organically learn what is important to you when thinking about long-term partnerships. Seeing in real time how challenging it is to manage a family and a relationship was incredibly eye-opening.
On a lighter note, I was also able to learn a third language, which brings me to the first thing you should know about being an au pair in Paris.
Register for French language classes
As of March 2019, this is no longer a requirement for au pairs per the new au pair visa guidelines, but I urge you to do it anyway unless you are completely fluent.
Enrolling in French language and culture courses serves multiple purposes:
- Introduces you to a prospective social circle
- Ensures that you’ll have some semblance of a schedule to follow in between your au pair responsibilities
- Gives you the opportunity to sit and pass French language placement tests you’ll need if you want to enroll in a French university program someday.
- Will help you communicate with French people, which is especially useful if you’re looking to date
- You’ll feel more confident in everyday exchanges with French people
- It will help you communicate with your kids during tantrums/emergencies (important if they’re very young)
Submit your registration for your Carte Vitale
What is a Carte Vitale?
The Carte Vitale is the French healthcare card that provides you with a social security number. This, in turn, entitles you access to the French healthcare system – getting physicals, birth control, or routine check-ups becomes easy and reimbursable. There is even a unicorn start-up in France called Doctolib that makes finding an English-speaking doctor and setting up appointments quick and easy.
I talk about my experience with Doctolib when I needed to make an eye doctor appointment in Strasbourg: Visiting The Eye Doctor In Strasbourg, France – The Millennial Abroad
At your appointment with a general practitioner, you can ask them to be your “médecin traitant”
This makes the doctor your official healthcare practitioner in the French healthcare system. You must have a declared healthcare practitioner to be able to receive reimbursements for doctor visits.
Getting set up with my Carte Vitale was not on my radar as an American. A national To be honest, I was a little intimidated because everything was in French. But, this is just another reason to make sure you’re enrolled in French classes. Life in France happens in French, even if you’re in Paris. Further, you will never be in an easier position to find help than as an au pair – your French au pair parents can help you apply for the Carte Vitale, as well as other tasks that are essential to settling into France.
Open a bank account as soon as possible
Do a bit of research before you do on au pair forums, Facebook groups, or asking au pair friends – certain banks have reputations for being friendlier to foreigners than others. If you’re curious as to why, exactly, it can be so challenging to open a bank account as a foreigner, I encourage you to read about the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
Common banks in France
- CIC (listed first because it’s my bank and I love them!)
- BNP Paribas
- Crédit Agricole (CA)
- Société Générale.
- Banque Populaire (BP)
- Crédit Mutuel
- LCL
Online banking options are also becoming more widely used
As an au pair, you have access to so many museums and cultural sites for free – GO!
The French are known for being imperious about their emphasis on the importance of culture, and for good reason. They have some of the most amazing museums and cultural sites in the world, and many of these are free for certain visa category holders such as au pairs, who come to countries in part for the cultural experience. (Students are also free or massively discounted most of the time, too!) Chief among these free attractions are the Louvre and Chateau de Versailles – 100% free for au pairs.
Being an au pair means you can order a Carte Avantage Jeune
If you’re au pairing in Paris, you likely chose the location for many reasons, such as ease of travel. But don’t miss out on an easy opportunity to stretch that au pair pocket money by applying for a Carte Avantage Jeune, available for all young adults 27 and under. The card gives you access to special (and large!) discounts, and typically goes on sale twice a year: Carte Avantage Jeune SNCF: purchase or renewal – OUI.sncf
Order your Navigo Pass
This is usually something that will be automatically included in an au pair contract, but if it’s not, it’s an important subject to ask about. The Navigo Pass is the name of the magnetic pass that allows you to take all transportation in and around Paris for one flat rate for the entire year. At 350 euros, it’s a pretty hefty cost upfront, but it’s a fair ask since without it you’re likely to use up all your pocket money just on single-ticket trips. This pass is another reason to enroll in French language classes – you’re entitled to a lower rate if you apply as a student for their Imagine R pass: Forfait imagine R 2020-2021 : souscription en ligne | Île-de-France Mobilités (iledefrance-mobilites.fr)
Also – if you’re organized and can hang onto your pass after you’ve left Paris, you can refill it for a weekend when you’re back in the city visiting! Scanning a magnetic pass will always be infinitely easier than fumbling with (and trying to keep track of) ticket stubs. Do it for Future You.
Take note of major (and minor) French holidays so you can plan accordingly
This could be a whole separate post, so I’ll just blurt out the first few events and days that come to mind:
- Fête de la Musique (always on June 21st, usually translated as “Music Day”)
- Nuit Blanche (an all-night cultural festival that Paris throws annually as a city on the first Saturday in October)
- Jours fériés (national holidays or bank holidays – simply Google the phrase and the year (ex: “jours fériés 2023”) for the current year’s schedule), and vacances scolaires (school vacations).
- La fête des mères (Mother’s Day) is a different day in France than in the US and takes place the last Sunday in May.
- La fête des pères (Father’s Day) is the third Sunday in June.
This site has a mix of the official ones and fun French “National Days of _______” just like we do in the US!
Ending on a practical note: Always, always, start conversations in French with “bonjour”
Being an au pair in Paris means you’ll be interacting with a lot of French people right out of the gate. While the French have a reputation for being haughty and unhelpful, particularly in Paris, it’s difficult to express just how far saying a clear, confident, and friendly “Bonjour” goes at the beginning of any interaction. This goes for everyone – from the woman at the bakery to the cashier at the grocery store to the bus driver when you step on board. Think of it as the French equivalent of “excuse me.”
In the US, we normally lead interactions with strangers in customer service settings with “excuse me” but in France, even the most well-intentioned “Pardon?” will earn you a mad stink eye and probably result in an unhelpful and curt exchange. Save yourself the embarrassment and frustration and drill “bonjour” into your head early.
Start a blog about being an au pair in Paris
Living abroad and being an au pair both seem like cool, funky identifiers. But they can also become verbs more than adjectives, leaving you feeling a little lost and out of sorts at times. Blogging can be an excellent way to wrap your mind around the very real changes that are going on in the way you experience life and process interactions – or just a fun way to chronicle your time abroad. Moreover, so many people start a blog “just for fun” only to discover a real knack for storytelling, so who knows? Maybe the next great blogger is you, reading this article right now. To begin, I recommend hosting your WordPress blog on Bluehost.
