After being an au pair in Italy myself for 3 months (and working as a nanny in Italy every winter since I’ve moved here) and speaking with others like myself about our similar experiences living and working abroad, I’ve found that some people handle the au pair life much better than others.

I’m here to tell you the 5 personality traits that, in my opinion, every au pair must have. Aside from being open to new experiences, there are a few character qualities that I feel are pretty important to have or at least be willing to work on, otherwise, you will not be having a good time

These might seem obvious and if you’re considering becoming an au pair, odds are, you already possess these characteristics, but I’ll go ahead and list them anyway, in hopes to either solidify your decision to get on that plane and Marry Poppins the heck out of life or maybe instead to show you that maybe you just don’t have the right personality.

Everyone is different, no shame in that at all.

1. Patient

Being an Au pair can be a mentally draining job, especially if you’re taking care of children who don’t speak much English. Trying to communicate with an upset 6-year old that doesn’t fully understand what you’re saying or why you’re saying something, can be incredibly stressful.

You’ve got to be able to keep your cool and be persistent in these situations.

Obviously, you are there to teach the children your language and culture but you are also there to be a kind of role model and show them that with patience, they can accomplish anything; awkward language blocked conversations included.

2. Thick Skinned

Unfortunately, some people will be outright mean to you. I didn’t experience this very often in my 3 months of traveling around Italy on the weekends, but when I did, I struggled a bit to keep the tears down. There were maybe 2 whole instances of, usually other women, laughing at me when I ordered something at a restaurant or when I would try to make conversation at a bar or party.

Rejection and ridicule always sting a bit, but you have to be able to get over it and remind yourself that that person’s opinion of you doesn’t matter, not even a tiny bit.

And they are probably dealing with problems of their own and taking out their pain on you. If there is one thing I’ve personally learned over the last few years, is to stop taking things so personally.

3. Independent

This one is a no-brainer, but probably the most important on the list.

If being away from your home and your family is just too painful for you, I don’t suggest living the au pair life. My host family had told me stories of girls that had come to stay with them and left in a hurry after only 1 week because they were so homesick. I consider myself very independent and I actually prefer to be alone and on my own most of the time.

Even so, there were a few days of my trip when I missed my family and tiny hometown so deeply. Of course, these days will pass and after a phone call with your loved ones, you will be perfectly fine the next day and ready to explore your new surroundings. But you’ve got to be strong enough to ride out the bad days, otherwise, you will just end up wasting your time and money.

4. Nurturing

If your ONLY reason for being an au pair is to travel, you are %100 percent not going to have a good time. For your sake and even more importantly, for the sake of the children you are taking care of, it’s important to genuinely enjoy being around children for long periods of time.

You have to be able to teach them new things and be enthusiastic about it too! You are there to show them how wonderful and diverse and full of unique people the world is. Some days you will have to wipe tears and sing lullabies and play princess dress up.

It’s all a part of the wonderful connections you will build as an au pair. Making the children’s’ time meaningful is perhaps the most important part of your job as their nanny.

5. Adventurous

Now It’s true that you don’t have to go out and explore during your free time, but I highly recommend that you do. Otherwise, you’ll miss out on the incredible experience of being immersed in another culture.

Sure, if you stay in on the weekends and never leave the home of your host family, you will still technically be immersing yourself in another culture. But you will only be dipping your toes in the water so to speak. 90% of the adventures and appreciation for Italian culture came upon me while I was out exploring the country.

When I was making mistakes and learning important lessons, meeting new people, and trying new things. Heck, I wish I had even been more adventurous.

I can’t speak for the rest of the world, but in Italy, you can’t say you’ve tried Ragu Bolognese unless you’ve actually physically been to Bologna and had the dish there (which I highly recommend you do someday!)

It can be scary to get out and explore on your own, but the best things in life are always a little bit scary at first!

If you’re considering Italy as your au pair destination, here are a few examples of all the beautiful places you can explore while in Italy! https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187768-Activities-Italy.html

Final Thoughts

If you think you have what it takes to be an au pair, I say 100% go for it. Even if you think you might not be adventurous enough, that’s ok. You gotta start somewhere. If a shy small-town American girl like myself could do it, I’m sure you can do it too.children's

If you have anything important you think should be added to the list for readers to see, leave it in the comments.

Thanks for reading!