Go Au Pair in Grand Rapids

/Go Au Pair in Grand Rapids
Go Au Pair in Grand Rapids2024-01-30T13:50:43+00:00

Go Au Pair in Grand Rapids offers a child care experience through cultural exchange

We are using an Au Pair through Go Au Pair and we’ve been very happy. The process to get the nanny here was smooth and so far we haven’t run into any issues. This is a great program and we have referred it to many of our friends with babies.
Radostin Kanev
Radostin Kanev
2023-07-17
We have had the pleasure of working with GoAuPair as our au pair agency, and we are satisfied with the placement and the services they have provided. Throughout the process, Gina has been incredibly supportive, taking the time to explain contracts and terms to us. Judith has also been wonderful in following up with us and has been friendly and helpful. We have been hosting au pairs since our twins were born, and we have had the opportunity to welcome four au pairs from Mexico and China, with another one soon to arrive from Peru. In our experience, the price we pay when working with an au pair through GoAuPair (including agency fees and au pair fees) is quite reasonable compared to the hourly rates of local nannies. It's important to note that with this cost-saving, there is a trade-off. We have dedicated time to train our au pairs, help them with driving and familiarize them with the area. In some cases, we have also supported them in improving their English language skills if needed. Additionally, we provide our au pairs with full access to a car and a membership to Lifetime Athletic, an excellent country club. We encourage them to explore the area and make friends. In return, our au pairs have been exceptional with our children and have taught them valuable second languages, such as Chinese and Spanish. Thanks to our au pairs, our kids are now trilingual and have become globally-oriented, embracing new cultures and languages. This experience has also instilled in them a broader understanding of the concept of a global economy and vision. Hosting au pairs has brought many positive aspects to our family life, and we have received excellent services from GoAuPair throughout the process. We highly recommend their services to anyone considering hosting an au pair.
Wenting Gao
Wenting Gao
2023-06-30
Great experience with Go Au Pair! Responsive and easy to work with. Helpful in answering questions. Found a great au pair to join our family and would highly recommend!
Kathryn Schaeffer
Kathryn Schaeffer
2023-05-26
We had a wonderful experience with this Au pair agency. We enjoyed being involved with the search and selection of the au pair (a unique feature that sets them apart). We are also impressed with the exceptional customer service. Our coordinator has been prompt in answering all of our questions and any concerns. We are grateful for this agency and all the staff working hard behind the scenes to make this program possible, thank you!
Aaron Thomas
Aaron Thomas
2023-05-24
We have had two au pairs placed by Go Au Pair. I would recommend them as they have an excellent variety of au pairs to connect with.
Zane Aukee
Zane Aukee
2023-05-02
I have worked with several folks at Go Au Pair during my search process. They have all been well informed, respectful, responsive and a pleasure to work with. I would gladly recommend this agency to anyone in search of an Au Pair
Tom Dudzic
Tom Dudzic
2023-04-19
I started this process about 2 weeks ago and was able to find a match, but not without endless amount of time invested. For the most part the pricing is stated upfront so you know what you're getting into, however, the fees for the flight/travel are unable to be determined until that is booked. PROS: - The representatives that you work with are very nice and helpful - They create the contract with the cost out after you've extended an offer to an AuPair pretty quickly - There are lots of AuPairs to choose from and a couple new ones might be added each week - There isn't a local representative in my area so my local rep was almost across the country from me so they assigned 2 people to help me out. Having the support was fine. Totally fine but I got confused on who I address for certain things in the beginning. - Final costs are about an extra $500-$1000 than whats stated upfront due to travel costs, etc. - Overall we are very happy so far with the process and the representatives we've been working with are super sweet and kind. They can really help you out and try to be super available for you. We were happy with our reps. CONS: - There are a lot of emails with bits and pieces of information, the next steps are not detailed in the beginning so there is a lot of things not exactly clear, mainly detailed info on the entire process. This was frustrating but if you talk to your rep to clear it up you should be fine - Payment plan details should be shown upfront because a family needs to see if it's realistically affordable or compare their local childcare pricing prior to starting the search and investing so much time into it. However, I guess a family going this route for childcare might not be stressing over little costs here and there? Not sure - Travel fees/cost need to be elaborated/clear a bit more in the beginning of the process
Krystal Ahmad
Krystal Ahmad
2023-03-28
There is a good selection of au pairs, and the search function makes it easy to find one that meets your needs. -Zane
JH DENALI
JH DENALI
2022-10-04
We HIGHLY recommend Go Au Pair (GAP). In the world of working parent guilt and a global pandemic, it really does take a village to raise children--but what does one do when one's village alternates quarantining and childcare is chaos. When we heard about the au pair program and began to research it, we knew it was our only hope, though we had many concerns. The first was what agency to choose--a huge agency? A small agency? We wondered what role our agency would play, and agonized over the choice. Ultimately, GAP provided terrific, high-quality, personalized service that clearly comes from their experience in the AP world and not being so enormous that they lose sight of their families and APs. We are a family, not just a number, to GAP. Our AP is such a very special young lady who is authentic, bright, and thoughtful. She is fantastic with children, and an extremely strong driver. With 3 very young boys, having a third adult is such an unbelievable help in our family. Our AP is leaving an unforgettable impression on our children and has made it so easy to be a working parent. We cannot thank GAP enough!
Jamie K
Jamie K
2022-07-07
We first found Go Au Pair in January 2022 when we were looking for a childcare provider for our toddler. Their website is setup well and searching for candidates is simple. While filling out the host profile takes a bit of time it's worth it as both you and the au pairs are able to share a lot of information. We found an Au Pair in rematch and our local coordinator in town and placement manager were supportive. They were easy to get a hold of and always got back to us in a timely manner. While our match with our Au Pair did not last the staff at Go Au Pair has made moving on painless and helped provide our Au Pair with a new opportunity in a different state. They were impartial and patient while addressing our concerns.
Kevin Dahm
Kevin Dahm
2022-05-09

What is an Au Pair?

Au Pairs are pre-screened international young adults with child care experience who provide full time, live-in child care and introduces a memorable cultural experience at an affordable cost. With Au Pair child care, families in Grand Rapids can enjoy all the benefits of in home child care.

Au Pairs can be responsible for general supervision of the children, driving, laundry, homework help, preparing meals, and providing morning and bedtime help. As an Au Pair agency, Go Au Pair is dedicated to helping families in the Grand Rapids area choose an Au Pair that fits their specific family needs.

Local Area Representative in Grand Rapids, MI

Go Au Pair has a Local Area Representative in Grand Rapids and surrounding areas to help our families during their experience. Our agency’s local representative will assist your family and Au Pair with any questions related to your live in child care needs.

Mackenzie Smit

mackenzie smit

“Erin provide really good service to us. She is always in touch. She helps with questions immediately. She always asks our opinion before she plans another activity, sends information about new au pairs. She is wonderful!”

Svitlana, Ukranian Au Pair, Woods Cross, UT

“Everything about our au pair has exceeded expectations. She is wonderful!”

Sarah - Host Mom, Salt Lake City, UT

“I really love to live in Utah. [It] is one of the most beautiful places in the world. You can do a lot of things, hiking, snowboarding, you can watch amazing landscapes. My family is really special, they are very independent, but they also love to have family time.”

Jenni - Ecuadorian Au Pair, Salt Lake City, UT

“We have been thrilled with our au pair and having her in our home has been a pure delight. We adore her and consider her a part of our family.”

Aaron - Host Dad, Herriman, UT

“Erin has been great at letting us know when there are activities and encourages the Au pairs to go. Erin has always been available to answer questions and is super easy to get along with. We feel very comfortable talking with her.”

Eli - Host Dad, Syracuse, UT

The areas I serve in Michigan

I cover the west Michigan area – the greater Grand Rapids area, including from Cedar Springs to Kalamazoo and Lansing, the lakeshore, and surrounding areas.

My name is Makenzie Smit. I am a wife and mom to two young girls. I studied accounting and Spanish at Albion College. I work in Financial Reporting, and we have welcomed an au pair into our family to help with childcare. After experiencing how great the program was, I became the Local Area Representative for the Grand Rapids area.

I enjoy being part of the au pair program because I have experienced firsthand the benefits of the program. I love the cultural exchange that it provides, in addition to consistent child-care. My girls love their au pair! I enjoy connecting with the families and au pairs.

The au pairs in our cluster right now are from Ecuador and Columbia. We have a variety of families in our cluster ranging from single income families where the parent that stays home is looking for extra hands to both parents working outside of the home. Our families have children with a variety of ages from babies to school aged children.

Au Pair Cultural Activities

Au Pairs are required to attend a number of Cultural Activities with their Local Area Representative and nearby Au Pairs to make sure they experience the local community and culture during their stay. Below are some of the activities Mackenzie’s cluster has been up to recently!

In the fall we visited an apple orchard, a common fall event in Michigan. We picked apples, enjoyed donuts and cider, and did a corn maze. 

We visited the new Christmas market in Grand Rapids to see all of the vendors and shared lunch together. There were many festive activities to participate in, crafts, food to try, drinks, and desserts.

We welcomed a new au pair’s arrival by visiting a popular walking trail in the city and getting ice cream together.

Additional Resources for Families and Au Pairs in Grand Rapids, MI

driver's license info for au pairs

Au Pairs will need to have their International Driver’s License in order to take a written test. If they pass that then they need to schedule a Road Test with a 3rd party company, which they will have to pull into a parking spot, back into a spot and also parallel park. If they pass the parking then they take a road test on surface streets first and then on the expressway. 

https://www.michigan.gov/sos/resources/forms/what-every-driver-must-know  

public transportation info for au pairsThere is not much public transportation in the greater Grand Rapids area. There is a bus line in the areas close to downtown, but most of families live outside of the city. Most au pairs have access to a car that they use to get around or the utilize ride sharing services like Uber and Lyft. 

  • There are several colleges and universities in the area, but the most common classes that au pairs take are through Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC). GRCC offers English classes for adult learners geared towards students where English is a second language. The students do not have to apply directly to the school but instead to the program. They place into a class that matches their English level and are able to meet lots of new people through these classes. https://www.grcc.edu/programs/adult-education  
IRS tax info for au pairsAu Pairs and Host Families can learn about tax withholdings and filing specific for the Au Pair program. Always consult a tax advisor to learn how taxes apply.

social security card info for au pairsAn Au Pair will need to get a Social Security # before getting a bank account and driver’s license. Go Au Pair will provide a welcome packet with social security information, on the Au Pairs arrival. We advise Au Pairs to wait 10 days after arrival to get their social security number. You can make an appointment at a social security office, closest to your home.

Child Friendly Activities for Au Pairs and Host Families

Au Pairs will find that Grand Rapids offers a wide variety of exciting things to do and places to visit. There are many historical museums, art displays, scenic touring, and physical activities. Families can help Au Pairs find activities they are most interested in.

In Michigan we get some colder winters. It always makes winter better to enjoy some winter activities. Every winter there is ice skating downtown at the city center Ice Skating at Rosa Parks 

West Michigan is known as “the fruit belt” and grows many different types of fruit really well. It is very common to go berry picking throughout the summer at one of the many orchards in the area – strawberries in June, blueberries in July, peaches in July/August, and apples in September/October. Popular Orchards  

This is a very popular festival in Holland, a town by the lakeshore, that occurs every spring. There are many activities throughout the week including seeing the millions of tulips that bloom. Tulip Time. 

West Michigan is well-known for it’s beautiful and clean beaches. The beach is a perfect spot on any sunny day in the summer. A bonus is that most of the beaches have small towns nearby that are fun to visit and walk through.

This is a garden and sculpture park that is a great visit. They have a children’s garden, expansive outdoor areas to walk around and experience as well as some indoor gardens. They have events throughout the year such as the butterfly exhibit in the spring or the Christmas Tree exhibit in the fall. https://www.meijergardens.org/  

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