Expat Story: A Belgian in Monza

ABOUT

Laura (or Laulau) is a 21 year old Belgian, born in Liege. Her parents love to travel and didn’t like to stay in the same city or country. She lived in Spain for almost 4 years, which was a beautiful experience that allowed her to study Spanish. She speaks French, English, Spanish, Italian a little bit of Dutch and a little bit of Russian too. She is currently in Monza, Italy as an au pair and entrepreneur.

Moving to Monza

When and why did you move to Monza?

I moved to Monza in October 2022. I needed a change and I wanted to move out of Belgium. I had always dreamed of being an au pair and I thought this would be a great opportunity.

What is Monza famous for?

Monza is famous for its autodrome and its enormous park ! Il Parco di Monza is the biggest closed park in Europe! It’s near Milano.

What surprised you about the city?

I was surprised by the beauty of the city, I didn’t expect Monza to be this beautiful ! I was also surprised by the amount of people in the streets on Saturday. Whenever they have some time, Italians love to go out for a walk, drink coffee, or go to the cinema.

What did you bring with you?

I took with me my favorite clothes, books and the gifts my friend had offered me.

What are your thoughts about Italy?

Italy is such a wonderful country in which people do truly live, they don’t just exist.

Living in Monza

How did you find your au pair job in Italy?

I found my host family on a website : aupairworld.com, we talked for hours and realized it was a perfect match ! They subscribed to an international insurance for me, just in case something happens.

The website aupairworld.com is like a virtual agency, they upload the contract with your family in advance so you just need to download it and sign it. In order to find a family, you create a profile describing as much as you can about yourself: You can choose up to 5 or 7 destinations all around the world, then you can choose if you’d like to live in a city or a town. You can also choose which type of family you want : family with pets, smoker/non smoker, if you want to do housework or not… then you can start to discover the profiles of families that correspond to your filters. Once you find an interesting one, you usually exchange numbers and do a video call that allows you to ask everything you want!

Here are some useful questions that I didn’t think of before: What type of education do you have at home? What are the rules of the house? How would you like your experience with an au pair to be? What is important for you in this experience?.

I spoke with a lot of families before choosing the one in Monza. I think at least 10 in less than 2 weeks but I had video calls with only 2 families before finding my lovely Italian family!

What does your day look like?

So my day as an au pair starts at 13.30pm because their school system is a little bit different from what I know in Belgium. Elementary school is from 8.30 to 16.30 while High school is from 7.50 to 13.30. Your principal task is to take care of their children and give a little help in the house

What are the benefits of an au pair program?

As an au pair you have a little bit of money, mostly to do activities you feel like doing on your own since the family offers you a room in their house, they feed you and do activities with you. They also offer you classes sometimes, depending on the laws of the country . In Italy it is necessary to take classes if you want to stay more than 3 months.

Final Thoughts

Was it easy to make friends?

I made friends in Monza: an American woman I met in front of the Duomo and the others are exchange students! I met my American friend, Suzanne, while walking in the street, we talked a bit and decided to grab coffee together. Since that day we see each other every week. The group of exchange students was thanks to a friend of my family. She’s a teacher and had a French exchange student in her class so she gave me her number, we went to a restaurant then she introduced me to her group of friends.

What advice do you have for future au pairs?

My advice is to choose your family wisely. Make sure the au pair experience has the same meaning for them as for you, ask questions about education and the rules of the house, don’t be afraid to tell them your background, some of your fears… because you’re going to live with them! It’s important that you feel as you would at home. Then just trust your guts ! They know better, wherever it tells you to go, just go!

Tell us a bit about your entrepreneurial life

I’m an entrepreneur in Multi Level Marketing ( MLM), so it’s an easy way to become an entrepreneur! I chose to collaborate with this American brand that uses phytotherapy to create products! I contacted a girl on Instagram that was already working with this brand and I was totally down when she explained all of it. I always dreamed of being independent.

I just subscribed and paid my selling license. What I love the most about being an entrepreneur with the MLM system is that you’re never alone; the person that you contact to subscribe will guide you all the way! She will teach you all the techniques and will be there whenever you need her. It’s also an amazing human adventure. My goals are to live from that activity.

What are your plans for the future?

I’m staying here until June! Then I’ll go back to Belgium. The plan is to stay in Belgium for 2 years then travel as much as I can (probably backpacking!).

Thank you so much Laura for sharing your experience as an au pair in Monza, Italy! I also wanted to do that when I was younger. I love that you described the process in detail for us. I wish you the best for your next projects in Italy and Belgium! Her IG: Here