5 Underrated European Countries for Your Au Pair Year

Every au pair candidate fixates on Germany, France, the Netherlands, or Ireland. They're great choices — but the host families there get hundreds of applications for every spot. Meanwhile, five other European countries are quietly some of the best places to spend your au pair year, and the host families have almost no competition for au pairs. If you want a faster match, more attention from families, and a more original story to tell, look here.

1. 🇧🇪 Belgium — The hidden multilingual playground

Belgium gets overlooked because everyone assumes it's just "smaller France" or "smaller Netherlands". It is neither. Belgium has three official languages (Dutch, French, and German), an unbeatable food scene, and is a 90-minute train ride from Paris, Amsterdam, London, and Cologne. Brussels and Antwerp are international, English-friendly, and packed with young people. Pocket money sits around €450/month and the working hours cap is generous.

Ideal if you want: language exposure, central European location, weekend trips. Read the Belgium au pair guide.

2. 🇨🇿 Czech Republic — The cost-of-living cheat code

Pocket money in the Czech Republic is lower (~€170-210/month) but so is everything else. A coffee costs €1.50. A beer costs €1. A beautiful old apartment in Prague costs less per month than a parking spot in Paris. The result: au pairs in the Czech Republic actually save more than au pairs in Western Europe, and they live in one of the most architecturally stunning cities in the world. Czech families are warm, dinner-table-focused, and almost always speak some English to younger guests.

Ideal if you want: a beautiful city for the price of a small one, central European travel hub, low-cost living. Read the Czech Republic au pair guide.

3. 🇫🇮 Finland — The English-speaking surprise

Almost no one considers Finland for au pair work, and that's exactly why it's brilliant. Finland is consistently ranked the safest and happiest country in the world. English is spoken everywhere — even by the kids you'll be looking after. Finnish host families are notoriously respectful of contracts, free time, and personal space. The culture rewards the kind of quiet, independent person who would burn out in a more demanding placement. Pocket money is moderate (~€280/month), the hours are reasonable, and you get sauna access basically every day.

Ideal if you want: quiet, safety, reliable contracts, and the chance to learn one of Europe's most unique languages. Read the Finland au pair guide.

4. 🇵🇹 Portugal — The warm climate dark horse

Portugal is the country every au pair forgets about until they visit. The pocket money is modest (~€280/month), but the cost of living is the lowest in Western Europe, the climate is mild year-round, the beaches are world-class, and Lisbon and Porto are two of the most-loved cities on the continent. Portuguese families are famously welcoming and family-oriented in the best possible way — many former au pairs say they were treated like a daughter or son rather than a guest. Spanish-speaking au pairs have a particular advantage here because Portuguese is largely understandable to them within weeks.

Ideal if you want: sunshine, beach lifestyle, a warm host family, low cost of living. Read the Portugal au pair guide.

5. 🇱🇺 Luxembourg — The high-paying secret

Luxembourg is the smallest country on this list and probably the most surprising. Pocket money sits around €545/month — significantly higher than most of Europe — because the standard of living and average salary are both among the highest in the world. The country is officially trilingual (French, German, and Luxembourgish), so au pairs from any of those backgrounds are immediately useful, and the international community is huge thanks to all the EU institutions based there. Almost no one applies to be an au pair in Luxembourg, which means a great profile gets noticed instantly.

Ideal if you want: maximum pocket money, multilingual environment, high standard of living, and an absurdly low-competition application pool. Read the Luxembourg au pair guide.

Why "underrated" matters more than you think

The match rate on au pair platforms looks something like this: in popular destinations like France or Germany, a single host family receives 50–100 messages per week. In countries like Luxembourg or Finland, that same kind of family receives maybe 5. Your odds of getting a reply, getting a video call, and getting picked are dramatically better outside the obvious choices. The year you actually have abroad is shaped much more by the family than by the country. A wonderful family in Brno will give you a better year than a stressful family in Munich. The "obvious" countries are a competitive trap.

A practical tip

When you build your DearAuPair profile, select at least one underrated country alongside your main choices. You'll see your reply rate go up almost immediately. Worst case, you just get more options. Best case, you find your perfect family in a country you'd never have considered.

Create your free profile and start exploring the underrated map of European au pair destinations.