Are you a townie longing to escape the noise and bustle and hankering after a job in a quiet rural area? Or have you always lived in the countryside and think it's time you escaped to the bright lights of the big city? One of the joys of nannying is the opportunity to work in a variety of environments.
But any drastic change in lifestyle does require some careful thought.
However attractive cities may be, with their vibrant social life and constant activity, they have aspects that can make anyone - and especially a woman looking after young children - feel very vulnerable. Equally, while the countryside looks beautiful and tempting on a sunny summer's day, the reality can be unbearably bleak on a rainy afternoon in midwinter.
It's easy to romanticise both city and country, but before you make the big move, be prepared for how different your life and your job are likely to be. Pulling up stakes can leave you out of your depth in either environment, and you need to think realistically about how you will adapt to a new pace of life.
Lisa Carswell is very clear about the pros and cons of nannying in the city. In her three years in London she had two jobs, one in Holland Park and one in Kensington. 'I was petrified when I arrived in London,' she confesses. 'I had previously lived in a very rural area in Lincolnshire and was a real home girl who had never lived away from my parents. It was my first nanny job and I was just 19 years old. I found the noise and the constant police sirens a bit alarming. I felt even more uneasy when my employer insisted that I carry a personal alarm.'
But Lisa saw the good side as well. 'I did find it exciting,' she says, 'and I loved having everything on the doorstep - theatres, cafes, nightclubs. There were plenty of other nannies around, although many of them were in short-term positions and people tend to move on a lot in London, so it can be difficult to make lasting friendships.' Lisa usually found herself alone in the city at the weekends, as her employers tended to retreat to the countryside, but she would have liked to have spent some weekends taking the children out and about. She is now happily working back in the country, where she says she has 'total peace of mind', but she has no regrets about her time in the city. 'It was a valuable experience, and I think it's something you should do when you are young and have no ties. It also looks good on your CV if you have worked in London.'
In contrast, town-based Sally Huckin found nothing positive about the time she spent working in an isolated rural area. 'The house was enormous, with eight bedrooms, and it was literally in the middle of a forest. There were only a couple of other houses nearby and we were three miles from the nearest village and the shop.' Sally accepted the live-out position because the family was so pleasant when they interviewed her, even though it meant she had to commute from her home in Gosport, a busy naval town 24 miles away.
But disillusionment soon set in. 'I was looking after a three-year-old and took him and collected him from nursery school, which involved a 14-mile round trip. Apart from that, there was very little to do. The worst time was the morning, being in that big house with nowhere to go while the little boy was at school. There were no other nannies in the vicinity and I couldn't even get a signal for my mobile phone. Except for the school run, my employer didn't like me taking her son out. All I was allowed to do with him was walk through the forest, and I found that pretty scary.'
Sally stuck it out for four months before putting in her notice. For the moment, she has given up nannying and is currently working in a bank. 'It has put me off,' she admits, 'even though I love working with children. But I need a job where I can take the children to clubs or the gym, meet other nannies, have other children round to play or even talk to the neighbours so at least there's a bit of adult conversation during the day.'
Rita Galambos changed countries as well as environments when she began working for a family in a Cambridgeshire village. She grew up in a town in Hungary and had no previous experience of rural life anywhere. 'The main disadvantage is definitely the travelling,' she says. 'If I hadn't had a car it would have been virtually impossible to get anywhere. As it was, I was able to go to college for English classes and to spend my weekends exploring. I used the train a lot but I still had to get to and from the station. But I loved the countryside, especially in the spring, and I didn't mind the peace and quiet of the village where I lived. I have never felt miserable when I have been left on my own and I can always find something to do. But I know some people would consider it boring and soul-destroying. You need to think carefully before you go to live in the country.'
With thanks to Karen Dixon of Family Match in Winchester
MORE TALES FROM THE OTHER SIDE...
Debbie recalls, 'My London employer had the looks and figure of a supermodel. Our first meal together was a tiny portion of pasta with a slither of sauce followed by a yellow fruit I'd never seen before which tasted like deodorant. I was too polite to say I was still hungry. I was relieved when she said that she and her husband were out a great deal so I must help myself to anything I wanted to eat - until I opened the kitchen cupboards and found jars of olives and capers, tins of anchovies and all sorts of herbs and spices. In the fridge there was only a drop of skimmed milk, a pack of mixed salad leaves and a defrosting foil pack of calorie-controlled pasta. For the first time ever I was nearly driven to eating a whole jar of baby food for breakfast. When my employer went to the gym I took the baby for a walk, found a sandwich bar and bought their biggest BLT with a full-fat latte. But there was never so much as a potato or a tin of baked beans in the house. Then the other nannies I met told me to suggest to my employer that instead of using jars, I could cook for the baby and myself. She gave me a generous allowance and from then on the baby and I ate very well.'
Sally says, 'One summer I worked in Knightsbridge in London an in opulent first-floor flat, looking after two boys who were home from prep shcool. At first I was amazed at all the money I was given to spend on the boys but after the first day I realised how much harder it was to look after children who had no playroom where we could paint or do messy activities, and they couldn't even be sent into the garden for ten minutes while I cooked their supper. I didn't dare let them play in the drawing room in case they broke something and for any activity I had to take them out to a local park. I had to have things organised for them to do every waking moment.'
Katy says, 'When I worked in the country there was only one local nanny group who went to most things together. It was fine if they liked you, but if you didn't really hit it off with a couple of people who seemed to dominate the group it wasn't pleasant to be there. In London, on the other hand, I made loads of nanny friends. A lot of them were living away from home like myself so they were very welcoming and supportive.'
With thanks to Helen Kewley of Nice Nannies Now in Huntingdon
