I can recommend a very trustworthy au pair

[FREAKshow]

A Fillapina is looking for a house to work/live in. She supports her daughter in the Phillipines, who is 15 and working towards being a doctor. My friend has been in Hong Kong for over 10 years, and she used to clean for us. She was the only cleaner I've had who has been given my key. I didn't worry about it for a second. We've been in touch since I left HK 6 years ago.

She loves children.

If anyone is interested, I could put you in touch.

She has been here a few weeks, and is looking for a family so that she can get a permanent work visa - her current one is temporary, dependent on her finding employment. She HATES HK and really wants to be here, now.

bump

I could be wrong (and often am {grin})but I didn't think that one could get a working visa for a Phillipino?

Has she posted her profile up anywhere? My DH and I have been discussing back and forward for a few weeks regarding having an au-pair again.. if she has posted her details anywhere I can send DH a link at work and we can discuss tonight....

She hasn't. She's not very computer savvy. I thought I would do this for her as a favour. Would you like me to get you in touch with her Squiffy? I can ask her if I could send you her phone number, perhaps?

Whooosh, is that so? She tells me she's on a temporary visa and, as long as she gets employment, she can extend her visa for the length of her contract. At the moment she has been sent for several interviews by an agency, and is on a temporary posting while considering a couple of offers she's had. She has other Filipina friends who have been here for a while.

(by the way, it's filipinA for a female, filipinO for a male, I've been told).

FREAKshow - don't mention it just yet as DH and I are still not sure we have a job going at the moment (all v complicated - we have a fab live-out nanny but need extra cover for early mornings and so on, but we don't want our current nanny to feel threatened). I will discuss with him tonight and let you know.

As an aside, do you know if your friend wants to live in London or a large city? we are in Kent in a rural setting, although I know there are Phillipine social groups locally in Canterbury. It is a million miles away from a Hong Kong lifestyle down this way...

Freakshow - please could you let us have her number? DH is keen.

In case your friend wants some more background we live in a farmhouse on a large fruit farm; 10 mins walk down lane to bus stop then 10 mins to Canterbury on the bus (we do have a 'nanny' car but I suspect your friend will be a non-driver). There is a large shop in the village, a hotel and two pubs. I'm fairly sure Canterbury has a Phillipine social club (or so my mum says, she used to be a nurse and worked with lots of fillipinas in the local hospital). Canterbury is small by most city standards and fairly nice. We are 10 mins drive from the beaches at Whitstable and 65 minutes by train to London Victoria. We have a live-out nanny currently workign with us, but she will probably be moving to Manchester next Easter. At the moment we want help with wrap-around care (especially early mornings), school holidays, and housework. Come next Easter when the current nanny leaaves we can rejig things a little. The biggest downside is that we live in a very rural area so things can get very quiet during the day when DH and I are at work. Not a problem for anyone who loves walking and horseriding but can be dreadful for people who love the city buzz.

Let me know if your friend would like to speak to us.

Hi Squiffy,

Just read your message now. I've just tried my friend to ask if I can pass on her number, but phone is switched off at the moment. I'll text her and let you know what she says when she gets back to me. Excellent about the Phillipine social club! And I don't think very rural will bother her. How many children do you have? What are their ages?

We have a boy of 4 and a girl of 1. And a very old dog.

Hi SquiffyonSnowballs - Christmas already!

I'm afraid she's been snapped up. The 'temporary' family fell in love with her and have offered her a job, very close to London, where some of her friends live. Sorry about that.

However, keep a watch on this thread for a few weeks if you can, and if the situation changes, I'll let you know. Things might not work out, you never know.

FS

Hey - the decorations go up this weekend in my house....

Glad that your friend has something sorted.