Abstract
For adolescents, to become au pairs in the United States is a popular, yet unique form of cultural exchange: For a limited time, young women and men aged 18–26 live with a host family while providing child-care. What are their motivations behind doing so? Using data from semi-structured interviews with 24 future au pairs from Germany and Austria, this article presents three categories of motivation: (a) the appeal of a foreign culture (pull factors), (b) the wish to leave home (push factors), and (c) the decision to do so as au pair. It shows that pull and push factors are dominant, while the au pair setting itself is of weaker attraction. Rather, it may serve as a ‘vehicle’ to fulfill other wishes.
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