Why Boston?
“I thought this would be great, the combination of learning a new culture, learning a new language (one that I knew, but wasn’t quite good at), so combining that with taking care of children, that I absolutely was passionate about.”
The Cardin Extended Family
The Boston Area wasn’t specifically Liza’s choice. Before au pairs move to the United States, the Au Pair Program gives them a list of potential sites all over the US and she choose the Cardin family itself over the city of Boston. She explains that when she first moved, she knew nothing about the city of Boston. One of the reasons she was first intrigued to go to Boston was because she had heard a lot about New York City in her studies and just in general. She also knew about the East Coast and she was excited to explore that part of the country.
“First of all I feel like there’s so many Universities here and I feel like there are so many international people... I met so many international friends, some are from Poland, some are from Germany and I feel like Boston has this great combination of international people and everyone was so friendly and open-minded. It felt so natural to be here and not be anywhere else.”
Many of the International Friends She's Met
There are many different intriguing things to her about the East Coast. First of all, she likes that the area is full of universities and is an educational hub. Along with that, she likes that the East Coast and especially Boston welcomes in so many international people. She also likes the pace of things on the East Coast and that everything to her seems fast. Even after graduating, she moved to New York and Los Angeles, but moved back to the Boston area each time.
“ I know a lot of people say they don’t believe in the American Dream anymore, but I do believe in it and I think everything I’ve wanted to get out of my experiences here, they were just amazing.”
Liza with her Family in Boston
Moving to Boston has made Liza believe in the American dream. She says that being here and working hard has allowed her to get everything she would have ever wanted with her journey to Boston. She feels that there are still so many opportunities for immigrants to succeed. She also appreciates that many people are able to help out each other in the United States.
“I feel grateful to be here, especially, you know what’s going on in my country right now. I feel like that’s especially a reason why, I know you asked [about] helping Ukraine in so many different ways, I feel like I’m very fortunate to be here and, like I said be able to find a great job, even though English was never my first language, and to meet good friends, actually make a family here... I would not want to live anywhere else.”