I'm Rhona, I'm Irish and have worked with Valentin and English Nanny Agency as a Governess for almost 10 years. In that time I have been placed with great families in various locations around the world, that include, Moscow, Helsinki, London, Greece, Turkey, India and Prague.
Also I worked on a 1 month on/off rota basis in Pune, India which is about 3 hours inland from Mumbai. India is an experience! It's vibrant, noisy, chaotic and colourful. The Indian people are very curious about people from the West and I was often stopped and asked if I would get my picture taken with a random family, which was sweet and fun. Culturally things are very different, it is a conservative and religious country and women are expected to be modest and respectful in the way they dress. Indian staff are very subservient and Indian families prefer staff to be seen and not heard. I worked there for 1 year, met some great people and have a really interesting experience.
From 2011 to 2014 I worked in Moscow, working for two different families, one for 1 year and the other for 2 years. Moscow is a huge city, with millions of people. Unlike most other major cities the families there normally live outside of the centre. Usually in large compounds with many houses of varying architecture and styles. They are usually situated close to small villages or towns, that provide services such as shops, cafes, gyms etc. If you find yourself living in Moscow itself it has everything you need. The public transport system is cheap and reliable and will take you all over the city. You will need to brush up on your Cyrillic as nothing is signposted in English. English as rule is not spoken anywhere, and this can be quite isolating if you are living outside of the city on a permanent basis. There are Irish and English bars where you will find an expat scene. I drove while in Moscow, which is not for the feint of heart but it was great for my independence. It is a 24 hour city, you can do your groceries or get a haircut at 3 in the morning if you wish. The weather was better than I expected. November is dark and grey like Ireland and the U.K. but once the snow starts you can have piercing blue skies and beautiful sunshine. Provided you are dressed correctly it's actually really nice. The snow leaves as quickly as it arrives, usually around Easter time in April. The streets in Moscow become rivers for a few days as all of that snow melts and disappears into the ground. And then everything blooms really quickly, where there were once bare trees and gardens, suddenly there are leaves and flowers. Moscow is also full of large parks and outside areas, it gets very warm in the summer time and everywhere is full of people eating, drinking and having fun. Moscovites are very cultured people, they love art, theatre, ballet, poetry and literature. To visit Red Square, St Peter's, Lenin's Tomb, the Kremlin, The Bolshoi and many more cultural highlights, it's a fascinating place.
I visited St Petersburg during White Nights, it was bright until 12 at night. Of the two cities this would be my favourite. It's much more European in style, full of gorgeous canals which really surprised me and again amazing architecture and parks and gardens. The Hermitage was fascinating along with the Summer Palace. I'm a non meat eater and found many veggie restaurants and the idea of not eating meat much more acceptable in St Petersburg. It's a young city and as a result English was more widely spoken. Russia is not a racially diverse country and is quite conservative in it's politics. It's not a place I would freely express my bleeding-heart liberal views. It has it's own ideas of the West as we have our own ideas of the East.
Russian families are great to work with. They expect a lot from you and their children, they want them to work hard and learn as much as they can. They are very fair and easy to work for, and most Russian people I've met have a great sense of humour. They are extremely hospitable, if you are invited to their homes the table is laden down with food and drink and there's lots of chat and laughter. Always bring a gift, flowers are sold everywhere.
Valentin and The English Nanny Agency are great to work with. I have always been very well looked after, I've always felt safe, been given great, separate accommodation with a car or a driver and have been compensated very well. I hope to continue working with them for years to come.