Costea

Costea was born in 1982 in Buzău, a historic town two hours north east of the Romanian Capital of Bucharest.

Costea always wanted to visit England and in 2005 she was able to fulfill her lifelong dream with the opportunity to work as an Au Pair with a family in Sutton.

Initially, the size of London was quite a shock, but the kindness and warm welcome of her host family helped Costea to settle in quickly.

After marrying her husband and having a daughter, they decided to raise their family outside of London and they moved to Basildon in 2014.

Costea reflects how happy she is now that her daughters have great local opportunities to get involved in fun activities and meet new friends.

Costea’s hometown of Buzău has a population of 115,494 and is two hours north east of the Romanian Capital of Bucharest.

Costea shares that in some ways, Buzău is similar to Basildon and she remembers fun times of playing with friends in and around the apartment block that she lived in.

The Buzau river flows close to where Costea grew up, from its source in the beautiful Carpathian Mountains. Photo by Andrei Stroe, used under licence

Costea has a warm sense of humour and loves to laugh.

Costea was so excited when, in 2005, she fulfilled her lifelong dream of coming to England. Costea first worked as an Au Pair in Sutton and remembers how kind and welcoming her host family was. Life in England was challenging at first as Costea did not speak English but things quickly improved as she learned the language.

Family is important to Costea and she speaks regularly with her Dad and siblings on the phone.

Costea shares that it was her dream to come to the UK and she was particularly inspired seeing Princess Diana on TV.

Photo by Russ Quinlan, used under licence

After working for 3 years as an Au Pair in Sutton, Costea stayed in the area for another 6 years and worked for M&S

Along with traditional Romanian food like Sarmale (cabbage rolls), one of Costea’s favourite things to cook is a traditional English roast dinner.

Both Costea and her husband feel very settled where they are and Basildon feels like home.

Costea’s hometown of Buzău was first recorded in the year 1431 and it has many beautiful and historic buildings.

Photo by Sandra Matei, used under licence

Costea is now raising her own family in Basildon and she is happy to be able to take her daughters on holidays to visit Romania.

Costea loved visiting the London Eye but remembers feeling shocked by how big London was when she first arrived in 2005. Photo by Khamtran, used under licence