17th Aug 2025
Reading Time: 9 minutes
Finding live-in jobs can be a good way to keep your monthly expenses down, as they often include free accommodation or reduced rents. If you are able to move location without commitments such as children and pets, live-in jobs can be a great way to build up your savings fast. So, where can you find a job that includes accommodation?
Cruise Ships
Cruise ship jobs include pay, food, accommodation – and international travel!
Many cruise ships jobs don’t require much previous experience, and offer living quarters as part of the contract. The hours are very long for many positions, and you’ll often need to share your living space with other people – especially when you’re starting out. However, the living expenses of being on a cruise ship are incredibly low, as you don’t pay for board, get free food, and only spend on internet costs (which can be costly around £5 a day – but it’s up to you if you want it) and shore trips that you want to take.
The range of cruise ship jobs is huge. Thousands of people find work every year working in catering and hospitality, whether as servers, chefs, kitchen staff or bar staff, while the on-board shops and casinos also need retail and customer assistant staff. Entertainment officers help to organise and run cruise activities, while others will be responsible for on-shore excursions. Then, of course, you have crew to operate the ship, such as engineers, as well as maintenance staff. Cleaning crews can be responsible for guest or crew areas, or both. Performers are a huge part of cruise entertainment, from actors and singers to musicians, too.
How much can I earn?
The pay you get, the length of your contract, and even the type of room you will live in all depend on your job type and experience. For example, junior kitchen staff are likely to share rooms, while lead performers for the evening shows could have their own rooms.
You can find cruise ship jobs directly on the cruise operator websites, such as TUI and Carnival, or on job sites like Indeed. You may need some employment requirements, such as speaking a second language, first aid training, or prior marine experience, so make sure you check eligibility before applying.
Private Yachts
If you don’t want to go to sea with thousands of people every day, the private yachting industry might be for you. There’s been a huge boost in interest in recent years thanks to TV shows like Below Deck, which show the ins and outs of working on yachts.
You will need marine experience if you want to be a deckhand or operational crew, or hospitality and/or housekeeping experience if you want to be on the interior staff. There are also jobs for talented chefs and kitchen staff. You will need to have a current STCW Basic Safety Training Certificate and also an ENG 1 (Seafarers Medical Certificate, as well as a valid passport and relevant visas.
The pressures of the private yachting industry are different to cruise ship work. You will work either on charter yachts, which have different people hiring the yacht and crew for short trips, or as a private crew member for a yacht owner. It is usually seasonal work, although some people may find year-round work, such as chefs, or sailing crew who can move boats between locations during off-season.
How much can I earn?
You’ll get your accommodation and food included, and depending on your experience the pay can be relatively good when you take into account the low living expenses. A junior stew can earn around $3,500 a month, while a senior or chief could earn upwards of $5,000. Crews may also receive tips, which can top up earnings significantly, but this isn’t guaranteed income. You will most likely be paid in dollars, so will need an international bank account such as Revolut or Stripe, or be prepared to take a hit on currency conversion fees.
You can find private yachting jobs on specialist websites like Blue Water Yachting and The Crew Network.
Pub Manager
Running a pub is hard work, especially in today’s squeeze on hospitality making profit margins small. However, it can be a great job, sociable, and come with big job satisfaction when done well. Many pubs include live-in accommodation for the manager; this might also be the people who own the franchise of a chain, or who are hired by the pub owner to run it on a day-to-day basis. Pub accommodation is more permanent in that it is a full living space, such as a flat above the pub itself, and means it can suit couples and those with pets, compared to some other jobs on this list. It’s also not seasonal work, so you are able to have year-round accommodation security while you’re in the job.
To become a live-in pub manager, you’ll need to have extensive hospitality experience. You also need a good head for business, from the financials to the legalities of being an employer or responsible for a team of people, the licensing and entertainment rules, and how to market your pub to get loads of customers! It’s an ‘everything job’ where you’ll wear a lot of different hats, but it can be incredibly rewarding and put you right at the heart of a community.
How to find live in pub work
There are sometimes live-in opportunities for more junior bar staff, too. So, if you don’t have loads of experience yet, it’s still worth looking for live-in bar jobs. You can look on websites like Caterer.com for vacancies, while brewery websites like Greene King and Samuel Smith will also have vacancies and franchise opportunities.
Au Pair or Nanny
An au pair and nanny are similar jobs. An au pair tends to be a younger person on a shorter term working visa, in a foreign country to their own, while a nanny is a more formal childcare provider, often a citizen of the country which allows longer term childcare.
Au pairs and nannies tend to be live-in roles, with accommodation included. It may or may not include food, but your utilities bills will be covered. While you are live-in, you’re not supposed to be ‘on call’ 24/7, unless you have a high salary that reflects this. However, you may find ‘job creep’ happening because you live in the same house.
You will be responsible for managing childcare in the family you’re hired by. This might be taking them to and from school, helping with homework, taking them to activities, encouraging them with playtime, and much more. Some families like their nanny to be very hands-on and involved in all aspects of their child’s life, while others will have set roles and set times of day you’re needed (such as the school run). You may also be required to help with tasks like cleaning the home and helping with the children’s laundry, and cooking some meals for the children. Boundaries can sometimes become blurred, so it’s helpful to think: “does this task benefit the children or just the parents?”. Your tasks should be for the benefit of the children; anything that is solely for the parents (such as fetching their dry cleaning) is not your job.
How much will you earn?
You must still be paid National Minimum Wage as a live-in nanny in the UK; your accommodation cannot be used instead of payment (which is classed as slavery). It is important to keep track of your working hours. Depending on the hours you’re contracted to do, you could earn between £300-£900 a week as a junior nanny, and £800 a week or more once you have a few years’ experience. If you work with children with additional needs, your pay should be higher than average. Having certificates such as child first aid, early learning, or qualifications in handling children with additional needs can be beneficial to finding work. Find live in nanny jobs on specialist sites like Little Ones London or Eden Private Staff, or on broader sites like Indeed.
Au pairs in the UK must earn National Minimum Wage, but this can vary in other countries. Instead, your host family is expected to cover all of your expenses and give you ‘pocket money’, which can be anything from £100 – £400 a week depending on which country you work in, the family size and needs, and any au pair agency minimum requirements. Sign up with an au pair agency to find work, because they will also be able to help you manage the required working visas.
Live-In Carer
Caring is a vital industry, providing support to people who need help to live on their own or in care homes. If you’re a sociable person and enjoy working closely with people, it could be an ideal job. You will need to be comfortable with providing people with personal care such as helping with bathing and getting dressed.
If you have caring experience and want a more one-to-one job, a live-in carer could be the role for you. These jobs include accommodation and utilities, and often some food as well. You will be expected to provide full-time care to the person you live with, and the tasks this includes will vary depending on their needs but often includes personal hygiene, dressing, cooking and/or feeding, taking them to appointments and activities, medication management, and also companionship such as watching TV or reading a book together.
Live-in caring roles can be quite intensive, especially as you are always ‘on the clock’ if your client has high needs or is at risk of medical emergency. You are legally entitled to time off, however, so make sure there are some arrangements in place such as visiting carers to allow you the required downtime. Some clients will have two live-in carers who rotate a day and night shift for 24/7 care. There are also some roles for live-in carers within care home settings, as an on-call carer – you will usually need several years’ care experience to be considered for these positions.
How much can I earn?
You will need some care training, but if you are hired via an agency this training is often included before you are placed at a job. Your role may involve specialist care for people with additional needs or limited mental capacity, so extra training in these areas is very helpful. You may be placed in a long-term role for supportive care, or shorter term as palliative end-of-life care, so will need to be prepared for the high emotional toll this type of job can take.
Weekly rates are between £700 – £1400, depending on experience and job requirements.
HomeShare Scheme
There is one scheme that isn’t a carer job, but could provide you with housing. The HomeShare scheme pairs older people with younger people, with the young person paying no or low rent in exchange for supporting the older person. It can be a way to gain caring experience while also keeping your expenses low, even if you can’t find a job with free accommodation for the meantime. Find out more on the HomeShare website.
Accommodation Warden
Some places will have a live-in person who is on-call for residents to help manage maintenance requests, organise community activities, and aid with visitors including assisting with coordinating healthcare or being the person who calls for an ambulance in an emergency.
Most accommodation wardens are employed in retirement communities. They are there to provide peace of mind to residents, who either own or rent their homes in the complex, helping with day-to-day maintenance, organising activities and social events, and even helping with things like technology advice (such as helping them set up Zoom to talk to their families). You’re not expected to provide one-to-one personal care like a live-in carer, and will live in your own flat or house rather than with residents. You will have to pay your own expenses like food and utilities, unlike some other jobs on this list.
You may also be an accommodation warden for a property like student halls. These roles tend to be given to mature students in their final years of study, in exchange for reduced or free rent, rather than as full-time jobs.
Wardens may also be employed at independent living facilities for people with additional needs, or at shelter accommodation such as domestic abuse refuges or community rehabilitation homes (‘halfway houses’). These roles need additional training and relevant experience, but can be incredibly rewarding jobs.
How much can I earn?
Accommodation warden roles vary. As with any other live-in role, you must be paid National Minimum Wage for the hours you work, and employment rules like regular breaks also apply. An average annual salary for a junior warden is £24,000 – £28,000 per year – but remember, your rent is included so your living expenses are significantly lower than live-out jobs.
