He only stayed with us for a month. He was over here looking for a job with plans to come back just as my Dad had done many years before. He was from Denmark, my father's homeland. A friend of a friends family. I would say he was in his late 20's. He never bothered us and I slept upstairs with my kids. He had a room off the kitchen downstairs on the main floor. It had it's own entrance and bathroom but he did use the kitchen although rarely.

I only worried because I am a worrier at the best of times.
He did not give me any cause for worry. But because he was a stanger to us I kept me attenna up. My main concern was my children as I don't trust anyone around them. They were never home alone with him. They went to after school care and I picked them up on the way home from work. At the time they were 12 and 13.

I also had an 18 year old Japanese student for a month. He was more of a challenge as I had to provide meals for him, take him on outings, make him feel like part of the family.
We really enjoyed him and he interacted well with my kids even though he could not speak English.

I was trying to make a little extra money as my rent was/is very high so I thought I'd try a few short term situations to see if this would work for me. It didn't. Both the guy from Denmark and the woman who also stayed for a month were ok, I just decided it was not worth it to have help with the rent. I prefer my own space and found it a bit of a hassle.

I would do the student exchange student thing again as my kids really enjoyed having a teenager around from another country. They also enjoyed all the outings with the other students, we went out quite a bit as a group. The exchange student program paid but not enough to cover my costs. I just felt it was a great experience for my kids. It was really tiring for me.
Kate