Moving to VA - how long does it really take to get a spot in daycare - panicking a bit...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks a lot for all the responses, I am now officially out of panic mode .
I did ring up a few places around Sterling and indeed no mention of waitlists, most places reckon they were likely to have availability around then and prices quoted between $1200 and $1700 a month, priciest being for a Montessori center. So now we are not going to bother about going on waiting lists, at 150$ a pop we feel it's daylight robbery... Also not knowing the place we might end up securing a place somewhere we don't like or very impractictal locationwise.
So we'll investigate once we have found where we want to live and if we don't find anything right around where we live, we can put her somewhere around Sterling, where my husband will work, until we get something closer.
Nearly making me wish we could live in Sterling as everything seems a lot more affordable, but I'll be working in DC and I think it'd be a nightmare of a commute. Although I hope the Arlington - Sterling/Ashburn commute won't be too dreadful for my husband, I've looked online a bit, but it's hard to find an accurate estimate. If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears .
Thanks again for the very useful advice !!
Marion

I work in Sterling. Several coworkes live in/near Arlington. They typically spend 45 min - 1 hour getting to work, and sometimes longer getting home. The reverse commute can be deceptive. A lot will depend on time of day, weather, time of year, etc. Add on whatever time your DH will need for daycare dropoff/pickup, plus dealing with an infant in the car for a longer commute. Not sure I'd want to do that myself.
I agree with PPs who suggest you look in Reston for housing and plan on taking Metro to your place of employment.

Another one who agrees that Reston near the metro is a great compromise. I used to commute to Sterling from the Courthouse area of Arlington, and 45 minutes was standard. If you get on the metro at Reston you would get a seat.

Where in DC are you working, location wise?

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the tips.
Unfortunately where I will be working in DC (Reservoir Road, near the Medstar Georgetown University Hospital) seems to not be so great for public transport. From what I gather, closest metro stop would be Farragut West, and I'd still have 25 minutes on the bus after that, so I'm guessing a commute of at least an hour and a half. My daughter is asleep by 7pm, so weeknights I would hardly see her.
For my husband, best case scenario, if we find a daycare close to our house, I'll drop our baby off in the mornings so he can work early shifts, he'd be starting work at 7am and finishing at 3pm, hoping this would make the commute easier. If she has to go to daycare around Sterling for a bit then he would have to work 8-4 or 9-5, longer commute I imagine, with a baby in the back, but that would only be temporary, until we find somewhere closer to home.
Hard work to find somewhere with 1) ok commute to Sterling/Ashburn 2) ok commute to DC by public transport or bike (really trying to save on the expense and headache of getting a 2nd car) 3) good daycare close by 4)housing and daycare at a price we can afford, and all that with no knowing the area at all...

[Anonymous]

marion3332911 wrote: Hi,
We are relocating from Florida to Virginia in August with our daughter who will be 18 months by then.
We would like to find a house around the Arlington area (I’ll be working in DC and my husband in the Ashburn/Sterling area).
I just started ringing daycare centers today and was shocked when they announced wait lists of 6 months to 2 years and tuition of around $2500 a month.
Our current daycare charges $1200 for infants and $990 for toddlers and no waiting list so that is quite a shock.
We are quite reluctant to commit on a place before being able to see it and especially before knowing where we are going to live.
Do you think it is realistically possible to find our daughter a spot in daycare within 2-4 weeks, after arriving in Virginia around August 20th ?
We are open to daycare centers, home daycare and don’t know much about nanny shares but could consider it. And if possible at a rate lower than $2500...
Would welcome any thoughts and comments as we are getting quite worried...
Thanks in advance.
Marion

The answer is obviously no. You don’t have the time or opportunity to get a deal. Just try to get a spot at a reputable preschool. You waited too long.

[Anonymous]

There are many places in Arlington where you won't get a spot before your daughter enters K. Don't get suckered into paying deposits for those places.

Consider an au pair and part time preschool. It's super common around here. It sounds like you could make do with 45 hours of coverage work by staggering your hours.

[Anonymous]

OP - what is your housing budget? That will also determine where you live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

marion3332911 wrote:

The answer is obviously no. You don’t have the time or opportunity to get a deal. Just try to get a spot at a reputable preschool. You waited too long.

Hum it’s obviously not obvious for me otherwise I wouldn’t be asking. And it’s oviously not obvious to other people on this forum that have given very different answers.
Also I did not wait, started ringing daycare the day after I got my posting from work.
But thanks for the negativity all the same...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - what is your housing budget? That will also determine where you live.

Around $2000 if I have to have a car, up to 2500$ if I can commute to work by bike/public transport/uberpool.
We are after a 3 bedroom or 2 bedroom + basement/family room/den.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are many places in Arlington where you won't get a spot before your daughter enters K. Don't get suckered into paying deposits for those places.

Consider an au pair and part time preschool. It's super common around here. It sounds like you could make do with 45 hours of coverage work by staggering your hours.

Thanks for the idea but really not keen on having someone live in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - what is your housing budget? That will also determine where you live.

Around $2000 if I have to have a car, up to 2500$ if I can commute to work by bike/public transport/uberpool.
We are after a 3 bedroom or 2 bedroom + basement/family room/den.

Pretty tight budget for Arlington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - what is your housing budget? That will also determine where you live.

Around $2000 if I have to have a car, up to 2500$ if I can commute to work by bike/public transport/uberpool.
We are after a 3 bedroom or 2 bedroom + basement/family room/den.

That is going to be very difficult to swing in Arlington, unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks a lot for all the responses, I am now officially out of panic mode .
I did ring up a few places around Sterling and indeed no mention of waitlists, most places reckon they were likely to have availability around then and prices quoted between $1200 and $1700 a month, priciest being for a Montessori center. So now we are not going to bother about going on waiting lists, at 150$ a pop we feel it's daylight robbery... Also not knowing the place we might end up securing a place somewhere we don't like or very impractictal locationwise.
So we'll investigate once we have found where we want to live and if we don't find anything right around where we live, we can put her somewhere around Sterling, where my husband will work, until we get something closer.
Nearly making me wish we could live in Sterling as everything seems a lot more affordable, but I'll be working in DC and I think it'd be a nightmare of a commute. Although I hope the Arlington - Sterling/Ashburn commute won't be too dreadful for my husband, I've looked online a bit, but it's hard to find an accurate estimate. If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears .
Thanks again for the very useful advice !!
Marion

Good luck, OP...just couldn't help but chime in and say that your British accent is very charming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - what is your housing budget? That will also determine where you live.

Around $2000 if I have to have a car, up to 2500$ if I can commute to work by bike/public transport/uberpool.
We are after a 3 bedroom or 2 bedroom + basement/family room/den.

That is going to be very difficult to swing in Arlington, unfortunately.

We have seen some properties around there in that price point. Not luxury but that’s not what we are after. I’d love to live a bit further than that but dying inside at the thought of hardly seeing my baby girl all week because of the commute...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks a lot for all the responses, I am now officially out of panic mode .
I did ring up a few places around Sterling and indeed no mention of waitlists, most places reckon they were likely to have availability around then and prices quoted between $1200 and $1700 a month, priciest being for a Montessori center. So now we are not going to bother about going on waiting lists, at 150$ a pop we feel it's daylight robbery... Also not knowing the place we might end up securing a place somewhere we don't like or very impractictal locationwise.
So we'll investigate once we have found where we want to live and if we don't find anything right around where we live, we can put her somewhere around Sterling, where my husband will work, until we get something closer.
Nearly making me wish we could live in Sterling as everything seems a lot more affordable, but I'll be working in DC and I think it'd be a nightmare of a commute. Although I hope the Arlington - Sterling/Ashburn commute won't be too dreadful for my husband, I've looked online a bit, but it's hard to find an accurate estimate. If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears .
Thanks again for the very useful advice !!
Marion

Good luck, OP...just couldn't help but chime in and say that your British accent is very charming.

Thank you, not bad for a French bird eh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - what is your housing budget? That will also determine where you live.

Around $2000 if I have to have a car, up to 2500$ if I can commute to work by bike/public transport/uberpool.
We are after a 3 bedroom or 2 bedroom + basement/family room/den.

That is going to be very difficult to swing in Arlington, unfortunately.

We have seen some properties around there in that price point. Not luxury but that’s not what we are after. I’d love to live a bit further than that but dying inside at the thought of hardly seeing my baby girl all week because of the commute...

You have seen them in person?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are many places in Arlington where you won't get a spot before your daughter enters K. Don't get suckered into paying deposits for those places.

Consider an au pair and part time preschool. It's super common around here. It sounds like you could make do with 45 hours of coverage work by staggering your hours.

Thanks for the idea but really not keen on having someone live in.

This may fall in the category of beggars cant be choosers. You are going to have a very hard time finding daycare within your budget in Arlington on short notice. I'm not keen on taking my kids with me to work, hence the au pair.