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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, several blue or yellow line northern va metro stations will be closed this summer for maintenance. Don’t forget to take that into account.

The McLean/Reston/Sterling corridor is all orange and silver but don’t lose sight of that...

I thought Blue/Yellow was the first phase, and eventually all of the outdoor stations will be closed for maintenance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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...

Let's look at the issues point by point and their feasibility and what I've come up with is you're really SOL at this point and you must be willing to splurge a bit to sustain your working situation:
1) ok commute to Sterling/Ashburn/ok commute to DC by public transport or bike (really trying to save on the expense and headache of getting a 2nd car)
This is practically a nonstarter. For the commute to Sterling/Ashburn with any semblance of public transportation to DC, your best bet is Reston. However, your commute to DC would be a pain, especially in the part of town where you work--a higher end area where public transportation is limited for a reason. Also, the Washington DC metro is not the most reliable system, especially in summer and the fact that part of the silver line is above ground doesn't help. Therefore, one of the priorities has to be give up. I'd lean more towards giving up the reliance on public transport. That way your living quarter won't be limited to living in close-in proximity to public transportation.
2) good daycare close by Based on your working situation, there are two primary solutions. If close to housing--one of you does drop off and the other does pick up. If you DH can do early shifts, then he does pick up. Yes, you might have to sacrifice some facetime with your child if 7:00 p.m. bed time is a strict requirement. Close to worksite--this solution will only work for you. However, given where you work childcare expense will be high.
3)housing and daycare at a price we can afford, and all that with no knowing the area at all... You should get the picture by now that the DMV area has one of the highest cost of living in the country, which is why many people here say that they are midlevel earners when their HHI is at 200k. I'd also try and look into any nanny share arrangements.

NP here. The quoted poster is 100% correct. Your jobs are 27 miles and 35 minutes away from each other without traffic and that's with paying the very high tolls on the Dulles Toll Road (VA 267). If you avoid tolls, the route without traffic becomes 45 minutes and 24 miles. The DC Metro area has some of the worst traffic in the entire country, and it's much worse on the Virginia side than on the Maryland side. Your place of employment is also directly across from some of the most clogged bridges in the region. The wait to cross the Chain Bridge is pretty long and it's worse if you take the Key Bridge. In other words, something, or someone has got to give.

Your daycare expenses will be astronomical compared to Florida if you live in Arlington or find a cheap 2 BR in the Foxhall neighborhood close to your work. My suggestion is to live closer to Sterling where you will find an apartment in your 2-car price range and an in-home daycare similar to what you're paying in Florida, have your husband work 9-5, you work from 6-2 if at all possible (and plan on leaving your house at 5:15 AM), and raise your child's bedtime to 9:00 to get more quality time with her. There will be traffic starting at 3:00 leaving DC (by 1:00 on summer Fridays) and it only continues to get worse until 6:00. There will be traffic if you leave work any time from 3:00 - 7:00, and likely other times, too. Plus, you'll have tolls and you'll have to pay for garage parking in DC, so make sure you factor those into the equation.

If you want to ride a bike, you can take an hour to ride your bike if you work the 6-2 shift before picking up your daughter at 4:30, or just have your husband pick her up after work at 5:30.

FTR, we live in Silver Spring outside the Beltway. Our in-home daycare charges $210/week, the center we've been at before is currently $1,550/month for children under 2 years, and rent for a 3 BR apartment is going for about $2,200/month in our neighborhood, inclusive of utilities, feeding into an elementary school that has a Greatschools rating of 2. In other words, this is a crazy expensive area.

I hope everything works out for you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there a bus or a shuttle or something that can get you from the silver line in Rosslyn (if you lived in Reston) to work? Even Uber or Lyft depending on how the rest of your budget works out?

There is but i think it would be another good 25 minutes on top of the 45 minutes metro journey. And that's considering minimal waiting times, everything running smoothly and living very close to the metro. I need to see if I'm prepared to have an 1h15-1h30 commute to work...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:hmm. Don't worry about daycare- something will work out. You will be able to get a home day care spot or a nanny share.
Have you used the metro trip planner?
https://www.wmata.com/schedules/trip-planner/trip-planner-results.cfm?locationLatLng=&destinationLatLng=38.9114532%2C-77.07527470000002&location=WIEHLE-RESTON+EAST+METRO+STATION&destination=Georgetown+University+Hospital&travelby-trip-planner=BCFKLRSTX123&arrdep-trip-planner=D&hour-leaving-trip-planner=8&minute-leaving-trip-planner=14&period-leaving-trip-planner=AM&month-leaving-trip-planner=5&day-leaving-trip-planner=16&route-trip-planner=T&walk-distance-trip-planner=.75

I would try a trip from a few different locations. I wouldn't necessarily assume that being in parts of Arlington is faster than being in Reston- if you are looking at public transit. For example I plugged in from Wiehle metro (Reston) to Georgetown Hospital- I got a commute of 87 minutes. Then I tried Shirlington library (south arlington) to Georgetown Hospital and also got a commute of 87 minutes. South Arlington is also going to be substantially worse for your husband- b/c he will have to get across Arlington, then start heading out 267.

Setting aside prices, it seems like an ideal location would be McLean, near Chain bridge. You can drive down Chain Bridge Road, and across Chain Bridge, for a pretty quick commute to Georgetown Hospital. He can drive out 123 to 267.

I know you mentioned biking to work? This could be a good way to get there depending on your physical fitness, need for shower and accessibility of shower, what type of clothing you wear at work, willingness to bike in all weather. But I would think carefully about the realism of this plan.

Thanks that's a good idea. Any ideas on the situation re:daycare around Mc Lean or the McLean/Sterling commute ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are these jobs both set in stone? I just feel like no where is going to give you a semi decent commute. I used to work in DC and DH worked in Dulles. We lived in Falls Church. I had an hour + commute (unreliable by bus and metro) and DH had a 45 minute driving commute. We didn't think we could have kids with each of us having a nearly hour commute so I got a job in Reston and moved here. We both have under 10 minute commutes now.

Yep both jobs very much set in stone... Only for a couple years but still would prefer if those 2 years weren't complete hell...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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...

Let's look at the issues point by point and their feasibility and what I've come up with is you're really SOL at this point and you must be willing to splurge a bit to sustain your working situation:
1) ok commute to Sterling/Ashburn/ok commute to DC by public transport or bike (really trying to save on the expense and headache of getting a 2nd car)
This is practically a nonstarter. For the commute to Sterling/Ashburn with any semblance of public transportation to DC, your best bet is Reston. However, your commute to DC would be a pain, especially in the part of town where you work--a higher end area where public transportation is limited for a reason. Also, the Washington DC metro is not the most reliable system, especially in summer and the fact that part of the silver line is above ground doesn't help. Therefore, one of the priorities has to be give up. I'd lean more towards giving up the reliance on public transport. That way your living quarter won't be limited to living in close-in proximity to public transportation.
2) good daycare close by Based on your working situation, there are two primary solutions. If close to housing--one of you does drop off and the other does pick up. If you DH can do early shifts, then he does pick up. Yes, you might have to sacrifice some facetime with your child if 7:00 p.m. bed time is a strict requirement. Close to worksite--this solution will only work for you. However, given where you work childcare expense will be high.
3)housing and daycare at a price we can afford, and all that with no knowing the area at all... You should get the picture by now that the DMV area has one of the highest cost of living in the country, which is why many people here say that they are midlevel earners when their HHI is at 200k. I'd also try and look into any nanny share arrangements.

NP here. The quoted poster is 100% correct. Your jobs are 27 miles and 35 minutes away from each other without traffic and that's with paying the very high tolls on the Dulles Toll Road (VA 267). If you avoid tolls, the route without traffic becomes 45 minutes and 24 miles. The DC Metro area has some of the worst traffic in the entire country, and it's much worse on the Virginia side than on the Maryland side. Your place of employment is also directly across from some of the most clogged bridges in the region. The wait to cross the Chain Bridge is pretty long and it's worse if you take the Key Bridge. In other words, something, or someone has got to give.

Your daycare expenses will be astronomical compared to Florida if you live in Arlington or find a cheap 2 BR in the Foxhall neighborhood close to your work. My suggestion is to live closer to Sterling where you will find an apartment in your 2-car price range and an in-home daycare similar to what you're paying in Florida, have your husband work 9-5, you work from 6-2 if at all possible (and plan on leaving your house at 5:15 AM), and raise your child's bedtime to 9:00 to get more quality time with her. There will be traffic starting at 3:00 leaving DC (by 1:00 on summer Fridays) and it only continues to get worse until 6:00. There will be traffic if you leave work any time from 3:00 - 7:00, and likely other times, too. Plus, you'll have tolls and you'll have to pay for garage parking in DC, so make sure you factor those into the equation.

If you want to ride a bike, you can take an hour to ride your bike if you work the 6-2 shift before picking up your daughter at 4:30, or just have your husband pick her up after work at 5:30.

FTR, we live in Silver Spring outside the Beltway. Our in-home daycare charges $210/week, the center we've been at before is currently $1,550/month for children under 2 years, and rent for a 3 BR apartment is going for about $2,200/month in our neighborhood, inclusive of utilities, feeding into an elementary school that has a Greatschools rating of 2. In other words, this is a crazy expensive area.

I hope everything works out for you!

Thanks for your detailled analysis, I have to say I really appreciate how many people are taking the time to answer, your help is precious !!
I was asked with work if I could do "early" shift but I know a 6-2 is not going to be on the cards. I'll be positively impressed if they agree to a 7.30 - 4 to be honest, but that would still allow me to be home around 5-5.30 even with a monster commute, which would leave me a couple hours with my daughter in the evenings. 9pm for her bedtime is a no-no as well, she is a big sleeper, and it would not be quality time after 7pm as she would be exhausted. But that's given me food for thought thanks a lot !!

[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.

This is a very small budget OP. I rent my one-bedroom in DC for $2.1K and it is only 700sqft. Living in Sterling might be your only option, as I don't believe you can afford Arlington with this budget. Have you considered moving further out to Western Loudoun County and just taking the commuter bus into Rosslyn and then G-Town Univ shuttle? Sterling might be another option, but it is pretty gross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there a bus or a shuttle or something that can get you from the silver line in Rosslyn (if you lived in Reston) to work? Even Uber or Lyft depending on how the rest of your budget works out?

There is but i think it would be another good 25 minutes on top of the 45 minutes metro journey. And that's considering minimal waiting times, everything running smoothly and living very close to the metro. I need to see if I'm prepared to have an 1h15-1h30 commute to work...

honestly that's just going to happen to at least one of you if not both.

[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.

This is a very small budget OP. I rent my one-bedroom in DC for $2.1K and it is only 700sqft. Living in Sterling might be your only option, as I don't believe you can afford Arlington with this budget. Have you considered moving further out to Western Loudoun County and just taking the commuter bus into Rosslyn and then G-Town Univ shuttle? Sterling might be another option, but it is pretty gross.

Sorry OP....I meant Reston, it is very sterile though.....maybe consider Leesburg/Ashburn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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...

Let's look at the issues point by point and their feasibility and what I've come up with is you're really SOL at this point and you must be willing to splurge a bit to sustain your working situation:
1) ok commute to Sterling/Ashburn/ok commute to DC by public transport or bike (really trying to save on the expense and headache of getting a 2nd car)
This is practically a nonstarter. For the commute to Sterling/Ashburn with any semblance of public transportation to DC, your best bet is Reston. However, your commute to DC would be a pain, especially in the part of town where you work--a higher end area where public transportation is limited for a reason. Also, the Washington DC metro is not the most reliable system, especially in summer and the fact that part of the silver line is above ground doesn't help. Therefore, one of the priorities has to be give up. I'd lean more towards giving up the reliance on public transport. That way your living quarter won't be limited to living in close-in proximity to public transportation.
2) good daycare close by Based on your working situation, there are two primary solutions. If close to housing--one of you does drop off and the other does pick up. If you DH can do early shifts, then he does pick up. Yes, you might have to sacrifice some facetime with your child if 7:00 p.m. bed time is a strict requirement. Close to worksite--this solution will only work for you. However, given where you work childcare expense will be high.
3)housing and daycare at a price we can afford, and all that with no knowing the area at all... You should get the picture by now that the DMV area has one of the highest cost of living in the country, which is why many people here say that they are midlevel earners when their HHI is at 200k. I'd also try and look into any nanny share arrangements.

NP here. The quoted poster is 100% correct. Your jobs are 27 miles and 35 minutes away from each other without traffic and that's with paying the very high tolls on the Dulles Toll Road (VA 267). If you avoid tolls, the route without traffic becomes 45 minutes and 24 miles. The DC Metro area has some of the worst traffic in the entire country, and it's much worse on the Virginia side than on the Maryland side. Your place of employment is also directly across from some of the most clogged bridges in the region. The wait to cross the Chain Bridge is pretty long and it's worse if you take the Key Bridge. In other words, something, or someone has got to give.

Your daycare expenses will be astronomical compared to Florida if you live in Arlington or find a cheap 2 BR in the Foxhall neighborhood close to your work. My suggestion is to live closer to Sterling where you will find an apartment in your 2-car price range and an in-home daycare similar to what you're paying in Florida, have your husband work 9-5, you work from 6-2 if at all possible (and plan on leaving your house at 5:15 AM), and raise your child's bedtime to 9:00 to get more quality time with her. There will be traffic starting at 3:00 leaving DC (by 1:00 on summer Fridays) and it only continues to get worse until 6:00. There will be traffic if you leave work any time from 3:00 - 7:00, and likely other times, too. Plus, you'll have tolls and you'll have to pay for garage parking in DC, so make sure you factor those into the equation.

If you want to ride a bike, you can take an hour to ride your bike if you work the 6-2 shift before picking up your daughter at 4:30, or just have your husband pick her up after work at 5:30.

FTR, we live in Silver Spring outside the Beltway. Our in-home daycare charges $210/week, the center we've been at before is currently $1,550/month for children under 2 years, and rent for a 3 BR apartment is going for about $2,200/month in our neighborhood, inclusive of utilities, feeding into an elementary school that has a Greatschools rating of 2. In other words, this is a crazy expensive area.

I hope everything works out for you!

Thanks for your detailled analysis, I have to say I really appreciate how many people are taking the time to answer, your help is precious !!
I was asked with work if I could do "early" shift but I know a 6-2 is not going to be on the cards. I'll be positively impressed if they agree to a 7.30 - 4 to be honest, but that would still allow me to be home around 5-5.30 even with a monster commute, which would leave me a couple hours with my daughter in the evenings. 9pm for her bedtime is a no-no as well, she is a big sleeper, and it would not be quality time after 7pm as she would be exhausted. But that's given me food for thought thanks a lot !!

10:01 here again. You're welcome and I think that everyone wants to help you because we've all been there at some point when the shock of the expense of this area hits us. Every couple has had that breaking point when they realized they could go broke on two incomes that look great on paper in this area. I think we're all just trying to help you avoid some of that.

If you can't do the early shift, could you time your work hours so that you get quality time with your daughter in the morning for several hours before daycare and then you miss bedtime? Maybe working 10:30 - 6:30 or 11:00 - 7:00? The commute wouldn't be as good as 6:00-2:00, but you would probably have from the time your daughter wakes up until 9:30 or 10:00 with her. You could have special breakfasts together at Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, a diner, etc with her before daycare. This works assuming your work has enough parking for you to arrive that late and that they allow you to arrive that late. It makes getting a bicycle ride in on a weekday a bit more difficult, but you would get the time with your daughter you want, you would stay within budget, and you would both have the least crappy commute combination possible.

[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.

This is a very small budget OP. I rent my one-bedroom in DC for $2.1K and it is only 700sqft. Living in Sterling might be your only option, as I don't believe you can afford Arlington with this budget. Have you considered moving further out to Western Loudoun County and just taking the commuter bus into Rosslyn and then G-Town Univ shuttle? Sterling might be another option, but it is pretty gross.

Are the university shuttles not just for students and staff of the university ?