Childcare for single parent with seemingly good job

[Anonymous]

Agree with PPs that you have to look at finances over the long haul. Breaking your lease seems to be the only option to get cheaper rent and cheaper child care. You could absolutely get lower rent farther out... It may hurt now but will end up being less over the long haul.

For comparison, I cannot afford to live in the district and have a spouse, two kids, and have HHI tripe yours. You may need to think about PG county or Silver Spring.

[Anonymous]

$200 a month in home daycare in Silver Spring is probably not very good care. Even in Gaithersburg, the lowest I find is $250 and it doesn't seem very good (violations, messy, etc). The one big drawback to moving out of the beltway is the commuting which sucks. OP has to do drop off and pick up herself and it's not easy when you work far from home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks everyone who posted helpful advice! I really appreciate it.

Where are the church daycares posted? I am looking on the dc.gov website but the list of licensed daycare is not much and all of the ones I called so far have no availability.

Btw, I selected all the wards, not just ward 3 which yielded no result at all.

You may have checked these out already OP, but a PP mentioned St. Ann's, and nearby in DC, across the street from each other are Rhema and Our Redeemer.

[Anonymous]

Two things you need to accept:
1.) count your losses as early as possible and thing about long term benefit. Pay to break out of your lease and find somewhere there is drastically cheaper, which leads to point #2
2.) If you haven't learnt by now, with a convenient/"safe"/hip neighborhood you pay an exuberant premium. Ward 3 is way above your pay grade being in the low six figures. You need to consider neighborhoods that were a bit outside your comfort zone before moving here.

[Anonymous]

OP, you need to be looking north in Ward 4 for childcare. It's $2500 per month for siblings you kids age at my center. There are a bunch more along Kennedy Street. Blandi's CDC only charged $250 a week when I toured them and had openings. There is a brand new center on Georgia and Madison. In-homes are even cheaper in Petworth/Brightwood. Anything below Petworth will be $2000 per kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks everyone who posted helpful advice! I really appreciate it.

Where are the church daycares posted? I am looking on the dc.gov website but the list of licensed daycare is not much and all of the ones I called so far have no availability.

Btw, I selected all the wards, not just ward 3 which yielded no result at all.

You may have checked these out already OP, but a PP mentioned St. Ann's, and nearby in DC, across the street from each other are Rhema and Our Redeemer.

I live in this area, St. Anns is well-loved by many. I have had kids in Heritage for almost 7 years now and really love it there. Almost all the main teachers there are the same ones as when my oldest started almost 7 years ago (he's at Mt. Rainier Elementary and Joe's Movement Emporium for after care/camp now, which is also really great). All the daycares right in this area are about the same price and most affordable in the DC area. Stay away from Gateway in Mt. Rainier though. There is also a Petit Scholars opening soon close-by on Rhode Island Ave NE, and also check out Mindbloom up the street on Rhode Island Ave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks everyone who posted helpful advice! I really appreciate it.

Where are the church daycares posted? I am looking on the dc.gov website but the list of licensed daycare is not much and all of the ones I called so far have no availability.

Btw, I selected all the wards, not just ward 3 which yielded no result at all.

You may have checked these out already OP, but a PP mentioned St. Ann's, and nearby in DC, across the street from each other are Rhema and Our Redeemer.

I live in this area, St. Anns is well-loved by many. I have had kids in Heritage for almost 7 years now and really love it there. Almost all the main teachers there are the same ones as when my oldest started almost 7 years ago (he's at Mt. Rainier Elementary and Joe's Movement Emporium for after care/camp now, which is also really great). All the daycares right in this area are about the same price and most affordable in the DC area. Stay away from Gateway in Mt. Rainier though. There is also a Petit Scholars opening soon close-by on Rhode Island Ave NE, and also check out Mindbloom up the street on Rhode Island Ave.

Also on Rhode Island Ave NE but closer in is Calvary Christian. From my experience Calvary and Heritage generally have wait lists, Rhema and Our Redeemer don't, and I don't know about St Anns, but I think OP should feel very comfortable with any of these options should she be offered a spot.

[Anonymous]

The apt management company might be willng to cut you a break on the lease-breaking fee, if you explain your situation. Can't hurt to ask. Go in person with the kids and cry a little.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two things you need to accept:
1.) count your losses as early as possible and thing about long term benefit. Pay to break out of your lease and find somewhere there is drastically cheaper, which leads to point #2
2.) If you haven't learnt by now, with a convenient/"safe"/hip neighborhood you pay an exuberant premium. Ward 3 is way above your pay grade being in the low six figures. You need to consider neighborhoods that were a bit outside your comfort zone before moving here.

+1. Sorry OP, I know you're in a tough spot but there is no magic math to be had here. You cannot afford to live where you want to live. You'll need to break the lease and look elsewhere or plan on going into fairly substantial debt to make ends meet.

We LOVED our old neighborhood in Ward 1 but we knew we needed to move to be able to afford rent and daycare. We moved to a way less fun, way less fancy neighborhood on the west side of Alexandria that is safe but boring. I miss our old neighborhood all the time but it is what it is. Our rent + daycare costs here are only $200 more than just rent was in our old neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

First of all I feel for you and please pay no attention to the posters who are criticizing you. But before you break you lease and move I would think carefully about what that would do to your commute. I was in a similar situation and stayed in the expensive close in neighborhood so that I could get to and from work without having to rack up babysitting fees. There can be hidden costs to moving further out. All told I think it was the best solution.

Could you possible negotiate a smaller apartment on the building? A one bedroom or even studio? Not ideal, but neither is a long commute.

I also took on a lot of extra work that I could do from home. It saved me. Again not ideal but then again you aren't going to be out partying!

Please post an update ... I am thinking of you!

[Anonymous]

Do you have any savings? It's never ideal to go through savings but this might be a good reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First of all I feel for you and please pay no attention to the posters who are criticizing you. But before you break you lease and move I would think carefully about what that would do to your commute. I was in a similar situation and stayed in the expensive close in neighborhood so that I could get to and from work without having to rack up babysitting fees. There can be hidden costs to moving further out. All told I think it was the best solution.

Could you possible negotiate a smaller apartment on the building? A one bedroom or even studio? Not ideal, but neither is a long commute.

I also took on a lot of extra work that I could do from home. It saved me. Again not ideal but then again you aren't going to be out partying!

Please post an update ... I am thinking of you!

I make a similar income, and live in the Fairfax County part of Alexandria. I don't need an extra babysitter to accommodate my commute. My kids go to a center in Old Town.

[Anonymous]

Can you sublet your apartment? Then move?

[Anonymous]

Consider giving up the kid's bedroom for a live-in, for one year. And then move. That way you don't pay to break the lease, and your kids will be older and care will be cheaper. Also, many centers provide discounts if you ask. You could get a 15% sibling discount at most places.

As others have said, DC is horrifically expensive; even at a HHI of 300k, we live in an unglamorous suburb.

[Anonymous]

Also, OP, just a word of encouragement. You'll make this work. Not on the terms you wanted. But you will. You'll probably go into some debt this year, but you can pay it off over the next couple years. And your life will get easier. This is a great area to live. Just post and ask where the other single moms live, and how they are making it work. You'll emerge from this year much better than how you feel right now.