Reply to Move to DC for free pK3

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There are a handful of schools with guaranteed in bounds PK3 in DC, but by and large, they are not schools that middle-to-upper-middle class people feel comfortable sending their children above kindergarten. Otherwise, it's lottery until kindergarten. Your younger child would have sibling preference in the lottery for your older child's school, which is usually a strong indicator that they'll get in.

Also, the PP was correct to suggest that you consider other costs associated with it. Aftercare is available at most schools, and not all schools charge for aftercare. There are breaks when you will need to make childcare arrangements, but even factoring in those costs, it is still cheaper than daycare by a long stretch. [/quote]

But only if your rent is comparable right now (and I assume you're renting otherwise this would seem to make little sense).  Also factor in DC tax is higher than NoVA.  So you lose some money there too.  Depending on where you are in NoVA, rents (for places you'd find acceptable) in DC could easily exceed what you pay now, further eating into cost difference.  And what are you going to do for childcare for #2?  Being in DC may very well limit your childcare options, and centers tend to be a bit more expensive in DC than they are in NoVa.  Not by much, but that's another couple hundred.  Add it all up and even with free aftercare, you're possibly not coming out all that far ahead.  I have friends who considered this same option and the tax+rent difference wiped out virtually all the savings.  Facing #2 now, with #1 in a DC pre-K, we're actually looking to move out - going with an au pair or nanny will be cheaper (different degrees of cheaper of course) than 2 in a center or for the nanny not actually that much more expensive than DC infant care (for a spot we're not sure we can get) plus the aftercare + days off + breaks + summer camp expenses we will have.  And we definitely pay more in rent and taxes than we would in VA.  So basically it's a wash.  There have been some savings this past year - but again, factoring in school schedule care, rent differences and taxes, not nearly as much as you'd hope and certainly something that wouldn't have made it worth it had we not already been in DC.[/quote]

I think whether it's a wash or not is pretty situation-specific. We live in DC, rent, and sent DD to daycare until she was old enough to go to school. Daycare was $1500/mo. Her school is free. The only other expense that changed was that we did not need to buy diapers anymore because she was toilet trained. So for us, it was a savings of $36,000 in childcare alone.[/quote]

Thanks for this perspective. I'll have to take a look at the school breaks, cost of summer camps and rental costs and see if this would really result in a savings for us despite the increase in taxes and potential cost increase of daycare for #2. I work 3 12hr shifts in healthcare, so I have some flexibility in being able to cover school days off/breaks. We have tossed the idea of moving back to where I grew up that is LCOL so we can afford to grow our family, but we really like the DC metro area and all that it has to offer. Thanks everyone for your comments![/quote]

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