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Old 12-02-2015, 01:57 PM
 
63 posts, read 105,870 times
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Hey all, I'm back! Still planning our relocation for March/April 2016, still targeting Arlington or Newton, but we've now started to look at daycare/preschool options for our son who will be turning three around the time that we move. Given that we're coming from the psychotically expensive San Francisco Bay Area, I was expecting the cost of childcare and schooling to be similar to here. However, I'm a bit horrified to discover that it actually appears to be almost DOUBLE the cost of what we're accustomed to for the same level of quality! We literally can't afford that, as part of the reason we're leaving SF is because we've been priced out of the housing market. Can you help me understand whether what I'm seeing is accurate, and if so, what more affordable options might be available?

Our son currently attends a full-day Montessori preschool for which yearly tuition is about $14K. Montessori or not, I can't find preschool programs in the Boston Metro area that are full day, at all! But the price for those half-day programs is $15-18K! Are there really no full-day preschools in MetroWest? What the heck do working parents do with their kids in the afternoons? Are all the preschools large centers with >100 kids, or are there smaller facilities with more like 12 kids? Any other tips for finding decent, affordable childcare?

Thank you again for all your help!
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Old 12-02-2015, 02:02 PM
 
434 posts, read 511,116 times
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Full-day preschool isn't really a thing around here -- you'd want to be looking for preschool programs at day care centers instead. Expect to pay at least $20,000 for full day, five day care. Sorry If you end up in Arlington, I have a lot of friends who loved A Place to Grow.
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Old 12-02-2015, 02:02 PM
 
Location: 42°22'55.2"N 71°24'46.8"W
4,848 posts, read 11,816,907 times
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There are many full-day preschool programs in Metrowest. Bright Horizons, The Goddard School and Next Generation are 3 of the bigger ones in Metrowest. By full-day I mean they are open from 7:30am - 6:30pm. Actual instruction time may only be 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon, with free play from 7:30-9am and 4:00-6:30pm for example. I don't know what the pricing is anymore, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was around $25k per year. I've heard infant care is now over $40k/year for the top centers around here. Price conscious parents utilize non-profit and home-based centers.
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Old 12-02-2015, 02:10 PM
 
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Brandeis has a daycare that is sliding scale full day but IIRC it was closer to $24k for fulltime care if you didn't have a qualifying income.
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Old 12-02-2015, 03:11 PM
 
63 posts, read 105,870 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Parsec View Post
There are many full-day preschool programs in Metrowest. Bright Horizons, The Goddard School and Next Generation are 3 of the bigger ones in Metrowest. By full-day I mean they are open from 7:30am - 6:30pm. Actual instruction time may only be 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon, with free play from 7:30-9am and 4:00-6:30pm for example. I don't know what the pricing is anymore, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was around $25k per year. I've heard infant care is now over $40k/year for the top centers around here. Price conscious parents utilize non-profit and home-based centers.
Youch. Guess it's a good thing I'll be working from home for a while. That's insanity. Has it driven down the birth rate in the area?
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Old 12-02-2015, 03:21 PM
 
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How much is the Goddard school monthly?
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Old 12-02-2015, 03:35 PM
 
3,176 posts, read 3,700,201 times
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Originally Posted by FromEverywhereUSA View Post
Youch. Guess it's a good thing I'll be working from home for a while. That's insanity. Has it driven down the birth rate in the area?
No. The truly poor get subsidized childcare. The rest of us just pay a second mortgage for daycare.
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Old 12-02-2015, 03:43 PM
 
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Ha. I'm not sure if it's driven the birthrate down but I do think it's something people think about in terms of how many they have. If daycare is the only option for people I don't think it stops them from having 1 or 2 kids...but for people who are financially responsible it probably stops them from having 3 or 4. Heck college costs probably keep the birth rate down (of responsible people anyways) but that's a whole other thread.
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Old 12-02-2015, 03:43 PM
 
Location: 42°22'55.2"N 71°24'46.8"W
4,848 posts, read 11,816,907 times
Reputation: 2962
Quote:
Originally Posted by FromEverywhereUSA View Post
Youch. Guess it's a good thing I'll be working from home for a while. That's insanity. Has it driven down the birth rate in the area?
I don't know about driving down birth rates, but it definitely delays the age at which women give birth to their first child. Based on my limited unscientific research, the average age for a first-time mother in the Boston area is around 34 years old for kid #1 and 37 years old for kid #2. I always feel like I'm a decade younger than the average parent in Metrowest who has kids that are the same age as mine. Probably closer to 15 years younger than the average dad in my kids classrooms.

Oh, and I didn't mean to scare you on the prices. Those are on the high end (e.g. Montessori school prices). There are cheaper options available for us "normal" folks. I sent my kids to a nonprofit center and only paid about $1000/mo for toddler care, but this was a few years ago. It was a nurturing environment, but there was no formal "teaching" like you get at the high-end centers. So far they are turning out just fine!
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Old 12-02-2015, 03:47 PM
 
Location: 42°22'55.2"N 71°24'46.8"W
4,848 posts, read 11,816,907 times
Reputation: 2962
Quote:
Originally Posted by Whatsnext75 View Post
Ha. I'm not sure if it's driven the birthrate down but I do think it's something people think about in terms of how many they have. If daycare is the only option for people I don't think it stops them from having 1 or 2 kids...but for people who are financially responsible it probably stops them from having 3 or 4. Heck college costs probably keep the birth rate down (of responsible people anyways) but that's a whole other thread.
Definitely. Most families have 2 kids, but I think many people pause to think hard about having a 3rd child around here. 3-child families are not as common among middle to upper middle class families because it's just too expensive. Like dm84 said, lower class and lower middle class families get subsidized daycare. They also get more aid if they have a larger family, so they tend to have more kids.
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