Where to open a daycare in NOVA?

[cdmurphy]

Originally Posted by slim04

I can't imagine anyone with a HHI of $161K putting their kid in a home daycare arrangement beyond as a short term fix until a space opens up elsewhere.

On the contrary - out here people that do this are slammed with business. My next door neighbor did it for 9 years (until they retired and relocated to West Virginia) and always had a wait list. None of her kids were full-time, 5 days a week - she had some kids two days or three days because their parents had flexible working arrangements. I guess it is harder to get a spot in a "center" if you don't need full-time care - especially when there are only two daycare centers within a several mile radius in the neighborhood, and both of them are always full.

My kids are in half-day kindergarten and I leave them with an at-home daycare provider on Wednesday mornings, just so I can run longer errands. She lives in the neighborhood and close to their school, and I like knowing that they are nearby, that she also has kids at the same school, and that we have many mutual friends and interests (she and I are both Girl Scout leaders, her daughter played on my kids' soccer team coached by my husband, etc.) I just want them to play and be supervised for a few hours - if I wanted an enrichment program, I would find that somewhere else.

ChristineVA is correct - you also need to be sure that if you are moving to a home in an HOA, that they allow this type of business. Brambleton does, but you have to register with the HOA along with county/state licensing.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by nktsd

BIGFOOT424, the budget for a housing will be around $650K-700K. We are very prepare for our moving to NOVA. My only concern is where is the right place for the daycare. Two things: I don't want to be very far from DC, maybe 25-30 miles radius and of course, a safe and good neighborhood. Thanks for reply!

This time requirement to DC basically will keep you inside the Beltway. It's the interstate running through VA and MD around the DC area.

[jillybean720]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

This time requirement to DC basically will keep you inside the Beltway. It's the interstate running through VA and MD around the DC area.

OP said miles, not minutes

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by jillybean720

OP said miles, not minutes

Agreed, but I guess the OP probably thinks that miles generally equal minutes....as it does in most of the rest of the country.

[mikeva]

Paid to get on wait lists for 5 commercial day care locations between Rosslyn and Ballston this past year for an infant. After seven months we only got called about a spot for one of them ( new location opened in Rosslyn) but it was > $2000 a month. Would have been open to a good home daycare as well, but the ones we found were also full (for infants anyway). We were very frustrated, but ended up being able to switch our schedules around and do without daycare...but had there been a good opportunity at the time in the area we would have jumped on it.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by jillybean720

OP said miles, not minutes

Whoops. Speed reading at Evelyn worked too well.

[nktsd]

SPENCGR, I meant only miles, I know the traffic there is bad. What about Alexandria, do you think is a good place for a daycare?

[BarqCider]

anywhere BUT Fairfax county. MY moms been running her own daycare since 2000 and well.. looks like between the town and county, she'll be forced out to loudon. And goodluck trying to open one. These days its pretty hard. I believe the max per child per worker is 4 or 5. so if you go over that, you need to find an employee who has to have a B.S. and legal to work in the US.

right now she has a lot of spots open and is worried about that too.