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Old 03-24-2015, 10:42 AM
 
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which do you choose? and whats the furthest you would drive for a daycare? is 5 miles too far
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Old 03-24-2015, 11:03 AM
 
Location: Chicago
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Originally Posted by daboywonder2002 View Post
which do you choose? and whats the furthest you would drive for a daycare? is 5 miles too far
I'm dealing with this right now... I would prefer something close to my house because I commute to work by train. I also walk to the train right now and I hate the idea of needing to drive to a daycare then park my car at home only to walk to the train station. We paid a premium to live by the train station in our town and if we're driving every day that seems like it was wasted money.

Luckily, there is a very well reviewed daycare only a couple blocks away. We will either go with that place or a live-in au pair. I'm not sure how I feel about the live-in idea though... Of course, the au pair is less expensive than day care for an infant.
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Old 03-24-2015, 11:09 AM
 
Location: Denver CO
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I've done both and they each have their pros and cons.

Close to home is nice because your child spends less time stuck in a carseat. And if you are sick or taking the day off to run errands or something, it's easy to drop your kid off. But it means you have to operate within the daycare schedule including your commute. If you get stuck in traffic or on public transportation, you are staring at the clock praying you make it to pick up time before they start charging by the minute. It limits your ability to stay late for even a few minutes to get something finished up or when your boss drops by your office to ask a question at 5 pm you have to ask them to wait until tomorrow.

Close to work is nice when your child is older because you share the commute with them and it's a good time to talk. And if there are activities at daycare that you want to participate in, it's easier to stop by in the middle of the work day. But you may get stuck in traffic with a tired, hungry, whiny kid who refused to use the potty before leaving daycare and desperately needs to now. And there's no chance to duck out of work a few minutes early to try to make a quick grocery store run without the kid. And if you are sick enough to take the day off work, you still need to schlep all the way to daycare and back times two (AM and PM).
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Old 03-24-2015, 11:20 AM
 
7,743 posts, read 15,838,159 times
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Originally Posted by daboywonder2002 View Post
which do you choose? and whats the furthest you would drive for a daycare? is 5 miles too far
Work would make most sense, since you're in that general area anyways.



In some areas, you don't have a choice.

In Seattle, people start putting their names on the waiting lists for daycares before the baby's born because its highly competitive. Spots and daycare options are scarce. I've heard it's gotten even more expensive. Yikes.
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Old 03-24-2015, 11:22 AM
 
Location: Hillsborough
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We went with a daycare close to work so that I could breastfeed on my lunch break.
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Old 03-24-2015, 11:22 AM
 
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i prefer close home because that way if your a 2 parent home its easy for both to drop off. if its near my office, its offers less flexibility for my husband to help me out if I'm designated daycare person lol
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Old 03-24-2015, 11:39 AM
 
Location: Chicago
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Originally Posted by Inkpoe View Post
In Seattle, people start putting their names on the waiting lists for daycares before the baby's born because its highly competitive. Spots and daycare options are scarce. I've heard it's gotten even more expensive. Yikes.
Yep, I've already done that as well and I'm only 12 weeks pregnant. Crazy, right?

My husband and I are lucky that generally one of us always has some flexibility with our jobs; if one is swamped, the other can handle the pick-up that day. We also both get out of work at 4:00 pm, which is pretty early.

Hopefully things will work out with the place by our house. If not, I will look into places by work, but I know already that the cost will be insane; if it's $1700/month in the suburbs I would be my house it is going to be even more in the Chicago Loop due to the high cost of space here.
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Old 03-24-2015, 11:57 AM
 
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im thinking close to home because we only have one car. what if the car breaks down? at least from home. the wife can either hop on a bus or take a cab and it wont cost as much if its a short distance from home.
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Old 03-24-2015, 12:10 PM
 
Location: Kansas
25,792 posts, read 21,942,589 times
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I always chose something close to work and paid a premium even when I couldn't afford it because I wanted my child as close as possible to where I was in case there was an emergency or urgent need.
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Old 03-24-2015, 01:22 PM
 
Location: Beachwood, OH
1,135 posts, read 1,830,755 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by emm74 View Post
I've done both and they each have their pros and cons.

Close to home is nice because your child spends less time stuck in a carseat. And if you are sick or taking the day off to run errands or something, it's easy to drop your kid off. But it means you have to operate within the daycare schedule including your commute. If you get stuck in traffic or on public transportation, you are staring at the clock praying you make it to pick up time before they start charging by the minute. It limits your ability to stay late for even a few minutes to get something finished up or when your boss drops by your office to ask a question at 5 pm you have to ask them to wait until tomorrow.

Close to work is nice when your child is older because you share the commute with them and it's a good time to talk. And if there are activities at daycare that you want to participate in, it's easier to stop by in the middle of the work day. But you may get stuck in traffic with a tired, hungry, whiny kid who refused to use the potty before leaving daycare and desperately needs to now. And there's no chance to duck out of work a few minutes early to try to make a quick grocery store run without the kid. And if you are sick enough to take the day off work, you still need to schlep all the way to daycare and back times two (AM and PM).
Exactly this. Pick your poison.

Personally, I prefer close to home. Just try to find a daycare with a reasonable pick-up cutoff time. 5:30 is bull****. 6:00 should be the standard.

Edit: 7:30 start times are also bull****.
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