https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 14 Jul 2026 01:39:09 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497950 Mon, 17 Mar 2014 08:57:11 +0000 autumnlove 1497950@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Location and price. But we moved last year and we still go to the same center even though the drive is a little longer...we love our daycare! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497944 Mon, 17 Mar 2014 08:54:33 +0000 Periwinkle 1497944@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had a few options based on my commute to work and, in the end, went with the arrangement we felt was the best fit overall. Location had a huge part to do with this, but the price did too, so I guess they were equal for our situation </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497920 Mon, 17 Mar 2014 08:47:24 +0000 bhbee 1497920@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I hated the whole drop-off and pick-up routine so location was absolutely key. it may have been more important for us than some others because we only have 1 car and I was going to be doing more than half of it on foot/train.<br /> we were also willing to pay more for a center we felt really comfortable with anyway, so it all worked out. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497912 Mon, 17 Mar 2014 08:43:24 +0000 purrpletulips 1497912@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For us it was both price and location PLUS hours offered. At the time DH and I both had a 45-60 min commute in opposite directions so we choose a center close to our house to allow both of us the ability to drop off/pick up. We looked at several and found that they were all within about $100 of each other. Some included food in that price whereas others did not; those that included food required you to eat the food they provided which was actually a turnoff for us since we wanted to have better control over DD's diet. We only looked at centers because at the time we weren't familiar with any in-home and since DD was going to be 8w when she started I liked the structure/oversight a center provided as many in-homes in our area are not registered/licensed; plus I liked that if the normal teacher(s) were sick they would have someone to cover rather than us having to find alternate care.</p> <p>I definitely suggest visiting, the admin at the center we ultimately picked encouraged us to do drop-in visits at places (including theirs) because that allows you to see how they handle different aspects of the day. Because of my work schedule, I wasn't able to do so but DH was and that influenced his decision. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497902 Mon, 17 Mar 2014 08:41:29 +0000 winniebee 1497902@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MamaMoose: ditto </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497891 Mon, 17 Mar 2014 08:38:45 +0000 Mrs. Bee 1497891@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Location. Having a shorter commute is one of the top ways to improve your quality of life I recently read somewhere. We moved farther away from Olive's daycare (used to live a block away), and it has dramatically impacted our quality of life, especially this long winter! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497863 Mon, 17 Mar 2014 08:32:30 +0000 Alivoo01 1497863@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Definitely location. I didn't want to drive too far out of my way to work to drop him off. It wastes valuable time since I leave really early. It'd mean waking DS up even earlier than necessary just so we can be at dropoff by a certain time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497713 Mon, 17 Mar 2014 06:33:36 +0000 lamariniere 1497713@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Location! Daycares here are all pretty much the same price. Our daycare is a 5min walk, but there are a few even closer that didn't have openings. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497702 Mon, 17 Mar 2014 06:22:40 +0000 looch 1497702@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So, we chose our current center because of reasons other than price and location, it was basically we needed a spot FAST and they could zoom us to the front of the line.</p> <p>Now, we need an option for summer care and preschool and I have ruled out options that follow the direction of the morning commute, just because of time in the car, which I never thought I would do, even though that's the direction we're working.</p> <p>So, camp is less than a mile from our house going north and we work south. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497640 Mon, 17 Mar 2014 00:56:40 +0000 PurplePeony 1497640@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Location -- her center is right across the street from my office so I can go at lunchtime to nurse her :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497548 Sun, 16 Mar 2014 22:42:57 +0000 wheres_c 1497548@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We only considered centers and not inhome - for the reasons people mentioned. Location was more important than price....but the overall feel of the center, including healthy meals was the most important factor. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497261 Sun, 16 Mar 2014 19:32:26 +0000 mrsjyw 1497261@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Location will be our deciding factor in the fall! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497212 Sun, 16 Mar 2014 19:15:59 +0000 Smurfette 1497212@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Price for us! I would rather have her in a center by the house but they were $400 more a month. So a savings of $4800 for her to be in a center by my work is totally worth it. DH travels so I do drop off and pick up anyway. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497201 Sun, 16 Mar 2014 19:09:56 +0000 Mrs. Oatmeal 1497201@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Price was a big factor, but we would have paid a little more for one that was closer to home/work.<br /> Luckily, we found our ideal day care (in home, highly recommended by friends) right on DH's way to work. So it all worked out. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497188 Sun, 16 Mar 2014 19:03:49 +0000 Mrs. Taco 1497188@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MamaMoose: Ditto. </p> <p>Time is money....(and much better spent than in the car!)</p> <p>ETA: @YOURSILVERLINING: Jinx! :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497179 Sun, 16 Mar 2014 19:01:09 +0000 yoursilverlining 1497179@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Location was more important for us - time is money and less commuting time between work/daycare means less $$ spent on gas and more family time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497176 Sun, 16 Mar 2014 18:59:39 +0000 lovehoneybee 1497176@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Price was ultimately more important, but location was a very big deciding factor. Mostly because I wanted it to be as close to my job as possible....I didn't want to have to worry about being stuck in rush hour trying to get to the center in time, or across town if there was an emergency.</p> <p>ETA: That is to say, we looked at location first, then price. We ended up looking at two centers that we really liked that were about the same distance away from my job, so from there we decided by price. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497165 Sun, 16 Mar 2014 18:56:06 +0000 MamaMoose 1497165@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>All other things being equal location would be much more important to me than price. You have to go there every day twice a day and if it's inconvenient that will get old really fast. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497151 Sun, 16 Mar 2014 18:43:40 +0000 regberadaisy 1497151@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>They're both high up there with how we visit swaying the decision. That being said there were quite a few that had great reputations that we did not visit just because location was inconvenient. </p> <p>We're not interested in in home day cares at all. Besides everything stated I like that at a center there is peer peer accountability. I like knowing that there are other eyes. A good Co worker friend, wife has a education degree. She sahm with her kids and watches other children. Even then I wasn't interested. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497109 Sun, 16 Mar 2014 18:00:27 +0000 blackbird 1497109@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Location was the kicker for us. Our in home is 1/4 mile away. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497106 Sun, 16 Mar 2014 17:57:06 +0000 avivoca 1497106@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Location and price were equally important. We only considered centers close to my husband's job because ai work in a borderline sketch neighborhood that is close to the bad part of town. Price was also a big factor. It had to be worth it for me to work. One center we looked at cost more than a single paycheck for me per month, so after bills I would have been paying to work. </p> <p>We did not consider any In home day care centers because I had a bad experience as a child. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497099 Sun, 16 Mar 2014 17:46:40 +0000 T.H.O.U. 1497099@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lawbee11: director oversight was a big deal for us and was a big deal in centers. Some places we toured were like old houses so each "classroom" was really a bedroom (large though) but the teacher and the class was behind a closed door. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497095 Sun, 16 Mar 2014 17:44:17 +0000 lawbee11 1497095@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Pen: I like that with a center she's around kids her own age. Don't have to worry about a 2 or 3 year old trampling over her. In Texas you also don't have to include your own children in the ratio for an in-home daycare...so a person could have 2 of their own children + 4 more children and IMO that's too many. With a center there's also a director you can voice concerns to. There are others, but those were some of our main reasons for choosing a center. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497092 Sun, 16 Mar 2014 17:42:04 +0000 T.H.O.U. 1497092@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We toured centers at multiple distances and prices. Some were closer to work, closer to home and even some out of our way. In the end there was no difference in care that made us want to sacrifice price or distance. Meaning if we drove further they were the same price and similar quality. If we stayed close there were some cheaper but not enough we wanted to sacrifice that much quality. </p> <p>I think you should be open to both and tour. Some that you may really think you like will give you a totally different vibe in person. </p> <p>We never really researched in home care because nothing came up in basic asking around of friends and I didn't want to research it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497089 Sun, 16 Mar 2014 17:37:47 +0000 Mrs. Pen 1497089@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lawbee11: any particular reason why you chose center over in-home? I see sides to both, but curious what your reasons would be! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497083 Sun, 16 Mar 2014 17:26:48 +0000 lawbee11 1497083@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Price was higher on the list, but location was up there in importance. We only considered centers, though. In-home would have been cheaper, but we wanted a center so we didn't consider any in-home. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/daycare-location-vs-price#post-1497078 Sun, 16 Mar 2014 17:21:39 +0000 Mrs. Pen 1497078@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Which was higher on the list for you, location or price?</p> <p>Price is a big factor, but I really want a daycare within walking distance. The one closest to us I'm considering is a center that is an extra $50/wk over some of the in-home places a few miles away. So I'm undecided. I think I need to set up tours with each and decide from there.</p> <p>(obviously quality of care is important - but I mean just between these two - which would be more important to you) </p>