I got a new job across the country and we are moving in THREE weeks. We've moved quicker than that before, but it was before we had kids. The main thing I'm a bit panicked about is daycare. We were on a waitlist for months for our current daycare. Has anyone needed to find childcare in a hurry like this? Any advice?? And if you know of any good places in northern va (Arlington) or NW DC that you would be willing to PM me about, I would SO appreciate it! 
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DH and I plan to use kindercare, and know a lot of couples in NoVa that do.
I think the wait list is worst for infants. Not sure if it might be easier for older kids?
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@MaryM: thank you, it looks like there's one in Arlington! I just filled out a form to have them contact me. My son will be 13 months, so not in the infant room (or at least he's not at our current place...) Thanks!
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@MrsSCB: no advice, but we will miss you here!
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@MrsSCB: I mentioned it since there's a lot of them! They're franchised, so they each can be a little diffferent, but they all have the same corporate rules. We toured like four of them within a couple miles of our house!
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@MrsSCB: we didn't need full time care, but we moved quickly and had to settle for days i absolutely didn't want to work (i work PT for myself) just to get in the place we wanted to be. a few months later, the right days opened up so we could switch. so i think just be prepared to cast a wide net, maybe even paying more than you're comfortable or less than ideal conditions (still safe, but maybe not your ideal meals, etc) in the short term while you find a longer term plan if necessary.
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We moved quickly as well and also are going to a kindercare. I agree with @MaryM: that you should try to see a couple of them bc they are all very different! We have him on a couple other waitlists as well but so far like where he is.
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I would sign up for care.com and check nanny options. May be a good short term solution if all your preferred day cares have waitlist!
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Do you know where you're moving? If so, see if there's a nextdoor.com group. People in my neighborhood are super helpful to others moving in. And they're more likely to know about smaller and in home providers
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Maybe you can use some things in the short term that you might not have considered last time around, like an in home or a church program if you're faced with a waitlist. You could use it for the intern period, maybe?
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Where in Arlington? What hours? Most Arlington families use home daycares. The centers have long wait lists. I recommend going to the county licensing office website and calling any in your area to see if there are vacancies. If you PM me your email address, I'd be happy to add you to my local Arlington moms group and you might find good leads that way
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In DC area you may have some trouble on short notice. I'd try and line up a nanny until you get your bearings, personally.
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Ah we'll miss you in H-town!
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@LAZB: @travellingbee: thank you, I will miss Houston so much! I wish we could get our family to move down here, especially with the cost of living.
@Truth Bombs: @catomd00: yes, a nanny is definitely a good option, even if just temporarily. We also have some friends in the area who I'm wondering might be willing to do a nanny share even for just a few months if we have to get on some waitlists.
@MaryM: good idea, will definitely check our Nextdoor. I'm on Nextdoor in our current neighborhood and it's super helpful. I'll ask my mom to inquire on other neighborhood listservs as well.
@Pollywog: PMing you now
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We moved from NYC to the DC area a year ago on 6 weeks notice, and I was also panicked. I do think wait lists are worst for infants, and I think DC is worse than the outer areas. We are in MD so I'm no help on specifics, but we were able to find a montessori school spot immediately and have been very happy. I do think home daycares are a lot more common and tend to have less of a wait. Good luck!
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I'd probably check the typical franchised centers: primrose, goddard, bright horizons. even though all of them can have a slightly different feel based on their administrators/owners, they are generally similar, have decent curriculums, easy to get info on (websites, etc), and you may have better luck finding a spot at a larger center.
Also think a nanny (or friend that you can share) might be a good short-term solution if for no other reason than allowing you time to get your bearings and tour some places! But I know nannies don't work for everyone.
When we moved on short-ish notice (but nothing like yours! just more that most places were full/waiting lists by the time we knew where we were going), I just reminded myself that it just had to be "good enough" (safe, clean, caring environment) for a short time/one year, and that we could re-assess better once we were there for the longer term!
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