Country Living?!

[DaycareLady]

Just wondering if anyone lives in the country/outside of town and is still able to get clients? Husband and I are starting the process of selling/looking for a new home and both of us want to live about 10 mins out of town or in the country between two surrounding small towns. The town we live in is pretty small and a lot of people commute between the 3 surrounding small towns. Hoping to get some positive feedback that clients travel a bit out of their way to get to you?! I currently live right in town, surround by parks, library and drop in centre but I do not take my group to these things for safety reasons and all the parents like that I just stay put and play here so that won't be an issue being out of town. Thank you!

[Crayola kiddies]

I live between two towns ..... I am full and have been for over a year and get inquiries all the time my next space doesn't open up till sept 2015. They key for me is the hwy is right up the road. Also I open early (6:45) to allow parents to do drop off and still have time to get into the city (most are government employees) and that means I can close early (4:30) so I can get on with my evening with my kids. I don't go anywhere either as it would require vehicle transportation and I tell my prospective families that if they are looking for a caregiver that goes to the library or play group or different parks I am not the care giver for them. I have three play structures and lots out door toys as well as lots of room to run

[playfelt]

Where you live will make more of a difference in the sense of you have to have people driving by you rather than being too far out of their way. Unlikely you will get too many from town that will drive out and back but mostly get those driving into town. So maybe select a small town you like and then look for something between that town and the major town which would put you on the way.

[cfred]

I ran my business from a country property about 10-15 minutes from two towns, but also on a fairly main highway headed toward the city. I was not terribly conveniently located to the major artery taking commuters to Toronto however, which didn't help me too much. However, I ran the business from there for about 11 years quite successfully. I did find that most of my clients were very local (on my street or in close proximity) and were often friends of friends or other clients. I had a couple clients that drove well out of their way to get to me. In the end, after a good long stint, the people in my age bracket and friends all got past the 'child bearing' years, and business slowly dried up. A daycare moved into the local school and a Montessori school across from that. Done....I had to move to a high density area in a neighbouring town. That being said, 11 yrs is a pretty decent run. I wasn't always full and had some lean times, but we always managed. I did, however, take some clients I wouldn't bother with here. I often had school aged kids as the bus dropped in front of my house. If you can get a place on the bus route, that's huge! It may be difficult to maintain a roster of just little guys. I always found I had to take what wandered my way simply because there weren't as many inquiries out my way.

I will say that running the business, from activity standpoint, is extremely pleasant. The country offers so much more in the way of nature based activities. And sitting outside as the children played on a large, forested lot was to die for! I loved it!

Good luck!!!!

[DaycareLady]

thanks so much ladies, I really appreciate all this information and gives me lots to think about!! We rushed into purchasing our first place and plan on taking our time with looking for our new home...I have no idea how long I will do home daycare for (I always said until my kids go to school) but I really do love this job but don't want to base our purchase just off of that...because I could change my career! Lots to think about!