How big of a deal is distance?

[Mike]

A post from another thread here:

we are a 30 min commute into the city so most families need the longer hours.
got me wondering...

I'm opening in a few months and currently looking for a place. I was thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of each:

Outside of the city

bigger yard
bigger house for the same price
no worry about neighbours complaining


Within the city

less travel for the parent
closer to parks, schools, and playgrounds
less travel for myself


Which one is better would depend some on the clients and the child ages, but I thought in the city would be the only real option as parents don't want to run out of town to go to daycare twice a day.

How big a deal is distance? Are all your clients within a few blocks of your place? Is your place between their house and job? Do some of them have to go out of the way a little?

[AmandaKDT]

All of my clients are within walking distance of my house.

[mimi]

Less travel for parent is one of the top items on most parents daycare list. Most of my clients live within a 5 minute drive.

[5 Little Monkeys]

I live in a city that doesn't take more than 15 minutes to get anywhere. I ask that they pick up after their shift has ended so I give them 15-20 minutes and than expect them to pick up their child. The odd time they want to grocery shop or have an appointment they are pretty good about telling me they will be late (but not later than my closing time).

I personally like being close enough to walk to parks and splash parks. I am not within walking distance to much else but in the summer, we walk down to the ice cream store for a treat or for lunch some days. I would like country living for myself but I don't think I would like it for my daycare.

[bright sparks]

I think within close proximity to major highways is a huge plus, definitely not out of the way in the sticks. I don't think your garden needs to be huge just adequate but then I know a lot of providers who don't even have a fenced in space but still manage to fill up as they go to a park almost daily so the kids still get plenty of outdoor time and exercise. This is already a VERY isolating industry and being in the middle of nowhere is not a good business decision or personal one I would advise when doing this job. Not to say you couldn't get children in a rural location but you would dramatically reduce your potential clientele that's for sure. As 5LM said the walk to get ice cream or to parks and splash pads is wonderful to be able to do in the summer and is a great social activity for the provider regardless of whether or not you have large back garden. It's also really nice to walk around the neighborhood with them all in the stroller or in wagons and say hello to people and get to know your neighbors. I can't imagine you would get any complaints from anyone as long as the kids aren't acting like wild animals lol a town home may be more of a risk but then I would have the daycare in the basement if that was the case and at least that might be better for the neighbors not hearing anything in their main living area.

[Samantha33]

I have people who drive from 1 minute up to 35 min. I live in a small town. It takes 20 min. from one end to the other. Some parents feel 10 min. is to long to drive if there is a closer provider, and other's feel there's no time limit if they really feel good about the care their child receives. I guess what I'm saying is it's the parents who decide. Personally I feel being in the city is better and the parents do the drive. There would be more clientele in the city.

[nschildcare]

Some of my clients live nearby. They have a 30 minute drive to work, sometimes 45 in rush hour. I have another that drives 30 minutes to get to me (comes from the city) and then only has another 15 to get to work just past me. My location is not far from the highway (about 5 mins) which makes it convenient for my parents.

When I lived in the "city" here (as opposed to suburbia), my hours were shorter due to shorter commute distances. I did have an awesome yard, was close to many great parks, could take advantage of the transit and have field trips, etc. I never had a problem filling my spots.

Now in suburbia, I have to be more flexible with my hours, which are now longer. I still have a super awesome yard, am close to parks, don't have transit (well not good) and am not within walking distance of any decent field trips. I haven't nec. had a hard time filling spots (esp. when I talk to other providers who have had a hard time lately) but I have had to be willing to be flexible (hours, part time vs full time, that kind of thing).

I love not being in the city anymore, personally, but business-wise it was definitely better there. Having said that, I could have probably found a location that was a little more daycare-friendly here but I wasn't thinking of daycare when we bought. I still would have ran into issues of longer days due to commute times, etc.

[Mike]

I guess I'm going to specifically look for a place in the city or no more than 5 to 10 minutes from where the 401 goes through.