Denver People?

[zzuvet]

Hi! I am a creepy lurker but now I actually have a question that I was hoping you all could answer. My husband has a potential job offer in the Denver area, what are your daycare costs like? We have a 2.5 year old and an 8 month old.

Oh, and I have only been to Denver once for a work conference, how is the traffic? Would you say it is difficult to get from the outlying areas into the city? We live in a very rural area outside Kansas City now and that's about as close to a city as I have ever lived.


Thanks!! 

[Wallflower]

No kids, so I can't comment on day care.

Traffic ... well, it depends on where you're traveling and when. I cross the city from the southeast to the west, but can cover 25 miles in 30 minutes because I leave the house at 6 am. If I left the house at 8 am, it would probably take me an hour. If I were driving west to east/southeast, it would probably be 90 minutes or worse.

[majick143]

Well I'm just a lurker on this board. I'm a regular on S&B but I can give you some really rough daycare amounts. I have a 4 year old and almost 3 year old and one on the way. The highest I've seen yet and my other mom friends agree is schools like Goddard School, they tend to range from $1100 to $1600 a month per child if enrolled full time. I have nothing but great things to say about these places but they're too expensive for me. I've found smaller daycare centers to be slightly less and the least amount to be in home daycares. I only have experience with that pricing from friends but I believe they range from $500 to $800 monthly for full time. Obviously there are probably cheaper options out there but you have to look or know someone. I found a wonderful lady in Castle Rock (about 30 minutes South of the Denver Tech Center) for $40 a day and again in Aurora (SE of the Denver area) for about the same.

As for traffic, it really depends on where you're going and when like the PP posters say. My advice would be, wherever your DH is working, try not to have his commute cross the Downtown area or go from West of I-25 to East or vice versa, that's usually where it will be worst. Do you know the area he'll be working? There are some beautiful suburbs on every side of the heart of Denver, I might be helpful in pointing in a good direction.

Good luck on the move!! This is a GREAT place to live!!

[zzuvet]

Thanks for the help! It looks like daycare will be about the same, I pay $750/kid with the sibling discount. We live in a pretty rural area and they are the only option so they charge whatever they feel like.

If his negotiations work out, he will be working in Golden. I don't have a job there yet and I figure it will probably not work out for a job until I get there so that will be easier for us. We have horses, chickens (which I am leaving behind with a friend) and pigs (hopefully going to slaughter in Nov) but will be planning on having these things again when we buy a house. Until we get to that point we will be renting and I assume living in a suburb, I have never really lived in one before so this should be interesting.

[sharknado]

There are horse properties within the suburbs.

[zzuvet]

Awesome. As soon as these pigs are in the freezer I am ready to say goodbye to Missouri

[Wallflower]

In this case, you need to stay on the west side. And as mentioned, there are horse properties within the suburbs and going into the foothills.

[isabel]

Well, now that I've seriously insulted you (again, sorry!), welcome to Denver!

I also don't have kids, so no comments on daycare.

If your H is going to be in Golden, you should be able to find a home around there with a decent amount of property for horses and what have you. You'll also be outside the city, so that may be a more comfortable/familiar area for you anyway. Traffic can be rough, especially at rush hour times, but it shouldn't matter too much if you're living and working in Golden.

[zzuvet]

Don't worry about it. In my industry you get tough skin about it. I am glad we were able to see each other's point. I am not a bad person, I really do love animals, and if I could afford to get out of this industry I would, but most animal related jobs do not pay enough to live off of and I can't take a pay cut.

[majick143]

Yep, like the other posters mentioned, you'll have no problem finding something on the West side of I-25 that will give you some land. There's some beautiful areas out there. I'm about as far East and then South as you can get in the suburbs so I don't much about the Golden area other than when we drive through every now and then. Good Luck!!!

[MrsAxilla]

Golden is lovely! I lived there for six years. That was prekids, so I don't know what daycare rates are there. When my son was in daycare in the DTC, we paid $350/ week when he was an infant, and $250/week by the time he was 5.

Traffic in and out of downtown from Golden isn't too bad. It really sucks to drive to the DTC, though.