4 ms·

Most children aged 3+ are entitled to a few days of free childcare/nursery in the UK, but it's unlikely that a montessori school accepts the government scheme.

by Blahah 3y ago

Most children aged 3+ are entitled to a few days of free childcare/nursery in the UK, but it's unlikely that a montessori school accepts the government scheme. They may do though, if you email them. Childcare for the remaining two days is at least more affordable, and if your job offer was from the university they also offer free childcare, as do many employers (again worth asking if it wasn't mentioned in the job offer).

A_D_E_P_T 3y ago
Thanks for the tips. Unfortunately, my visa would have a "no recourse to public funds" note -- so I wouldn't be able to avail myself of any reimbursement scheme. Besides, "3+" is also a problem, as one of mine is much younger than that. (The difficulty of raising children is naturally front-loaded; it starts out very hard, and gets easier and easier as they grow. What's interesting is that the UK assistance plan only kicks in as things get much easier. The difference between a two year old and a three year old is vast.) The University's childcare scheme is certainly not free -- it's a whopping $1840/child/month. https://www.childcare.admin.cam.ac.uk/nursery-fees https://www.childcare.admin.cam.ac.uk/nursery-fees If you're an employee, they take it out of your salary. It's not even discounted. But they charge for it "before income tax, and that's where your savings come in." I'm not joking. Imagine spending $3700/month just on daycare.
- nytesky 3y ago
  Where do you live now with cheap childcare? We live in a DC suburb, and daycare was at least $1600/kid (we have 3, though only 2 at a time in daycare), and when they were infants it’s $2k.
- TeMPOraL 3y ago
  Daycare costs are exactly what stopped my wife and I from moving to UK, and instead had me accept a significant salary cut in order to negotiate fully remote work. Parallel reply asks where do you live now with cheap childcare, giving number like $1600/kid. Here in Kraków, Poland, it's more like 1400 PLN (~$325), and most private facilities are enrolled in a program that makes the city cover half of that. At kindergarten level, there's enough good, public facilities available, that you only have to pay if you want some usual/experimental facility. Of course, there's a cost-of-living difference between Poland and UK/US, but it's not that big - relatively speaking, daycare here seems 2-4x cheaper anyway. It's one of increasingly many things that make me think Poland is the goldilocks zone of Europe - all the benefits of first-world development, with little to no drawbacks.
  - A_D_E_P_T 3y ago
    Yeah, I'm in Prague. Here it's ~$700/child -- but I'm sending the kids to a special English-language daycare, which is more expensive than most others. The quality of care here is just as good, or better, than what I've seen elsewhere at much higher prices. I spend quite a lot of time in Croatia, and it's just as inexpensive over there. Central Europe is indeed a good place to be right now.

by Blahah 3y ago

A_D_E_P_T 3y ago

Thanks for the tips. Unfortunately, my visa would have a "no recourse to public funds" note -- so I wouldn't be able to avail myself of any reimbursement scheme. Besides, "3+" is also a problem, as one of mine is much younger than that. (The difficulty of raising children is naturally front-loaded; it starts out very hard, and gets easier and easier as they grow. What's interesting is that the UK assistance plan only kicks in as things get much easier. The difference between a two year old and a three year old is vast.) The University's childcare scheme is certainly not free -- it's a whopping $1840/child/month. https://www.childcare.admin.cam.ac.uk/nursery-fees https://www.childcare.admin.cam.ac.uk/nursery-fees If you're an employee, they take it out of your salary. It's not even discounted. But they charge for it "before income tax, and that's where your savings come in." I'm not joking. Imagine spending $3700/month just on daycare.

nytesky 3y ago
Where do you live now with cheap childcare? We live in a DC suburb, and daycare was at least $1600/kid (we have 3, though only 2 at a time in daycare), and when they were infants it’s $2k.
TeMPOraL 3y ago
Daycare costs are exactly what stopped my wife and I from moving to UK, and instead had me accept a significant salary cut in order to negotiate fully remote work. Parallel reply asks where do you live now with cheap childcare, giving number like $1600/kid. Here in Kraków, Poland, it's more like 1400 PLN (~$325), and most private facilities are enrolled in a program that makes the city cover half of that. At kindergarten level, there's enough good, public facilities available, that you only have to pay if you want some usual/experimental facility. Of course, there's a cost-of-living difference between Poland and UK/US, but it's not that big - relatively speaking, daycare here seems 2-4x cheaper anyway. It's one of increasingly many things that make me think Poland is the goldilocks zone of Europe - all the benefits of first-world development, with little to no drawbacks.
- A_D_E_P_T 3y ago
  Yeah, I'm in Prague. Here it's ~$700/child -- but I'm sending the kids to a special English-language daycare, which is more expensive than most others. The quality of care here is just as good, or better, than what I've seen elsewhere at much higher prices. I spend quite a lot of time in Croatia, and it's just as inexpensive over there. Central Europe is indeed a good place to be right now.