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View Poll Results: rural or urban?
Rural 25 64.10%
Urban 9 23.08%
Suburb 5 12.82%
Voters: 39. You may not vote on this poll
Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Rural(Suburbs) Or Urban(City)
icaredaycare 03:57 AM 02-10-2012
Good morning all!

Just curious, but I thought it would be interesting to get a poll to see which families serve in a rural setting, and which families serve in an urban setting? this way we can pin point the needs of the children/families regarding their background.

As for myself, I am in a urban setting with low income families. Most of my families are on a subsidy program, around here in Philadelphia it's called ccis. My area is a huge melting pot, the original wave of immigrants in the 1980's were Cambodians and Vietnamese. As of lately, the new wave of immigrants have been Mexicans, Buhtanese, and Burmese. I have been looking to spread my services for the new wave of immigrants, but have had no luck finding an interpreter. I have thought of maybe having a interpretation area in the daycare, where parents can go to the computer and we can just google translate to each other. But im still working on it.

I would love to hear about everyone else, struggles in ur area...success in ur area... just learning from each other and bouncing ideas.
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AfterSchoolMom 05:10 AM 02-10-2012
I live in the suburbs of a medium-sized city. Lots of teachers, hospital admins/nurses/doctors, government, and tech company employees. I live in a large development, and our neighborhood is decidedly upper middle class. That's why it always amazes me that people expect to pay so LITTLE for child care! I guess they've spent all of their money on their nice houses and cars, purses and watches.
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Meyou 05:13 AM 02-10-2012
I live in the suburbs in one small city and 10 minutes from another. My neighborhood is middle class and so are my clients/neighbors. Business professionals, teachers, lawyers, accountants are common professions.
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melskids 05:16 AM 02-10-2012
I'm not rural OR city....lol

I live in the middle of nowhere, on a mountain, on a dirt road in a town of 250. What does that make me? Besides a mountain hillbilly hick....lol
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saved4always 05:21 AM 02-10-2012
I live in a suburb that used to be mostly farms years ago so it is a mix of new homes and older homes. I live in a large subdivision made up of newer homes. I have mostly watched children for teachers, bank employees (behind the scenes, not tellers) and city workers. There a alot of sahm's here who also watch children but I don't like to have too many children at once so this is not a real problem for me. I am legally un-liscensed so I do not do food programs or subsidy programs. I have actually never had anyone ask me if I take the subsidy but that could be because I don't really advertise. I have mostly gotten families from referals.
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Cat Herder 05:22 AM 02-10-2012
There was no "Forest" of "Foothills" option....

I live in a heavily mountainous, wooded area bordering the Appalachian trail.

The majority of my clients have been here for generations and know EVERYONES business...

We do have alot of seasonal tourism, but they rarely choose home daycare... We have MANY "Drop-In" centers for that.
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icaredaycare 05:23 AM 02-10-2012
afterschoolmom- i hear you on that one. The parents here in the city who dont qualify for subsidy, often come in their coach bags, or lv bags expecting a cheap rate because it's an in-home daycare. I'm already cheaper than commercial daycares, but the prices they're asking for is ridiculous.

meyou- sounds like an awesome area. with clients of that class...i'm thinking u probably dont have any subsidy children. all cash/check clients?

melskids- that just makes u awesome! lol. how is business out there? would love to hear ur stories on how u bring in clients, and types of clients ur bring in.
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icaredaycare 05:25 AM 02-10-2012
saved4always - thanks for sharing. legally un-licensed means no more than 3 children in ur area?
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icaredaycare 05:28 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by Catherder:
There was no "Forest" of "Foothills" option....

I live in a heavily mountainous, wooded area bordering the Appalachian trail.

The majority of my clients have been here for generations and know EVERYONES business...

We do have alot of seasonal tourism, but they rarely choose home daycare... We have MANY "Drop-In" centers for that.
i would love to walk the appalachian trail one day.

Drop in daycares are getting more and more popular. I just saw a special on one on the news couple months ago that does very well. be interesting to hear from a person on here who does alot of drop ins.
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Cat Herder 05:37 AM 02-10-2012
Many of the Drop-In centers, here, contract with temp services. Employees are paged when the ratio is high enough to require another provider.

It is pretty hit-and-miss work...
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Sunchimes 05:43 AM 02-10-2012
I live in a small town of about 8000 people. The nearest thing to a city is a small city about 30 miles away.

I live in an old Victorian house in the historic district. (Not as cool as it sounds, believe me!) My neighbors are about as different as it is possible to be. I can see the district court judge's house from my windows, yet next to me is an old duplex with 2 one bedroom apartments, sort of dilapidated. Everyone is nice and decent though, so that's good.

No shopping here, except WM. No theater, no swimming pool, the park is pretty much just a walking trail. The good news is that they are working on it, and if they follow through, it will have a playground and one of those water things that they kids run through later this year. The follow through is questionable though.

Not a lot of diversity here, Hispanics of course, but no one else from outside the US that I'm aware of anyway.

That said, I would move to the city tomorrow if I could figure out how to sell my house for enough to buy one in a decent city neighborhood. And if I could convince my dcf to let me take the kids with me, because I don't want to give up my kids-love them!
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Countrygal 05:46 AM 02-10-2012
I live in a very rural area outside of a very small town in central WI. Unfortunately no mountain views, but beautiful bluffs and hills are not far away! There is an area near here where I used to live called "Wisconsin Ozarks". Our hills can get large and beautiful (and trecherous in the winter). Let's put it this way - you don't get much more "redneck" than here.
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icaredaycare 05:53 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by Catherder:
Many of the Drop-In centers, here, contract with temp services. Employees are paged when the ratio is high enough to require another provider.

It is pretty hit-and-miss work...
very interesting. always wondered how they worked, now i know. thanks!


looks like a lot of small town providers here. i love seeing daycare in another perspective. I get tired of the city sometimes, and always wondered how it would be to have a daycare in a quieter area. great input everyone.
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countrymom 06:00 AM 02-10-2012
small town country person here. Alot of people have lived here forever and everyone knows everyone. Everyone here is middle class. Since I live on a main road its easy to advertise, but you blink you your out of my town. Love it here.
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melskids 06:08 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by icaredaycare:
afterschoolmom- i hear you on that one. The parents here in the city who dont qualify for subsidy, often come in their coach bags, or lv bags expecting a cheap rate because it's an in-home daycare. I'm already cheaper than commercial daycares, but the prices they're asking for is ridiculous.

meyou- sounds like an awesome area. with clients of that class...i'm thinking u probably dont have any subsidy children. all cash/check clients?

melskids- that just makes u awesome! lol. how is business out there? would love to hear ur stories on how u bring in clients, and types of clients ur bring in.
Most, if all, of my clients have been by word of mouth. Like I said, Its a SMALL town, and everyone knows everyone. They are either friends, family, or at the least, went to school together.

It has been difficult to get clients to come up here. Everyone lives down "in town" and see the 8 miles in the wrong direction as a negative.

But, once I get them to at least come for a visit, I get 'em...hook, line, and sinker.

I also try to get clients in the mild months. I've learned NOT to interview when there is 5 feet of snow on the ground. That tends to scare them away. But if I interview in the spring or summer, by winter, they love me and don't mind the drive up here.

I really try to use the woods and nature as a plus when marketing. We spend most of our day outside in the fresh air, roaming the woods, and learning about & enjoying nature. I have 10 acres for them to run, and my father in law has property next door with 90 acres, a pond, and groomed trails through the woods. We garden, have tons of fruit trees and bushes, go on nature walks, that sort of thing.

It was tough to get clients initially, but I am full at the moment, and many of my families come from even farther then town. Some drive 15 or 20 miles to get to me, and then have to drive 25 -35 miles back to get to work.

But It's like I tell them...I may be a bit out of the way, but well worth the trip!
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AnneCordelia 06:09 AM 02-10-2012
I live in a suburb city to Toronto, a 'mega' city. All my families are local, duel income professionals. Our small town is a 'bedroom' town to Toronto and another city close by.
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mac60 06:14 AM 02-10-2012
In our area, we call ourselves rural and we do not have a city closer than 50 miles to us. A 50 mile radius is nothing but small rural towns. A suburb here is considered attached to a city and sprawling. So rural here.

Economy here sucks. Unemployment is still high, contrary to what the "statistics" say. If you were fortunate to find a job, it came with minimum wage pay and unaffordable health benefits. So overall, in my area, it still is not good at all. Many families still struggling including my own. Many of us are faced without health benefits for the first time in our lives. Many companies closed shop in the past 3 years here. Many companies got rid of their older workforce. Anymore in our location, you are either well off or poor, there is no more middle class here.
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icaredaycare 06:17 AM 02-10-2012
anne- thanks for sharing. I've been meaning to go to toronto to visit some family.

mel- that is awesome. u are able to get clients to travel 20 or so miles to get to you in opposite direction of where they need to go. great advertisement, and great environment you offer.

here in the city, there is a daycare on every other block it seems. Parents aren't so willing to travel that far because they often choose whatever is convenient. ur story is inspiring...and i love the slogan... "well worth the trip"
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icaredaycare 06:18 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by mac60:
In our area, we call ourselves rural and we do not have a city closer than 50 miles to us. A 50 mile radius is nothing but small rural towns. A suburb here is considered attached to a city and sprawling. So rural here.
ahh...so rural isn't suburb in ur area. my terminology was off. sorry about that.


sorry to hear mac, i can understand. my father was just recently laid off from a company who moved to mexico. it was a pretty big company too with a lot of employees.
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MrsB 06:59 AM 02-10-2012
I live in what is now considered a suburb of washington DC, 10/15 years ago it was considered more rural.

We have TONS of field trip experiences, from nature to museums. But with the economy tanking there has been an major influx of workers who were laid off and decided to do home daycare. So most parents have pick of the litter when it comes to choosing a daycare.

I would say for the most part people here are middle class, but they recently built alot of townhouses and trackhousing and alot of lower class have filitered in from DC.

It has been somewhat difficult as a provider remaining competitave. To get the higher wage earning families, you usually have to have LONG hours. Because of the commute parents are gone 10-12 hours a day. To meet the needs of the lower income families you have to accept subsidy vouchers and the kids are not as longer term so there is a lot of turn over.

Alot of the new providers slash their prices so low I dont know how they do it, especially for the long hours. The older providers just wont do it for less and have turned in their licenses.

I for the most part have stayed busy. I currently have a wait list although when I do have an opening more than 75% of my waitlist gets deleted because the parents situation has changed or they find something they liked. My rates are middle of the road for my area and I do some of the longer hours. Opening at 5:45 and closing at 6:15. But parents have contracted hours and I have a full time rate (under 50 hrs) and an extended full time rate (over 50 hours).
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Country Kids 07:04 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by melskids:
Most, if all, of my clients have been by word of mouth. Like I said, Its a SMALL town, and everyone knows everyone. They are either friends, family, or at the least, went to school together.

It has been difficult to get clients to come up here. Everyone lives down "in town" and see the 8 miles in the wrong direction as a negative.

But, once I get them to at least come for a visit, I get 'em...hook, line, and sinker.

I also try to get clients in the mild months. I've learned NOT to interview when there is 5 feet of snow on the ground. That tends to scare them away. But if I interview in the spring or summer, by winter, they love me and don't mind the drive up here.

I really try to use the woods and nature as a plus when marketing. We spend most of our day outside in the fresh air, roaming the woods, and learning about & enjoying nature. I have 10 acres for them to run, and my father in law has property next door with 90 acres, a pond, and groomed trails through the woods. We garden, have tons of fruit trees and bushes, go on nature walks, that sort of thing.

It was tough to get clients initially, but I am full at the moment, and many of my families come from even farther then town. Some drive 15 or 20 miles to get to me, and then have to drive 25 -35 miles back to get to work.

But It's like I tell them...I may be a bit out of the way, but well worth the trip!
You are living my dream!!!!

Please take a little extra outdoor time for me today please-
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MyAngels 07:05 AM 02-10-2012
I didn't answer the poll, since I don't know where I fit in .

I'm not rural - my town has about 130,000 or so, but I don't think that qualifies as a city. The nearest "city" is Chicago, about three hours away, so we're not in the suburbs.

Mostly middle class/professional families here, a smattering of blue collar, a lot of academic professionals and students (we have four colleges in my town). Low unemployment, decent cost of living, stable home prices, our area is, for the most part, unaffected by the recession (knock on wood).
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GretasLittleFriends 07:16 AM 02-10-2012
I always thought the definitions were:
Urban - City
Suburban (Suburbs) - sprawling from the city
Rural - Out from the city (country, mountains, whatever, basically more wildlife than human life)

I live in a rural area. The town that my mail comes from has a population of 322 people and really nothing to offer. A different town where I get gas and my quick grocery items is about 8 miles from me. I do have a "town" about a mile from me, and it has a gas station, bar, church, and someone converted their garage into a year round garage sale/thrift store.

My closest Wal-Mart is 30 miles away. The closest city that has anything more than a Wal-Mart (like competitive stores) is 59 miles to the north, 59 miles to the west or 64 miles to the south. Going east, I'm not sure because that's Wisconsin, and there isn't an easy way to get there from here without back-tracking.

The majority of my kids are basically part-time and often rotating shifts. I have two parents that work at a habilitation with challenged adults (mostly mentally challenged) and one of those has gone back to college, and the other holds a part-time at a gas station also. I have two parents that are nurses. 6 parents that work at a nearby casino, one of those casino workers has also gone back to school. One mechanic, one construction worker, and one parent who waitresses and works at Walmart.

A lot of my kids either come from single parent households, divorced parents, or parents living together and not married, I do have two families that come from married households. Only 3 of my families are on state-aid, but most are scraping to get by. The county I live in has about 14% of the population living below the poverty line. And the only minority we have is Native Americans, and most of them, you wouldn't know it.

What really helps my daycare is that I started out offering 24/7 services. I am getting away from weekends now as my own family is growing, but I still offer 24/5 services. The current clients who still need weekends I will cover, but no new clients on weekends. With the odd jobs and hours out here it was hard to find non-standard hour daycares. Most of my families have been by word of mouth from the 3 that initially started. I did advertise in the local advertisement circular and did get a two families that way.
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Blackcat31 07:45 AM 02-10-2012
I live in a town in northern MN with a population of roughly 10,000 people (and10,000 lakes too!)

I actually live 7 miles out of town on 40 acres of wooded land but my child care house is within city limits.

We have 4 different school districts in my area. Also in my county there are 48 licensed child care homes/centers. We have a K-mart a Walmart and a Target within 3-4 blocks of each other.
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melskids 08:07 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by Country Kids:
You are living my dream!!!!

Please take a little extra outdoor time for me today please-
I will.

We moved here 5 years ago, from a suburban neighborhood downstate. (we were about 1 1/2 hours north of NYC) It was such a shock to me....I cried the first 6 months we lived here.

My hubby and I are straight out of a green acres episode.

Now, I have come to love it. Snow, mud, wild critters and all. I could never go back.

My parents still live downstate, and although it will always be "home", my heart is in the mountains now.
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melskids 08:09 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
I live in a town in northern MN with a population of roughly 10,000 people (and10,000 lakes too!)

I actually live 7 miles out of town on 40 acres of wooded land but my child care house is within city limits.

We have 4 different school districts in my area. Also in my county there are 48 licensed child care homes/centers. We have a K-mart a Walmart and a Target within 3-4 blocks of each other.
YOU are living MY dream!

I SOOOO want a house in town for my daycare!

Regs here say we have to LIVE in the house we do daycare in though.
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Blackcat31 08:14 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by melskids:
YOU are living MY dream!

I SOOOO want a house in town for my daycare!

Regs here say we have to LIVE in the house we do daycare in though.
Thank you! The only reason I have a separate house is because it was my DH's worst nighmare to have daycare IN our home.

His mother ran a 24/7 daycare while he was growing up and he "claims" he is severely scarred because of it....

Our state is in the process of becoming unionized and the rumor going around is that we will NOT be able to have a seaparate home if we are family child care. I have heard it said, but have yet to find anything legal that says so.... I surely hope not.
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daycare 08:19 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by melskids:
I'm not rural OR city....lol

I live in the middle of nowhere, on a mountain, on a dirt road in a town of 250. What does that make me? Besides a mountain hillbilly hick....lol
lol......I love that word hillbilly.... Your place sounds amazing. No smog, loud trains, buses, cars or crazy city vehicles I bet....

Sounds like a little piece of heaven
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Cat Herder 08:22 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
the rumor going around is that we will NOT be able to have a seaparate home if we are family child care. I have heard it said, but have yet to find anything legal that says so.... I surely hope not.
It already happened here....

They also dropped it to 2 kids max (related or not) before being required to apply with State.
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BigMama 08:36 AM 02-10-2012
I live in a city of approximately 145,000. It is a fairly diverse area with a mixture of upper, middle, and working class folks. I am definitely a city-girl - I cannot imagine living in the suburbs let alone a rural area! No sidewalk, no big library, no neighbors, no people YIKES!
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Country Kids 08:46 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Thank you! The only reason I have a separate house is because it was my DH's worst nighmare to have daycare IN our home.

His mother ran a 24/7 daycare while he was growing up and he "claims" he is severely scarred because of it....

Our state is in the process of becoming unionized and the rumor going around is that we will NOT be able to have a seaparate home if we are family child care. I have heard it said, but have yet to find anything legal that says so.... I surely hope not.
That is how our state is. You have to live in the house you are doing childcare from to be considered a family childcare.

May I ask what your hubby means by this. I'm being very serious on this because I'm getting the feeling some of my own children may feel this way because of childcare. One of mine already says they don't want to have children-. Has said this for several years. They have been raised there whole life in childcare. Going to be in college soon so not a little one. I so hope this has seriously not had an ill effect on them because of my profession.
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icaredaycare 08:59 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by Country Kids:
That is how our state is. You have to live in the house you are doing childcare from to be considered a family childcare.

May I ask what your hubby means by this. I'm being very serious on this because I'm getting the feeling some of my own children may feel this way because of childcare. One of mine already says they don't want to have children-. I so hope this has seriously not had an ill effect on them because of my profession.
I too would like to know this. I asked my son if he would like my daycare when he's a grown up. he said "nope! I'd rather be a doctor."
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icaredaycare 09:02 AM 02-10-2012
can i please have a moderator change the poll and reset it?

after a few people have pointed out...it should read.

rural

suburbs

urban

sorry for the confusion. being a city kid...i always put suburbs and rural together.
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melskids 09:13 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by daycare:
lol......I love that word hillbilly.... Your place sounds amazing. No smog, loud trains, buses, cars or crazy city vehicles I bet....

Sounds like a little piece of heaven
Originally Posted by BigMama:
I live in a city of approximately 145,000. It is a fairly diverse area with a mixture of upper, middle, and working class folks. I am definitely a city-girl - I cannot imagine living in the suburbs let alone a rural area! No sidewalk, no big library, no neighbors, no people YIKES!
LOL!

I have NO neighbors.....I'm the only house on a dirt road that is surrounded by 3000 acres of state land. The only cars that go by are my DC parents

My neighbors all have 4 legs and fur.

Our neighbor...now when I say neighbor, I mean MILES down the road...lol....is a weekender, and brings friends from the city in the summer. They are always amazed that we live this way...on purpose.

Last summer we all sat around a campfire one night and I had all I could do to hold it together. The women were all complaining about the bugs and scared out of their minds by the animal noises. Some of the men were too.

One got up to lock her car doors. She didn't want critters to crawl inside.

Not only was she shocked that we don't lock our doors, half the time the keys get left in the ignition.
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melskids 09:17 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Thank you! The only reason I have a separate house is because it was my DH's worst nighmare to have daycare IN our home.

His mother ran a 24/7 daycare while he was growing up and he "claims" he is severely scarred because of it....

Our state is in the process of becoming unionized and the rumor going around is that we will NOT be able to have a seaparate home if we are family child care. I have heard it said, but have yet to find anything legal that says so.... I surely hope not.
You know, I've always wondered. If I set up the house to "look" like I actually live there, how can they prove I don't?
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Country Kids 09:20 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by melskids:
You know, I've always wondered. If I set up the house to "look" like I actually live there, how can they prove I don't?
I actually wouldn't want it looking like I lived there because that would be the whole reason for me not doing it in my house. More room to do things, more rooms for different things, very kid friendly. So if I had it set up to look like a house I would be gaining any of the things I was shooting for.
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melskids 09:25 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by Country Kids:
I actually wouldn't want it looking like I lived there because that would be the whole reason for me not doing it in my house. More room to do things, more rooms for different things, very kid friendly. So if I had it set up to look like a house I would be gaining any of the things I was shooting for.
No, I agree! Its more room I'm after.

But if I at least threw a bed and a dresser in a bedroom, how can they prove I dont live there, right?
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icaredaycare 09:31 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by melskids:
No, I agree! Its more room I'm after.

But if I at least threw a bed and a dresser in a bedroom, how can they prove I dont live there, right?
i don't get this either. even if you owned multiple homes...u can still live in all of them. i can have a house i live in on weekends...and a house i live during the week.

i wonder how much info they really "dig" into this.
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karen 10:52 AM 02-10-2012
I live in the burbs just outside of Cleveland.
Many different backgrounds and cultures here. Right now I have all professions here from police to mechanics and everything in between. Here where I live you really have to have an edge to make it because their are so many daycare centers and home care providers. I count my blessings everyday because I am full. Sometimes I am not and it takes me a few months to recruit newbies but once I do they seem happy and almost all of my kids have been with me for a few years. I try to keep them until they go to school.
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Heidi 10:58 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Thank you! The only reason I have a separate house is because it was my DH's worst nighmare to have daycare IN our home.

His mother ran a 24/7 daycare while he was growing up and he "claims" he is severely scarred because of it....

Our state is in the process of becoming unionized and the rumor going around is that we will NOT be able to have a seaparate home if we are family child care. I have heard it said, but have yet to find anything legal that says so.... I surely hope not.
That's wierd! Our state is unionized (it's voluntary though), and the union has fought the state on adding that rule!
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Country Kids 10:59 AM 02-10-2012
It has to be your main dwelling place. Our rules say "The home in which child car is provided must be the residence of the provider".

so I'm thinking it has to be where you claim residence as the place you live more than any place else.
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Countrygal 11:01 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by GretasLittleFriends:
I always thought the definitions were:
Urban - City
Suburban (Suburbs) - sprawling from the city
Rural - Out from the city (country, mountains, whatever, basically more wildlife than human life)

I live in a rural area. The town that my mail comes from has a population of 322 people and really nothing to offer. A different town where I get gas and my quick grocery items is about 8 miles from me. I do have a "town" about a mile from me, and it has a gas station, bar, church, and someone converted their garage into a year round garage sale/thrift store.

My closest Wal-Mart is 30 miles away. The closest city that has anything more than a Wal-Mart (like competitive stores) is 59 miles to the north, 59 miles to the west or 64 miles to the south. Going east, I'm not sure because that's Wisconsin, and there isn't an easy way to get there from here without back-tracking.

The majority of my kids are basically part-time and often rotating shifts. I have two parents that work at a habilitation with challenged adults (mostly mentally challenged) and one of those has gone back to college, and the other holds a part-time at a gas station also. I have two parents that are nurses. 6 parents that work at a nearby casino, one of those casino workers has also gone back to school. One mechanic, one construction worker, and one parent who waitresses and works at Walmart.

A lot of my kids either come from single parent households, divorced parents, or parents living together and not married, I do have two families that come from married households. Only 3 of my families are on state-aid, but most are scraping to get by. The county I live in has about 14% of the population living below the poverty line. And the only minority we have is Native Americans, and most of them, you wouldn't know it.

What really helps my daycare is that I started out offering 24/7 services. I am getting away from weekends now as my own family is growing, but I still offer 24/5 services. The current clients who still need weekends I will cover, but no new clients on weekends. With the odd jobs and hours out here it was hard to find non-standard hour daycares. Most of my families have been by word of mouth from the 3 that initially started. I did advertise in the local advertisement circular and did get a two families that way.
aaaaahhhhhh...... finally someone that lives more in the boonies than I do!!! My Wally World is only 20 mins away!!!
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Heidi 11:04 AM 02-10-2012
I live not too far away from Country Gal, on the other side of a town of 300. So, it's pretty much the same over here, except we live a mile from a large lake, and there are no bluffs, just lots and lots of sand, scrub oaks, and jake pines.

I live in a subdivision, everyone has 1-3 acres, and there is no sidewalk. We walk right on the road over here....
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Countrygal 11:09 AM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by melskids:
LOL!

I have NO neighbors.....I'm the only house on a dirt road that is surrounded by 3000 acres of state land. The only cars that go by are my DC parents

My neighbors all have 4 legs and fur.

Our neighbor...now when I say neighbor, I mean MILES down the road...lol....is a weekender, and brings friends from the city in the summer. They are always amazed that we live this way...on purpose.

Last summer we all sat around a campfire one night and I had all I could do to hold it together. The women were all complaining about the bugs and scared out of their minds by the animal noises. Some of the men were too.

One got up to lock her car doors. She didn't want critters to crawl inside.

Not only was she shocked that we don't lock our doors, half the time the keys get left in the ignition.
You get the "BOONIES" award!!!!
ENJOY!!!
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Sugar Magnolia 11:39 AM 02-10-2012
Live in the suburbs, but center is smack in the middle of downtown. Rocks!
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Blackcat31 12:14 PM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by Country Kids:
That is how our state is. You have to live in the house you are doing childcare from to be considered a family childcare.

May I ask what your hubby means by this. I'm being very serious on this because I'm getting the feeling sme of my own children may feel this way because of childcare. One of mine already says they don't want to have children-. Has said this for several years. They have been raised there whole life in childcare. Going to be in college soon so not a little one. I so hope this has seriously not had an ill effect on them because of my profession.
I will answer you in a bit. I have a tech person on my laptop and only have access to my iphone right now and it is too small to type alot into.
Originally Posted by icaredaycare:
can i please have a moderator change the poll and reset it?

after a few people have pointed out...it should read.

rural

suburbs

urban

sorry for the confusion. being a city kid...i always put suburbs and rural together.
I modified the poll now so I hope it helps

Originally Posted by melskids:
You know, I've always wondered. If I set up the house to "look" like I actually live there, how can they prove I don't?
I pay homesteaded property taxes on my home and non-resident tax on my daycare house... I cannot legally homestead two places unless it is seasonal like a cabin I only use a small amount of time.
Originally Posted by bbo:
That's wierd! Our state is unionized (it's voluntary though), and the union has fought the state on adding that rule!
Our state has no clue how or if it willbe union yet and NONE of the details are worked out yet. We just know it is coming.
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saved4always 02:05 PM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by icaredaycare:
saved4always - thanks for sharing. legally un-licensed means no more than 3 children in ur area?
I have only 3 children right now, but, where I live you can have up to 6 children under the age of 6 (or it might be 6 and under, can't remember the exact wording off-hand) with no more than 3 of them being under 2 and be unliscensed. More children would require the provider to be liscensed. The 6 children includes the provider's own children in those ages (my own children are much older). I have never gotten up to the limit because I like a small group. My house is not very large so the 3 little ones I have now is a good number for me. They are all around the same age and get along most of the time.
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saved4always 02:11 PM 02-10-2012
Originally Posted by icaredaycare:
can i please have a moderator change the poll and reset it?

after a few people have pointed out...it should read.

rural

suburbs

urban

sorry for the confusion. being a city kid...i always put suburbs and rural together.
So, I did this poll this morning and checked rural before you added suburbs, but we are really more the suburbs. Sorry..that probably puts your count off a little. But, this area WAS rural at one time so I didn't get it totally wrong, just a little bit...lol.
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Tags:laws, regional issues, regulations, rural, suburbs, urban
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