Summers in the country.

Barbara

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 9:55 am

magenta wrote:

It is not cheaper to go upstate. Especially if you are still paying rent in the city as well as for the bungalow in the country.

Of course its not cheaper.

You're running two households. Paying two mortgages, or two rents, or some combination of both. Paying for gas or bus for the working parent to visit. And foregoing a summer salary for the parent in the mountains.

And if people are quoting summer camp fees in the mountains, they're not keeping their kids home all day in any case.

Nothing wrong with taking a two-month vacation if you can afford it. But free or cheap, its not.

mommy3b2c

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 10:43 am

Barbara wrote:

It actually is cheaper for me. We own a house. Day camp is cheaper. I spend less on food. Spend less on shopping. I don't work so no missing salary. When I did work, I used to work from up here.

the world's best mom

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 10:49 am

It does come out cheaper for me. There are no camps in my neighborhood in the city for kids first grade and up, so I would be stuck sending my 3 big ones to the few camps that have transportation to my neighborhood. With transportation, it comes out to around $2000 per kid. Plus there's my 3 year old, who could stay local for somewhere around $600-800.

My bungalow is under $4000 to rent, and the day camp in our colony is $450 per kid. That's slightly less than the cost for camp would be in the city. Keeping the kids home in the city wouldn't be an option for me due to a few factors.

Either way, I wouldn't stay home. My best childhood memories are in the country, and my kids grow so much each summer. 'Nature is extremely therapeutic, especially for kids with special needs. We look forward to going to the country all year round.

I live n a small two bedroom apartment with no yard or anyplace the kids could go out and play. Can't compare to the country.

Raisin

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 10:57 am

mommy2b2c wrote:

It actually is cheaper for me. We own a house. Day camp is cheaper. I spend less on food. Spend less on shopping. I don't work so no missing salary. When I did work, I used to work from up here.

Even if the money to buy the house fell from the sky, that money could be working for you instead of tied up in a bungalow.

Unless someone is letting you stay rent free in their bungalow it is not cheaper.

Also, if your husband is staying in the city he is probably spending a lot of money on takeout.

Not knocking the experience for those who enjoy it, im sure it is wonderful.

Mama Bear

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 11:08 am

Just watch my very city-kid 2-yr-old for five minutes up here and you'll get it... The kid who cries at the door every day from as early as 9 a.m. that he wants to go bye-bye, is free and unfettered on the grass as he rides trikes, pushes doll carriages, socializes with other toddlers... his play and speech skills have mutliplied like crazy just in this one week here.

Maya

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 11:20 am

Mama Bear wrote:

If living in suburban areas makes such a difference in your children's lives, how do you justify living in an urban setting during the rest of the year?

Fox

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 11:42 am

Maya wrote:

If living in suburban areas makes such a difference in your children's lives, how do you justify living in an urban setting during the rest of the year?

I used to wonder this, too. It seemed crazy to me that people pay some of the highest housing prices in the country for places that apparently aren't really habitable during the summer months.

But I guess I'm mellowing with age.

People have family, jobs, friends, and whatnot. Moving out of the Tri-State area would mean leaving all that, and moving somewhere else within the Tri-State area wouldn't necessarily solve the problem when you take into account the expenses of living in a more suburban setting.

I get it, kind of. It still seems like a dire solution to me, but I get it.

amother

Goldenrod

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 11:49 am

fox I get it also, especially since not everyone's job is easily transferable to oot. I still think it should be something everyone at least considers, especially at least to a place like monsey instead of williamsburg. We actually upped and moved, to the midwest Smile

- we felt that it would be our family's best interest even though all of our family is in the tristate area.

Sanguine

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 11:50 am

I'm MO - I went to the bungalow colony every summer from age 2 - 9. I'm the youngest in my family and while everyone loved the bungalow it gets boring for the older kids so one by one we dropped off and went to sleepaway camp. We went with a very large group every year. We were called the "Country Cousins". I think 30 out of the 40 bungalows in the colony were the regulars each year (maybe not from my first year). We stopped going to the bungalow more than 40 years ago but the "Country Cousin" connection is still very strong. My mother still plays Mah Jong with her bungalow Mah Jong group. My older sister is still best friends with her close bungalow friend who actually married one of the country cousins, and for years the two couples went to the bungalow together (second generation country cousins?). I often meet some of the country cousins (especially when my older siblings are around). We bump into them at weddings and other places. Then we go down memory lane asking about their siblings and other country cousins. My brother's Bar mitzva was in the bungalow!! I was only 6 but I know we had a full sit down lunch for everyone. I think the only outside guests was my grandparents - but this was with all our country "cousins"!

The bungalows were these pretty primitive shacks. Are that type still around? Most families had just one bedroom with a hi-riser in the kitchen. We had 2 bedrooms (maybe we were rich?). My father would come up Thursday evening and leave early Monday morning. Except for sleeping we lived outside. No one owned a bungalow. I think people were surprised that they lasted through the winter.

Everyone loved the bungalow. I think day camp was 10-4 with a lunch break that you went home for. The head counselor woke the whole colony on the loud speaker.

It's very different than life in the city was. Kids just went out and played all day.

amother

Indigo

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 11:58 am

the world's best mom wrote:

Is that per month?

PinkFridge

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 12:01 pm

Fox wrote:

Whatnot including services for special needs kids and a support system at the very least, I assume.

Last edited by PinkFridge on Tue, Jul 07 2015, 1:26 pm; edited 1 time in total

Sanguine

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 1:11 pm

Maya wrote:

If living in suburban areas makes such a difference in your children's lives, how do you justify living in an urban setting during the rest of the year?

(If this was asked of me I wouldn't justify it with an answer - But since it wasn't) There are hundreds of factors involved in choosing your place to live. Do you expect Mama Bear to move based on what her 2 year old is like (today)? When he's 3 he'll love walking up and own stairs - What great exercise. - Better move to a house with three flights of stairs. When he's 5 he'll be totally annimated when watching trains go by. So then she should move across from a train station?... Poor Mama Bear. I think she has more than one child. She's going to be moving every 3 months shock

Sorry Maya, that comment was ridiculous.They're on vacation now. Maybe they should stay on vacation indefinitely. Look how happy her 2 yo is. I bet everyone would be.

Queen6

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 6:23 pm

There is NOTHING compared to the joys of the country. No matter which colony in, it's just magical and special. The change of pace, new faces, fresh air, less to do..... There's just nothing like it.
Is it perfect? No. Does Mommy give up some by going? Yes. But these are times that are irreplaceable. You can't get these experiences anywhere else.

I also think it comes out cheaper because once you get here you can close your wallet, the kids are entertained. In the city they come home from their super expensive camp and the entertaining is just getting started..... That costs a fortune.

mfb

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 6:40 pm

I think there is no replacement for the freedom I can give the kids in the country.
I know the kids in different places, like in small cities in Israel have it 10 months of the year, but my kids get it for the 2 months in the summer. At home they have to stay in the small yard unless I am watching them.
Here they have friends all the time, and they can play outside all the time. They get to exercise without thinking about it, just by walking/running up and down the hills. They get hours of swimming by the pool...

amother

Pumpkin

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 7:02 pm

amother wrote:

- we felt that it would be our family's best interest even though all of our family is in the tristate area.

Are you my friend? She just moved to Tuscon, AZ!