Moving to northern California next year and really need advice on nurseries

[TatteredTits]

Just found out we're on the move again and want to get DS into nursery as soon as we're settled. We're hoping to live around the Bay Area but I think we'll decide where exactly based on finding a good nursery.
Would love some advice on any good nurseries around the area, what waiting lists are like, fees, anything! DS will be 18months by the time we move.
Any advice would be much appreciated!

The bay area is a huge are, whatever town you will be in you can google preschools in that town/area.
My oldest went to a co op preschool it was cheaper than a normal priced one, still had qualified teachers and the requirement was you helped out one day each month and brought in the snacks for the class that day.
Preschool can be pretty expensive.
Dd went to one that is attached to the local elementary school where she now attends second grade. It was available 5 days a week at $22 per day, ending at noon, if you did full days (for mostly working parents) it was $25 a day and pick was 6pm at the latest.
There are lots of Church preschools and small home run ones too. You really need to be here and visit places to see what you are comfortable with.
Preschool seems different to Nursery in UK to me. Mostly it seems to be about 3 hours a few times a week. Other than that there are big chain daycare centers like La Petit academy and Childrens World. They are open 6am to 6pm and sometimes have waiting lists and are aimed at working parents, not really used like a Nursery.
Many have a non refundable registration fee, sometimes costing many hundreds of dollars, other like the school one Dd went to don't they just follow the school year and have the same days off and holidays, unless there are more than a set number f parents needing care for the kids while the parents work, then they did a small class of only 5 or 6, one teacher and it closed for the day when everyone was picked up as soon as possible each day.
Sorry I didn't mean to write an essay.
Only one of my kids never went to preschool and he did really well going straight into Kindergarten when he was 5. till then he was my little shadow.

I just noticed you said 18 months, the preschools we used wouldn't take kids under 2 and potty trained, only the daycare centers did under two's and it was more of a babysitting type care.

Hi California,
Thanks a mil for the reply, there's some really good info here and you've given me lots of ideas of where to get started. I'll probably wait til he's 2yrs now, seems like we'd have more choice that way.

Sorry for only replying now, I'd gotten out of the habit of checking mumsnet (part timer:)) but really glad of the info

Ta

Hi, we moved to San Carlos, 30 mins south of San Fran in the summer and I got my dd (3) enrolled in a great little local nursery, they have kids from birth to 5 and any combination of days and times, my dd goes every morning, 8.30 to 12.30, but most of her little friends go full time. She lives it and has really come out of her shell since we got here. Good luck with the move and let me know if u need any help with anything.. :)

I agree, I'm in So CA and most of our preschools around here require kids to be fully potty trained and toileting without help. Before that it is usually daycare.