Childcare woes...anyone had any success with nanny share?

[Poppyjen]

I have previously posted about this in the childcare section but its all gone a bit quiet over there so I am hoping someone over here can help :)

I have recently gone back to work full time after 3 years out looking after my children who are 3 and 1. At the moment we have a full time live out nanny who is brilliant and we all love her, but we are suffering so much with both DS and I having a looooong and v expensive commute into London that we are planning to move back to London just before DS starts reception in Sept 2014.

Our problem is, the move back to London means huge increase in accommodation cost which means we won't be able to afford our lovely Nancy's services any more :(

We are hoping to do some kind of nanny share either with our nanny (if she will agree to come with us) or a new one. DS will be in school and DD will be in nursery at least a couple of mornings a week.

Does anyone have any experience of this kind of arrangement? If so I would be very grateful for any stories (good and bad).

Thank you, and sorry for such a long post!

"nanny" not "nancy".....

Is your DS going to state school? If so you may struggle to get a nearby place if you move after the application deadline.

Would you consider nanny with own child? Might be easier to find than a nanny share?

London nannies cost a bit more I think.

DS will be going to independent school so we don't need to worry about that aspect thankfully, application process isn't tied to address.

I hadn't thought about nanny with own child, I have no objections to that in principle - does anyone know what would the difference in cost would be between that and nanny without own child?

A nanny share would be cheaper.

You could also consider a live in nanny if room allows as that generally works out quite a bit cheaper.