Frum BT family moving to Baltimore - need advice on place

amother

Fri, Sep 03 2010, 4:20 pm

I agree that Balt is very chilled. I don't go to 7 mile in a snood, but that's me. I like to get dressed up. But then again I do wear open toed shoes/flip-flops & that's ok in Balt.
There are now 3 separate gender choices of schools for both boys & girls as Rambam is totally separate.
I have found myself in many shuls here & been comfortable. S/o mentioned Rabbi Weiss- not sure how old you are but they tend to be a pretty young crowd, lots of couples from the apartments. But also kind of diverse. There is also Suburban Orthodox, I don't think that was mentioned yet.

Tova

Fri, Sep 03 2010, 6:03 pm

I'm only really reading this thread carefully now. I am smiling at the notion that a BT would be out of place in Baltimore...I venture that you have more middle aged BT's and their married FFB kids living in Baltimore than middle aged FFB's. I can think of several shuls that are primarily made up of strong BT's. Even our shul (young, yeshivish crowd) my husband once thought it out and said that the vast majority are people who grew up modern and became yeshivish (obviously this demographic is a function of Ner Israel yeshiva).

OK - no one flame me. I am not saying that modern turned yeshivish is equivalent to the BT transformation. I am just making the point that this is NOT a city that you will feel out of place in.

energy11

Sat, Sep 04 2010, 11:27 pm

CHAI is an organization that gives grants and help to those interested in buying houses in several areas of Baltimore within the Eruv.
They are offering very interesting incentives.
I know of a house for sale near 7Miles and Park heigths for $180,000.
What is your budget for rent/mortgage?

happymom3

Sun, Sep 05 2010, 1:01 am

Wow! You are all so amazingly helpful! I really appreciate it. Now I have more questions. The Bais Yaakov elem school is in Owings Hills and and the middle school is in Mt. Washington. The address on the website is on 6300 Smith Ave in the 21209 zip code. TA is on Old Court Road in the 21208 zip code. How far are these schools from Greenspring and Ranchleigh areas? Also, we are looking for a shul that has more of a community feel than a sheitbel feel but we hope it has FFB's and BT's and preferable some that are "older" (we are in our 40's). It is good to know that we can move to an area near a lot of shuls but am nervous they are only for davening and not for families. Which shuls encourage family involvement and have family programs? Also, a friend of mine told me that people in Baltimore don't mix with other people from Baltimore if they don't attend their shul or their kid's schools. Is that true?

Tova

Sun, Sep 05 2010, 1:45 am

happymom3 wrote:

The Smith Avenue campus of BY (MS and HS) is minutes away from Ranchleigh - like right on the outskirts of Ranchleigh. TA is probrably a 15 minute drive away - same for all parts of the frum community unless you actually live in the TA area. In Ranchleigh you have Rabbi Seidemann's shul which is more shul like and less shteibel like and Bais Medrash of Ranchleigh (Rabbi Naiman) which is b'davka more bais medrash/shteibel like and less family oriented shul like. In the Greenspring area, you have both Shomrei and Agudah of Greenspring.

I think like anywhere, you have more to do with your neighbors, people who attend your shul, people you carpool with, etc. I don't think Baltimore is different that anywhere in this regard.

Rubber Ducky

Sun, Sep 05 2010, 1:50 am

TA is about is about 15 minutes drive from our home in the Greenspring area; BY on Smith is 6 or 8 minutes away. I haven't timed the trip to BY in Owings Mills. Bnos Yisroel and Rambam are both at least theoretically within walking distance.

Many of the Shuls here are predominantly BT (mine is mixed) and there are lots and lots of West Coast refugees (my family included!) We rented an apartment when we first moved here so we could take the time to try out different shuls and find the shul and neighborhood that were the best fit for us.

I daven at Agudah of Greenspring (look for me if you visit, I'm the only duck there!) and am usually dressed in denim when it isn't Shabbos. Our shul has women's melave malkas and shalasheudases several times a year, and we've been experimenting with once a month babysitting during services. I don't know what the other shuls here offer in terms of family programs, perhaps others can post some of their shul offerings. You should be able to find your place in Baltimore; it's a very accepting community and we really like it here!

happymom3

Sun, Sep 05 2010, 2:02 am

Can anyone explain to me the different zipcodes in Baltimore? I have discovered 21209, 21208 and 21215. Are they all near each other? If I pick one to move to, can I walk to all of the shuls? Do people (like me) mostly live in one? We really want to rent a house on a street (and eventually buy) where there are lots of frum young kids. Which zip code or zip codes can I live in to get to the Greenspring/Ranchleigh shuls?

prettyone

Sun, Sep 05 2010, 2:04 am

someone mentioned suburban orthodox- Rabbi Silver. I dont know much about it but when I was there the impression I got was a very family, communal feel to it. nothing at all like a shteibl. also I think the crowd is very much your "type" from what you described.

also you asked about directories- there are two jewish directories in Baltimore

the Eruv List and the Good Book. both are filled with tons of information that would be helpful to you.

also there is a booklet called the "Ozeret" it has tons of information about doctors, financial aid, OBGYN's, mikvahos- all with references you can call.

if you want me to find out who puts out the ozeret pm me

energy11

Sun, Sep 05 2010, 8:19 am

Suburban's rav is Rabbi Silber (not Silver) and he is a wonderful speaker.
You can hear some of his Shiurim on suburbanorthodox.com
They have babysitting on shabbos from 2 year old and a youth minyan.
The people there are older, many older than fourties, more like on their sixties.

For the area codes etc.. you can just check distances and driving directions on mapquest.com from one place to another.

If you want a "central location" to try different Shuls, I suggest to be on upper Park Heights (not Greenspring and not Ranchleigh) this way you can try MANY shuls such as Aguda, Suburban, Darchei, Goldberger, Shaare Zion and more.
You can check Ranchleigh on another Shabbos.

If you want to be hosted by a family, pm me and I can arrange it.
All the best!

DefyGravity

Mon, Sep 06 2010, 9:59 am

energy11 wrote:

While there are people that are in the 40's and up, Suburban is FULL of young families as well.