green northeast communities?

Odelyah

Thu, Sep 04 2014, 11:00 pm

MaBelleVie wrote:

I would recommend looking into Waterbury.

The thing is that Waterbury is not all that green. Compared to Brooklyn, yes. But not compared to the Catskills. Most of the houses in the main Jewish neighborhood are fairly close together, and many have smallish yards. Some of the houses have bigger yards but most don't. If that's important to you you can probably find a house with a decent yard but the area itself is not sprawling, if that's what you're looking for. But close by there are nice parks and green areas, many places to hike, lakes on which to kayak, etc., so it really depends what you mean by green. It is also much more affordable than Brooklyn, Monsey or Lakewood (and Newton) but it depends what you mean by cheap.

yaelinIN

Fri, Sep 05 2014, 2:33 pm

What Nylon said. While PA and NY's HS regulations are more onerous than my state (IN), people homeschool there. If you are set on living in those states (or any state really) you would do well to contact that state's homeschool support network. They can give you the real low down on the laws and their interpretation. BTW, I lived in MD and while it was annoying to HS there because of their laws, it wasn't hard nor time-consuming.

Fri, Sep 05 2014, 2:47 pm

amother wrote:

does anyone know what the housing prices are in edison/highland park? what about tuitoin?

I currently live in clifton and from what I see the houses are pretty close together. Doesn't sound like what op is looking for.

Tuition prices don't matter... she's planning on home schooling

amother

Fri, Sep 05 2014, 3:19 pm

We homeschool in Passaic and my dh works from home. I would say it's relatively cheap here compared to many other places in the tri-state area. Lakewood is not for you as homeschoolers - others have tried or wanted to there but are shunned - you very much have to toe the line. It's not a place for people who don't fit into the mold. We have easy access to the city, Lakewood and Monsey from Passaic, plus CY isn't a problem (we hold by it too). Amother so as not to out my username.

cbash

Sun, Sep 07 2014, 11:35 am

Hi, a great affordable and warm Jewish community is Rochester, NY. The housing is very cheap; my mortgage and property taxes for a 5 bedroom house are less than rent for a 2 bedroom apartment in Brooklyn! The Jewish community is located in the suburb, Brighton, which is beautiful and nearly every house has huge backyards with tons of green! There's a bunch of kids to play with as well! And there's a family here that homeschools, so I know that's not a technical issue. Also, it's only an approximate 5 hour drive to Brooklyn and around 3 hours from PA, since you said you'd be visiting, so it's nice and close. The Rochester community is so tranquil and accepting; there’s no keeping up with the Jones’s and everyone’s so genuinely nice and caring. PM me for more details if you’re interested! We love hosting people for shabbat who are interested in learning more about our community! Very Happy

chanamarie

Fri, Sep 12 2014, 11:29 am

Thanks everyone who offered advice and ideas - I really do appreciate everything!

While you can homeschool in every state, certain ones (like NY and PA) have restrictive and annoying laws about what they require. So, you can do it, but if I have the choice of moving, I don't know if I want to set myself up to be annoyed.

I'm really interested in Waterbury. Can anyone tell me about the Blueridge area? Any greener than Waterbury proper? Yard size? Housing prices?

Are there actual communities that exist in the Catskills for the whole year? What are they like?

Thanks for the info on Malden - I'm really intrigued, but I think it's too far...

Still interested in NJ, but not sure which areas (some are quite pricey!)

Will do a little digging into Rochester!

amother

Fri, Sep 12 2014, 2:01 pm

I was going to suggest Rochester, NY also - it's very affordable in terms of housing, green and open properties, plus people are chilled out and happy to have another frum family in the area, whether or not your kids are in school. Even though NY laws might be annoying, it might be worth the effort if it's a good fit in other ways.

NJ would be good except for the housing thing: it's not cheap, although that improves further from NYC. Try Linden or Manalapan maybe?

amother

Fri, Sep 12 2014, 2:11 pm

Scranton PA is small. There is green space but not so much right within walking distance to the shuls/yeshiva.

I know that there's one family there that homeschools. The father does kiruv in SUNY Binghamton. You might be able to be in touch with them & see how it works for them.

Also you won't necessarily find children the ages of your children.
It is a very reasonable drive from parts of the Catskills.

Shani can tell us more. (I just visit there occasionally.)

amother

Fri, Sep 12 2014, 3:45 pm

amother wrote:

Linden is a small modern community. No black hats. Not appropriate for OP.

Odelyah

Sat, Sep 13 2014, 10:59 pm

chanamarie wrote:

Blueridge is more expensive than Waterbury proper. And still not sprawling-- houses are fairly close together but some have larger backyards. Each lot is a little different. There are some empty green spots though. Again, it really depends how you define expensive and how you define green. How big a lot are you looking for. 1/3 acre? More? How much space between houses? How far set back from the street? And more importantly, what is your price range? If you want more info about Blueridge you can contact them and ask all your questions. Their website is blueridgewaterbury.com. Also keep in mind that real estate taxes are pretty high in Waterbury, depending on the house, and higher in Blueridge.

shanie5

Sun, Sep 14 2014, 5:29 pm

amother wrote:

That family does online schooling, but call it homeschooling as it takes place in the house. It sounds like the OP wants to do true homeschooling. I do know a couple of non jewish families who homeschool. I can connect op with them if she is interested. I have no idea what restrictive means as applies to homeschooling.

Scranton has lots of yard space. So I guess it depends on how green she means.

Everything else she wants fits Scranton. The community would prefer if she sent her kids to the school, but can be accepting of her decision not to.

shanie5

Sun, Sep 21 2014, 9:46 am

I asked one of my home schooling friends if PA was restrictive re home schooling. She said its the most restrictive state. But she also said its not that bad, and she would be willing to talk to you about it and send you the forms you would need to fill out. If you are interested of course.

shanie5

Sun, Sep 21 2014, 10:19 am

Ruchel wrote:

Is it so small that your child won't have classmate of his own age?

No. But they can be very small classes. My sons class was 3 boys and 3 girls. They join grades sometimes. Like 7th and 8th grade girls are together for hebrew. Possibly english too, I forget.

Another son had around 10 boys and 12 girls. It varies.

The kindergarten has 3 kids, I think, but nursery has 9.