Calling all Ramat Beit Shemesh mavens!

amother

Fri, Jan 30 2015, 4:15 pm

Need advice for an "older" family re. what neighborhoods/streets to look into when we come on our pilot trip in a few weeks.

DH: early 50's. works in IT (will telecommute). Black hat and white shirt on Shabbos. Otherwise, black pants and long-sleeve button up shirt, but with color, not white.

me: 40's. Cover all hair (in every way--from snood to sheitel depending on day). healthcare professional. long sleeve. skirt covers knee. wear denim skirts.

oldest kid coming is 12, so need someplace with tween girls around so she'll have friends, b''eh.....

Looking into Ganei Ha'eila, as I do think it will be helpful for us to be in a place where people want community. Where else?!?!~ THANKS Smile

heidi

Sat, Jan 31 2015, 11:36 am

Your dress options sound lovely, but picking a neighborhood has much more to do than with what you wear. For example, my DH and I dress exactly as you describe, but are very zionist, believe that our children have an obligation to serve their country and hence could never call RBS home. Please elaborate on what type of hashkafic outlooks you have in order to be better guided. Also, what schools are you planning to look in to?

m in Israel

Sat, Jan 31 2015, 12:34 pm

Ganei Ha'eila sounds like it might be a nice fit, but based on the advertising I've seen and a few people I've met who are moving there, I think it is a bit more of a young crowd -- I'm not sure your 12 year old would have friends there. (I don't know for sure, but definitely ask the people you are speaking to if they have anyone with older kids).

A lot of the Mishkafayim area might be good for you -- I don't really know each specific development there -- maybe there is a different project that has a slightly older clientele. Also the new areas in M-3 sound like they might be a fit.

As far as existing areas, I think you would also be fine in Ramat Shiloh, which IME has a pretty big mix and would definitely have people who seem to fit your description. Also the Dolev area near Shimshon (I.e. the top part of Dolev). And maybe Yarkon/Yarden (across the street from M-3 and Mishkafayim).

I don't really know all the areas well, but I'm pretty sure these would be good places to start.

Good luck!

amother

Sat, Jan 31 2015, 4:06 pm

I agree with m in Israel that your 12 year old dd would be at the top end of the age scale in Ganei Ha"ela. I do know a lovely family that bought there that has a 6th grade daughter going on 12. And one amazing family with a boy 11. But the rest that I know have younger children.
I also know one family that opted out for several reason, one being they felt aged out. They have kids ranging from about 5 - 19 and they are probably in their mid 40's.
I do not know the age range of the families that bought in Mem3 or Mishkafayim but I'm pretty sure Mishkafayim will have a broader range.
Those are the new areas.
In terms of established areas, the ages are all mixed: Almost anywhere on Dolev, Shimshon, Maor, HaYarden, lower Refaim, Raziel, HaBesor - and they all will fit you hashkafik-ly.

Hatzlacha!

amother

Sun, Feb 01 2015, 7:32 am

M in Israel and Amother--thank you! Very, very helpful. I'm sitting with an online map and listings of rentals/sales open now Smile

I do think we're going to have to pass on Ganei Ha'eila. sigh. Sounds lovely but when I checked out every family on their website, each one is younger (some by a LOT) than us. Where we currently live, 12 y/o is a popular babysitter with no friends her age. I'm not moving to Israel to have that pattern continue!

Heidi: of course, you're right....Glad the other mothers figured out what I was asking about without my going further into detail.

amother

Sun, Feb 08 2015, 3:45 pm

Okay, Ganei Ha'eila off the list--too young of a community and no rentals anyway b/c it's new.

Starting to panic a little.....Pilot trip in two days.....Not sure of where to go and concerned we will miss community or a neighborhood b/c I didn't do enough research before we left. ARGH!

To round out our profile (Hi, Heidi!): dh davens with a minyan daily. Learns with a chavruta several times a week and alone twice each day. shiurim attendee 2x/week.

me: daven 1x daily. Shiurim 1-2x/week (I.e. as many as my community offers). Mikvah attendent.

We only have daughters and likely would want them to do sherut leumi. I think that's all....

If anyone has an idea outside of RBS, please let me know!

In RBS we will be looking at at least two schools and at least one house to rent.

thanks Smile

shabbatiscoming

Sun, Feb 08 2015, 3:49 pm

amother wrote:

From what you describe right here, some of the yishuvim in th gush would probably be a good fit as well.

shabbatiscoming

Mon, Feb 09 2015, 12:52 pm

amother wrote:

Rabbi Malinowitz at Bais Tefila may be a good resource - you might like the Luz area. Or Palace Gardens (Snir/Zavitan)

Beis tefilla is extremely charedi.

m in Israel

Mon, Feb 09 2015, 1:04 pm

amother wrote:

Rabbi Malinowitz at Bais Tefila may be a good resource - you might like the Luz area. Or Palace Gardens (Snir/Zavitan)

I disagree. As Shabbat said, OP definitely seems much more to the left of Rabbi Malinowitz, and certainly the Palace Gardens area. I can't imagine too many families in Snir/Zavitan with daughters planning on doing sheirut leumi.

Luz might be an option, especially farther down the bottom (closer to Yarkon). But I still think the earlier amother's list (Dolev, Shimshon, Maor, HaYarden, lower Refaim, Raziel, HaBesor) is a much more likely fit.

amother

Tue, Feb 10 2015, 7:26 am

OP here: yes, def. nothing too chareidi. We are coming from a very small, very sweet and accepting OOT community. We are definitely not cookie cutter!

Looking at an apt in Sheinfeld. I'd love to find something on Dolev or one of the other streets mentioned.

amother

Mon, Feb 16 2015, 12:10 am

OP here: we drove around the neighborhood yesterday (Aleph) and it seemed very, very nice. Anyone have a realtor they recommend for a rental?

My kids would love to be able to school, so it looks like Aleph would be a better choice than coming in from RBS/sheinfeld.

any advice for places to go/things to do would be really appreciated. We will not have a Shabbos there and it's so hard to get a sense of the community when you're not there for a Shabbos....

amother

Mon, Feb 16 2015, 2:26 am

(amother from above recommending several streets that I thought might suit you)
Rentals are quite hard to find now. They come out after Pesach. It is very common to find an apartment for a summer aliya in May or early June. I know it is hard on the nerves.
We used Rimon.

By the way, we sound very alike in terms of our hashkafa and my dh is very happy at Eish Kodesh on Maor.
Did you or dh check it out?

amother

Wed, Feb 18 2015, 12:40 am

THank you,another above! Your info has been very, very helpful. I gave dh a link to the shul you suggested.

Amother two posts ago: yes, I'm on the email list. B"h it's been quite informative.

Two more things: I tried to say above the my kids would like to walk to school. I seem to have left out that important word Smile

Lastly, seems the issue of national service is a lot more confusing than I previously thought. I think our best response is that we're not sure how we're holding on that.....

5mom

Wed, Feb 18 2015, 1:11 am

I know it's crazy to think about these things now, but consider that if you put your girls on a track where they won't do sherut leumi, you may well be putting them on a track where they marry boys who have no secular education and who won't join the work force. That's not 100% certain, but it is a very possible scenario. Conversely, if they do sherut leumi, chances are they will end up with someone who has done the hesder track. Which direction do you see for your family? The American " a bit of this and a bit of that " doesn't work as well in Israel. Your school and neighborhood choices create affiliations that play out in many ways.
Best of luck.

amother

Cerulean

Wed, Apr 15 2015, 7:45 am

Hi Mavens

b''H, things are moving forward for aliyah b''eH in July (we're aiming for the NBN charter on July 13) so our girls can attend GirlsRUs camp which starts at the end of July. Anyone have input about this camp?

Also, can you please give me some input re renting an apartment? Is there a central list so that if we sign up with one real estate person (my husband used to learn with Boruch Dovid of Rimon) they have access to all apartments, or is it company-by-company and I need to contact several places?

Thank you SO much for the help!!!!!

amother

Purple

Wed, Apr 15 2015, 8:36 am

Hi. I am the amother that recommended several streets to you and also Eish Kodesh.
So excited that you are moving forward. Almost there...
I knew you meant walk to school. I walk with my kids every morning and we love it. Well, I love it. They grumble sometimes.
And the similarities continue... one of my daughters went to Camp Girls R Us last summer and enjoyed herself. There is another girls' camp that I would consider for this summer but the name escapes me. It is next door to Girls R Us. Or she will go back to Girls R Us.

We were in touch with several agencies.
As I wrote in an earlier post - apartments available during summer don't usually advertise until about now. May and June are very busy months to advertise for next year.

Hatzlacha!!

November

Wed, Apr 15 2015, 8:36 am

Wow kol hakavod, OP. Where will your girls be in school?
I don't necessarily agree with the whole track thing. I certainly wouldn't decide about sherut L'eumi yet, but boys come in many different shapes and colors, even charedi ones. It's generally non-charedim who believe things to be so black and white in the charedi world. There are boys who will be sitting and learning for a few years, then take classes to catch up and end up being a professional while still being charedi.

heidi

Sun, Apr 19 2015, 10:54 am

November wrote:

Sorry, but I disagree whole heartedly. I have female relatives in the shidduch scene who grew up as Americans in RBS and the boys they are dating are either way to charedi or bummy. There are not boys who were raised in charedi talmud torahs who are fit to go to college, they were taught that army is bad and they seem to have no other options but to sit and learn or to go into their father's business (if they're lucky enough for him to have one)
High school defines who the girl is and what she is going to believe in. So choose carefully and wisely.