OU community fair | Imamother

amother

Teal

Wed, Apr 15 2015, 8:32 pm

We are pondering relocation and plan to go to the OU event coming up soon. We have not yet narrowed down specific options, though we have soome idea of what we're looking for there are a lot of places that might fit that. How does the community fair work? Can someone who has benefited from it before suggest a strategic approach to help us gain clarity there? I'm just afraid that with so many communities represented I am going to end up with my head spinning from too much information while still not even having enough time to talk to everyone who could be the answer. We are interested in both Israel and US options. Help!

amother

Burgundy

Thu, Apr 16 2015, 7:05 am

my husband will be one of the representatives of my city at the fair.

First off, you do need to figure out if you want to stay in the U.S. or are considering a move to Israel-- that's a big difference.

You say that you already have an idea of what you're looking for. So that's a start. Make a list (probably on paper is best) of what's important to you. Do you want to be with in driving distance of NY metro area? Do you want a more yeshivish or more modern school? Is it okay that places don't have restaurants and eateries? Think about your most important "must-haves" and narrow places down from there.

You are not going to make any decisions there at the event, but you will hopefully walk away with a clearer idea of what you need/want. From there, you can further your investigations. You will leave the fair with names/numbers of people to follow up with.

I know my city will be hosting a follow-up shabbaton in the late spring/summer. Probably other cities will, too. Will city A seem interesting enough to you to travel to the shabbaton? you get the idea....

if you want to speak further, please PM HashemYazor. She is a close friend of mine and can tell you my user name so you can PM me.

amother

Teal

Sun, Apr 19 2015, 7:30 pm

Thanks for the tips.

We are still trying to figure out where we can make it better financially, US or Israel. It's really down to that and a very close call, believe it or not, because of all the zillions of factors each way. Meanwhile, the fair is happening now and is not waiting until we figure it out. But we will focus on US and address the Israel options more individually, I think.

So I know what some of my most important must-haves are, but I don't know which communities that will be there fit the criteria! The only easy one to rule out is that we want to be within driving distance from NY (far is OK, California no.) Other than that, even if I know some of what I want I don't know which communities fit that.

amother

Red

Mon, Apr 20 2015, 7:09 am

I suggest you make a list and either ask here and/or checkout the ou's community list online where there are often links to the community. you can often find school and shul websites as well....