Nashville, TN | Imamother

amother

Taupe

Sun, Jun 14 2015, 2:31 am

My husband had a possible business opportunity in Nashville, TN. We would be relocating from Brooklyn, NY so that is a huge change. Is there anyone on imamother that is from Nashville or the surrounding area? I'm curious what jewish life is like there. Is there a Jewish day school? Mikvah? Kosher food? Community? I literally know nothing about the place (except for its country music!)

Please help so that we can make an informed decision.

amother

Powderblue

Sun, Jun 14 2015, 6:11 am

There is a community day school there (no longer orthodox). There is at least two orthodox shules I believe.
My cousin and his wife rabbi Yitzchok and Esther Teichtel live there as Chabad Shluchim for many years and are very nice people who would probably be happy to answer your questions on the phone. They could tell you more about the school, they have a Mikva, They even have an eruv now! http://m.chabadnashville.com

amother

Yellow

Sun, Jun 14 2015, 9:41 am

We used to live there. I don't want to speak L"H, but I would encourage you to reeeeeeally research what you're getting yourself into in terms of the hashkafah of the community, especially if you have children. What kind of Jewish practices are accepted and promoted as normative by the day school, how many Shomer Shabbos families are in town that you can eat by, will there be friends for your children, will they always be the only ones keeping kosher, tznius, etc. to even the most minimally halachic level, etc. For some LW MO people, the answers to all of these may be acceptable and agreeable to move to Nashville, but I would encourage you to dig, dig, dig. There is a lot of Southern hospitality and friendliness, but that doesn't translate into a like-minded chevra, if that is something that is important to you. Just do your hishtadlus.

amother

Taupe

Sun, Jun 14 2015, 10:53 am

Op here. Thank you! This is the kind of info I was looking for. How long ago did u move away from Nashville? Has the community changed since you've been gone? Is there anyone in particular you think I can reach put to, to get more information?

amother

Yellow

Sun, Jun 14 2015, 4:18 pm

This info is current. Uch, this is so hard because I don't want to veer into saying something I shouldn't, but... do yourself and your family a favor and visit several times if possible. Keep in mind the people you don't meet... in other words, people who are there are people who have chosen to be there, which is great and they love their community, but think also of who hasn't chosen to be there and why. Who knows? You may love it or you may see some of the things we did and head the other way. I'm trying my hardest to be fair, but read between the lines.

amother

Taupe

Sun, Jun 14 2015, 7:34 pm

Op again.

And again, thank you. I understand what you are saying. Visiting is definitely part of the plan before we commit to moving!

Would your concerns be the same if it was husband and me, without any children? What about of they are not yet school aged?

BostonGirl

Mon, Jun 15 2015, 7:34 am

My husband lived there for a short time and loved it. We are considering moving there next year and good friends of ours just received a job offer for there. But I should add they are a bit more modern and my impression of the community is that is a bit more modern orthodox. It might not be the right fit for everyone, I'm not sure what your expectation is as far as schools and so on.