Sephardic Houston | Imamother

amother

Mon, Jan 05 2015, 11:44 am

My DH got a job offer in Houston. We are Sephardic (Israeli) but I lived in Miami for 20 years. The heat doesn't bother me. I was wondering if anyone could tell me about the Sephardic community there? Are there a lot of Hebrew speakers there or is it mostly Spanish speakers? My children are very young is there a lot of other young children? What is the best Bet Knesset to be near? How is it halachically, is there any nonsense going on? How hard is it to get meat that is good for Sephardim (alle, mealmart, solomon's, noah's ark) and how much does it cost?

The housing seems very cheap. Is there any catch? Are the taxes high? What are the utilities for a 2500 sq ft house more or less? How much does a family of 5 need to live on?

How hard is it to function with one car?

Thank you!!

amother

Mon, Jan 05 2015, 4:46 pm

Hi, I live in Houston. I am not part of the actual Sephardi community, but the the Sephardi and Ashkenaz communities are very mixed here. There is one neighborhood where a majority of the frum Jews live and there are an Ashkenaz and Sephardic shul (Bet Rambam) within that community. Most of the people send their kids to the same school - Yeshiva Torat Emet (actually originally started by a Sephardic couple)
There are tons of young families and children in the community, although the Sephardic shul does not have that many young congregants - although it is growing.
The housing is cheap. Utilities on my house are about $200-300 electric, $20 gas a month. There is no state income tax.
I would say that the two catches are health insurance - one of the most expensive states in the country.
And the tuition is fairly high - although they are pretty generous with financial aid.

If you are planning on not working out of the home, then you could get by with just one car. The school is in the neighborhood and as long as you can use your husband's car for doctor's appointments and on weekends you could get away with it. If you work out of the home or tend to go out a lot it is almost impossible to get by with one car. Aside for one grocery store, nothing is within walking distance and the public transportation system is useless.

Hope I answered everything!

amother

Jetblack

Thu, Jan 14 2016, 2:18 am

the biggest catch as to why it is so cheap in the area of Houston where frum life is, is because it is (like many frum places) not a safe part of town. There are car break-ins regularly, all the houses have gates and bars (similar to Brooklyn), and the area surrounding the neighborhood with the Jews is all low-income/poor black, and some hispanic immigrants. thats the catch. other then that, if you can take the heat you will be fine (although it's much worse in the summer then miami, there is no breeze from any body of water). also, in terms of activities and fun things for frum families and families in general, there isn't nearly as much to do as miami. hope this helps.