How do you spend your days in the bungalow colony?

amother

Oak

Sun, Aug 07 2016, 10:20 pm

I'm in Israel 25 yrs (originally from the UK), and this is a new thing that I'm hearing about (from imamother) - going away for a month or so, in the summer, to the country side.
I was wondering what you do there? How do you cook / buy food - is there kosher food there?
Are all the bungalows entirely filled with Jewish families?
Do you go walking/ hiking?
The longest time I've ever gone away in the summer with my family is 4 days in the Golan. Packing for longer than that would make in a burden, not fun.
We go hiking, swim in the kineret, etc.
What do the teenage kids do? Don't they get bored?
Is it only Brooklyn families that go?
Do you go back to the same place each year? How far in advance do you need to book?
How do you get there if you have large families - do you all fit in the car?

mommy3b2c

Mon, Aug 08 2016, 6:30 am

I have gone to the country for 10 weeks in the summer for almost my whole life. As a kid, my parents used to rent bungalows. We were in two different places for four years each, and in the last place for 9 years. They were able to leave a few stuff in the bungalow over the winter because they always rented the same bungalow.
Currently, we own a little house in the country. All the other people here also own. The kids all go to daycamp. Many places have daycamp on grounds, if not you can send to a daycamp off grounds.
Most bungalow colonies are split up by "type." Chassidish, ( often a specific chassidus), MO, yeshivish, etc...
Kosher Food- there are many kosher groceries and supermarkets throughout the Catskills. There are also dozens of restaurants and pizza stores. The local shop rites and walmarts also Carry kosher food. Some bungalow colonies have their own groceries as well.
Most people are from Brooklyn, but many people are from other places as well.
What do I do all day? Half the day I spend schmoozing, go walking, go to the pool... The other half I do housework, errands, take care of my kids. Housework and suppers are way more chilled here, but I have a lot more laundry, and a lot less cleaning help.
The teenage kids either work or go to sleep away camp.
Since I own my own place, I keep lots of stuff there during the year. Linen, towels, pots, toys...
There is still a ton to bring so we fill up both our cars and each drive one, or we get someone to drive one so we can all go together. Lots of people rent moving vans.
I hope this answers a lot of your questions.

amother

Teal

Mon, Aug 08 2016, 6:44 am

amother wrote:

Bungalow have some sort of kitchen/cooking facilities -- fancier ones may have full, regular kitchens, "dumpier" ones may have smaller more limited space. There are plenty of places to buy kosher food in the Catskills in the summer.

Quote:

Are all the bungalows entirely filled with Jewish families?

Yes. Bungalow colonies are like private gated communities. Usually not only are all the people in any particular colony frum, but they are a similar "type" -- I.e. Chassidish families will go to Chassidish colonies, MO would go to a colony catering to that type. Colonies usually have their own shuls as well.

Quote:

Do you go walking/ hiking?
The longest time I've ever gone away in the summer with my family is 4 days in the Golan. Packing for longer than that would make in a burden, not fun.
We go hiking, swim in the kineret, etc.

People do go hiking/walking both in and around the colonies. There are pools with separate men/women hours. Many colonies have day camps for younger kids. In terms of packing, it is really not much more packing than going for a week in the Golan -- you bring clothing for everyone and then obviously do the laundry. The shlep is bringing bedding/kitchen equipment, which is the same if you go for one week or for 8.

Quote:

What do the teenage kids do? Don't they get bored?
Is it only Brooklyn families that go?
Do you go back to the same place each year? How far in advance do you need to book?
How do you get there if you have large families - do you all fit in the car?

Some people own their own bungalows, and some rent. If you are renting then you probably need to rent a few months in advance at least, depending on the colony.

Ruchel

Fri, Aug 12 2016, 4:35 am

I was wondering what you do there? How do you cook / buy food - is there kosher food there?

Some have a makolet even. Others buy at the local shops what can be bought. Some have a canteen as an option. We always take the canteen and don't cook.

Are all the bungalows entirely filled with Jewish families?

sure! and mostly quite frum

Do you go walking/ hiking?

Not much, we do a lot of driving and a bit of walking

What do the teenage kids do? Don't they get bored?

They have activities and boys have tefila etc

Is it only Brooklyn families that go?

Depends on location. I had like 90% French, some Belgian, a few Italians and swiss and israeli

Do you go back to the same place each year? How far in advance do you need to book?

I avoid going too often to the same. I book when they advertise.

How do you get there if you have large families - do you all fit in the car?

Of course or we would not be able to drive during the year (?) but some do train then taxi

the world's best mom

Fri, Aug 12 2016, 6:26 am

I was wondering what you do there?

The same things I do at home- take car of the kids, make supper, clean up the bungalow- but when I have free time, I get to sit outside and relax and shmooze with other women. Oh, and we go swimming.

How do you cook / buy food - is there kosher food there?

I cook here the same way I do at home- on my stove. Except here I have to light the flame with a match. I shop on Sundays for the whole week because I don't drive. There's more Kosher food here than in my neighborhood in the city, but here I have to drive to get to it.

Are all the bungalows entirely filled with Jewish families?

Yes.

Do you go walking/ hiking?

Yes. We love walking on the road or around the colony.

What do the teenage kids do? Don't they get bored?

They go to camp or work in the day camp.

Is it only Brooklyn families that go?

No. I don't live in Brooklyn, and neither do around half the people here. We have one family from Milwauki, one from Cleveland, a handful from Staten Island, a bunch from the Lower East Side.

Do you go back to the same place each year? How far in advance do you need to book?

Yes, I take the same bungalow every year. They send out contracts around Pesach time and expect a response within a couple of weeks.

How do you get there if you have large families - do you all fit in the car? Yes, we fit in our car, though we make a first trip to bring a car load of stuff. There are families here that don't fit in their car, so they make two trips to get them all here.