Who goes to the country these days?

chestnut

Wed, Jun 26 2019, 12:07 am

amother [ Wine ] wrote:

I’m paying the same amount for a half a summer day camp in the country as a full summer day camp in the city. Country is double the price day camp.

That's strange. What are the city and country day camps prices?
Either your country camp price is incredibly high or your city day camp are extremely cheap

amother

Linen

Wed, Jun 26 2019, 12:08 am

I know several families that own a summer home but live in tiny project apartments because they claim it's more worth it for them to be away from the city for the summer. And these families end up going for yamim tovim as well. I actually do understand them.
Happens to be, the city is way more full in the recent years as it used to be. More women are working.

amother

Wine

Wed, Jun 26 2019, 12:35 am

chestnut wrote:

That's strange. What are the city and country day camps prices?
Either your country camp price is incredibly high or your city day camp are extremely cheap

Brooklyn. City I’m paying $550 for the full summer. Plus tuition which I have to pay regardless. Country I’ll be paying $500 for half a season. He’s traveling to a boys camp.

seeker

Wed, Jun 26 2019, 2:20 am

I know a few types. All of whom live in dense city apartments during the year.

1. Have a job in camp/bungalow colony/upstate medical facility/etc that includes or covers the cost of lodgings.
2. Invested in a house that was relatively cheap because that happens sometimes when you're far from the city.
3. Have a bunch of kids and the cost of sending them all to city camps would be insane. Yes, there is a big price difference between city and country day camp. Bungalow camp is more low-key but they don't need as much entertainment when they have "the country" and a pool on-site; in the city you likely need to pay extra for busing to/from; you don't need to pay for the camp to serve your kids the lunch they won't eat; the camp doesn't need to pay city costs for their facility... These people tend to go to old, run-down bungalows that are not in the same price class as luxury summer homes.
4. Parents/grandparents bought bungalows/homes back when that was a thing normal people could do, and now the children/grandchildren can keep it going for just the maintenance costs.
5. Can genuinely afford to have a summer vacation. This may include being able to work from home (I.e. from computer in bungalow) or not.
6. Some combination of above.

People who live in or move to suburbs usually don't go unless they have family to spend time with there.

seeker

Wed, Jun 26 2019, 2:22 am

amother [ Wine ] wrote:

He’ll be traveling to a local camp since the colony we go to doesn’t have day camp on premises. Maybe that makes a difference.

Yeah that'll be the difference. Camps that you travel to are more similar in cost to city camps, plus travel expenses. Even so, I have NEVER seen a city camp that costs $550 for a WHOLE summer. Are you talking about a 15-year-old in their backyard?

seeker

Wed, Jun 26 2019, 2:28 am

amother [ Linen ] wrote:

I know a few like this and it's not a matter of that it's more worth it for them to be away, it's more that that's what they can afford. They all need or prefer to live in the city for various reasons (family, jobs, schooling/special ed, etc) and their income level will never allow them to own or even rent anything really nice where they live. The first person I heard of who did this rents a 2-3 bedroom apartment in an ugly area because city housing is expensive. They could never even afford a down payment on a dinky little apartment. But they can get a metzia on a house in the country, it doesn't cost much to make it look homey, and they escape there whenever they get a chance for yom tov or a vacation and they get to feel like "mentschen" who have a (relatively?) spacious home and fresh air rather than a dinky little city rental.

Personally I'm not tied down to the city so tightly and I'd sooner invest in a full-time house in a more affordable community, but I definitely relate and see how it works for those families especially when they have a lot going for them in Brooklyn.

chestnut

Wed, Jun 26 2019, 8:55 am

amother [ Wine ] wrote:

Brooklyn. City I’m paying $550 for the full summer. Plus tuition which I have to pay regardless. Country I’ll be paying $500 for half a season. He’s traveling to a boys camp.

I don't know much about boys, but $550 sounds incredibly cheap for the whole summer in the city. Why are you paying tuition in the summer?

amother

Scarlet

Wed, Jun 26 2019, 9:17 am

It's so weird for me to hear there's no green in 'the city'. By city, I assume you mean NYC.

I am not American, but every time I visit NYC I am amazed by all the greenery just steps away. I stayed in Manhattan, and we had Central Park and Riverside Park. Beautiful.

Do other parts of New York have less green?

amother

Red

Wed, Jun 26 2019, 9:20 am

amother [ Scarlet ] wrote:

The only people who can consider those parks local are people living in multi million dollar apartments! No, NYC is not a city known for its greenery. Anyway, it's very different to take day trips to parks vs having a child run free in nature all day.

amother

Pewter

Wed, Jun 26 2019, 9:37 am

amother [ Scarlet ] wrote:

The only green I get to see in my ny neighborhood is the mold and moss growing between the concrete slabs

amother

Linen

Wed, Jun 26 2019, 9:38 am

Seeker and chestnut, my kids daycamps are also about $550 for the summer. These are their schools daycamps & this is the normal price for chassidish school daycamps. I once sent to private which was $950 for the summer. The schools daycamp is excellent, they like it more than private daycamp.

amother

Emerald

Wed, Jun 26 2019, 9:40 am

amother [ Red ] wrote:

That’s not true I lived between those two parks for a decade. Rent wasn’t cheap, around 3k for a 1 bedroom. Manhattan is full of parks.

I’m not as familiar with Brooklyn.

amother

Red

Wed, Jun 26 2019, 10:06 am

Ruchel wrote:

The family doesn't come along with counselors. MAYBE the director's family. My husband worked there

Of course not the counselors' families, people are talking about married staff members. The cook, the head lifeguard, etc. In boys camps the rebbeim all bring along their families. These are almost all 2-month positions, it expected that any married staff will have a spouse and children joining.

leah233

Wed, Jun 26 2019, 10:35 am

Even in Brooklyn a much smaller percentage of people seem to go the county.Back in the 70s and 80s many shuls and stores would close up for the summer .

One August Shabbos afternoon in 1985 I walked all the way down 16th Avenue from Dahill to 60th and back and only passed one other person the entire way!(I distinctly remember this because I was with a cousin from out of town who wanted to see Chasidim wearing shtreimals .She was so disappointed that she didn't see any.)

I know a few people who don't live in Brooklyn who go to the mountains because they feel there is more for their children to do in the bungalow colony they go to. Staying home they would be whining about how bored they are after day camp.