Some Q's about Dallas

amother

Sun, Jul 18 2010, 12:05 am

So many questions!!! Where to begin??

My husband just got offered a job in Dallas....

housing- is there anything to rent? What are prices like? It's just the two of us so we would like to have at least 2 bedrooms, one for guests.

jobs- I am a personal chef and would like to continue with this. Is there such a need in Dallas? I cook for mothers who dont feel like cooking or for people with diabetes or on weight watchers, gluten free, etc.

utilities- what are they like?

food- what kinds of kosher food is available? chassidishe shchita?

shuls- this is going to be a hard one because I know we will not really fit in anywhere because we are Chassidish and my husband davens sfard and as I've seen so far it's a predominantly litvish sort of place...Will we feel any sort of animosity?

weather- ive heard its hot but how hot are we talking? I'm used to heat going up to 90-100 degrees in the summer but how long does your summer last? do you get snow at all? a rainy season?

traffic- what's the traffic like in the city?

pools- does every house have a pool there?

Neither of us has been to Texas so we really don't know anything. TIA!!!!!

Petra

Sun, Jul 18 2010, 10:12 am

I can't give specifics about Dallas re: the Jewish community other than I know it is a growing and very nice community, especially nice to raise a family and it seems to be drawing more and more people. There are other threads that explain it in more detail. As far as continuing with personal chef, I would think there is no reason you still couldn't do that.

Dallas and Texas in general is very different from the East coast. don't know where you are coming from though. Texas has never been among my favorites to visit but I've never looked at it from the view of Jewish community and living there.

g96be

Sun, Jul 18 2010, 1:24 pm

Hi
I live in Dallas but its only been a bit over a year so I will do my best. I live in the 'North' or main eruv; there is also a further North community that is somewhat newer and I know that housing is more affordable there.
Housing - houses for rent can range from $2500 to $5000 a month depending on old/new and small/big. Housing prices similarly range from 250,000 to 1,300,000. Now is a good time to be looking because in Dallas, as everywhere, there is lots available.
Job- I can't tell you much about your job. If you are planning to cater predominantly to the frum community you might be in trouble as it is not a very wealthy community but the general Dallas area is wealthy and well developed so I'm sure there would be a market for this.
Utilities- The major thing I would say is that you spend a lot on AC in the summer. For a big house (5000 sq ft) your electric bill in the summer months can be $700.
Food- Its one stop shopping here. Our supermarket (Tom Thumb) carries the Kosher meat and a kosher aisle. People also do some ordering from out of town. I don't know anything about Chassidishe shechita.
Shuls - the two big shuls in my eruv are Ohr Hatorah and Shaare Tefilla. Ohr Hatorah is more yeshivish/ litvish so I'm not sure how they are toward Chassidim. Shaare Tefilla is modern Orthodox but has a mix of all types and is a very accepting atmosphere. They are both nusach ashkenaz. I think there is a small sefardi (edot mizrach) in the neighborhood that has a mostly Israeli contingent.
Weather - the summers are brutal. From mid June to early September its 90-105 every day. The winters are like NY just milder. It gets cold and even snows and definitely rains just not as cold and we get some breaks. The weather is very erratic. Fall is the nicest time of year here and it lasts longer than the East coast.
Traffic - not bad at all. People do seem to say that its been getting worse over the years but it is still not bad.
Pools - many homes have pools but definitely not all.

I definitely think its worth a visit.
I would say that the far North eruv has a shul called Ohev Shalom (I think) that is known to be extremely accepting and mixed and might be interesting to you. There is also an Ohr Hatorah off-shoot up there.

amother

Sun, Jul 18 2010, 5:34 pm

g96be wrote:

Thank you so much for the information!

I get so confused with all the shuls! Which shul do you go to?
I heard there are two kollelim there? DATA and the community kollel? am I right? which one is YU? and is the other one like a lakewood kollel?

amother

Sun, Jul 18 2010, 5:58 pm

I just (sadly!) left Dallas and am using amother so ppl dont figure me out! But I was very happy there and LOVED IT! I can tell you about the south eruv...
Housing - high costs! from about $300 - over a million, mostly in the %500 range. I lived in the Citadel apartment complex, which is where both kollols used to house their people. I was very happy there, but sadly, lots of them moved out, and to my knowlege, only 1 or 2 frum families there now. Rent is $900/month - $1200 a month, and they have very nice huge floorplans. you can look at them online, just google "citadel at preston". warning though, the maintanince is HORROBLE and the manager is known to be shady!
Job- I dissagree with the previous poster who said the frum community isnt for this! Branch out ladY! I was part of the Shaare commmunity, whih is the MO shul (though were not MO, we loved it!). The shul is very wealthy and I think would be happy to pay for someone good to cook for them! these people have ladies doing the dishes shabbos afternoon in their homes while they have guests, for goodness sake! Though the chinuch market is very shakey there, which is why we left. Its all on the heads of donors, and in any small community (read: not NY!) your job is good as long as you are willing to "play the game". we werent!)
Utilities- we had an ac bill over $2000 in the summer a few months! Nuff said!
Food- Tom Thumb, and also lots and LOTS of people order from a kosher Coop. its much cheeper!
Shuls - previous poster said not sure how Ohr is open to chassidim - Id say that as a chassidish family (we are chassidish!) we were totally dissed by Ohr! More then welcome at Young Israel and Shaare though. Young israel is actually quite unique... its SefardiIsraeli! Shaare is known to be more friendly as far as the kids go, and Ohr will welcome you as long as you fit into their umbrella. (whos bittter?). Id be at tom thumb, shopping, and peole would see me, hair 100% covered, and assume Im new to dallas. Id say, no, I go to shaare, and you live a block away from me. Shaare people are nicer, IMO. In the North Eruv there are 2 shuls, plus an amazing Chabad.
Weather - Hot and Hotter.
Traffic -no problems there!Pools - many homes have pools but definitely not all.

There is also PLano, which has very affordable housing, and is a close drive.

were you interested in schools? There are 2 orthodox schools and 3 high schools. Ill tell you more if your interested!

amother

Sun, Jul 18 2010, 6:06 pm

amother wrote:

amother I'm very interested in talking to you more at length. do you have an email address I cud send a message to?