What about the 5 Towns? Woodmere? Lawrence? Cedarhurst?

amother

Mon, Feb 25 2013, 12:14 pm

I am interested in finding out more information about the 5 towns. It sounds like a nice place. What is the difference between woodmere, lawrence and cedarhurst.

We are young and in our 20s and are interested in being in a community that is young where we an make friends. Once concern is that we are not from the 5 towns and know we dont know anyone there. Is it a hard place socially? Is it difficult to make friends? Are their neighborhoods or shuls within the "towns" that are more young?

What are housing prices like? We dont want to spend more then $1M max and would prefer to spend less. It seems very doable in cedarhurst and woodmere but not so sure about lawrence. What about women in the community, are most SAHMs? Is it hard for women who dont stay home?

What about schools? It seems like a lot of options. I know about Darchei, but what about yeshiva ketana and south shore? For girls what is TAG and Shulamith like? Do 5 towns girls go to TAG or do they more go to shulamith and SKA?

Really are main concern is being able to make friends and meet people (that are nice!). We live in a community that is ICE cold right now. Everyone has their friends from growing up and eats by their parents every shabbos. We have a met a few people but its been hard. Its not a very social community I think .... so we are looking to move. I know about the potential gashmius which doesn't bother me. I dont think it can be worse than where I am now! Smile

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

amother

Mon, Feb 25 2013, 4:47 pm

Cedarhurst/Woodmere is where the younger crowd is moving these days. Housing is definitely available in your price range. Either transplants from Brooklyn and Kew Gardens/KGH, or people who grew up in Far Rockaway and are priced out of the market there. There are a variety of shuls and people are quite friendly and social. A mix of working and stay at home types, professionals and non professionsals, etc. It's a very big area with tons of housing so all different types. Lawrence tends to be older. There are a few clusters of locks with younger families that are really nice, but you would really have to do your homework to make sure you are on a young block if you want easy play dates for your kids. The area around 878 that is very close to Far Rock tends to be younger, and Sutton Park and Harborview have younger blocks as well. If you are looking to make friends, you can probably volunteer in shul and PTA as a way to meet others and form friendships. If you are working full time and somehow expect people to get to know you and invite you along for a Shabbos afternoon walk, or a cup of coffee in the morning, I don't think it will happen on it's own without you making an effort.
The schools cater to all types and most are neighborhood schools with a mix of kids from different kinds of homes. Siach Yitzchak is probably the most homogenius boy school with a very right wing presence. Darchei, YKLI and South Shore are mixed with more and less right wing/left wing classes usually and you can usually request to have your kid in the class where he would fit in best. For girl schools, right wing to left would probably be BBY, TAG and then Shulamis, but I am sure there are some exceptions and it can depend on the year and who sends where that year. I know this isn't so helpful, I am just trying to convey that the schools are not too extreme so you can probably find people who you relate to in any school.
Do you know anyone in these neighborhoods at all? Sounds like you need to visit for a Shabbos (or 2 or 3) to check out the various shuls and hang out in the park after lunch to get an idea of it you feel like you fit in.

Rutabaga

Mon, Feb 25 2013, 5:46 pm

How old are your kids?

Woodmere has many families with children, but most of them have teenagers already as well as younger children. It might be uncomfortable to be younger then everyone else. Some of the shuls, like the YI of Woodmere are HUGE, so it may be difficult to make friends. You might be better off finding a smaller minyan or shul where people would notice you.

North Woodmere might be a good option for you as well. It is an up-and-coming neighborhood that is very popular right now. There are a lot of young families, and more moving in all the time. The houses are right in your price range. You might also want to check out Hewlett. It's also a smaller community within the 5 Towns area.

In terms of schools, it all depends on your hashkafa and what your family feels comfortable with. There are many options in the 5 Towns, ranging from more modern to more yeshivish.

OP, if you tell us a little more about yourself and your family, we might be able to give you a better idea of what neighborhoods might work for you.

Henna12

Wed, Feb 27 2013, 9:17 am

Rutabaga wrote:

North Woodmere might be a good option for you as well. It is an up-and-coming neighborhood that is very popular right now. There are a lot of young families, and more moving in all the time. The houses are right in your price range. You might also want to check out Hewlett. It's also a smaller community within the 5 Towns area.
.

I agree. If you are looking for a neighborhood that will be warm and welcoming, North Woodmere might be a great options. There are one or two threads on it on this site, or feel free to PM me for more info.

Ema of 5

Wed, Feb 27 2013, 11:00 am

amother wrote:

You summed it up very well, except you left out one school- bais yaakov ateres miriam, which is in between bby and tag. It is currently a preschool (montessori type) and next year they will be opening first and second grades.
Also, I don't know anything about it, but north woodmere is also a very up and coming young area, as well as inwood.

CedarIma

Wed, Apr 03 2013, 2:27 pm

Not sure if you're still looking, and if you've moved to the area feel free to PM me to come for a shabbos meal or if you have any other specific q's.

We moved to Cedarhurst this past August & have been very happy overall B"H. I've made a bunch of friends & had some that were transplants as well. I'd say a fair mix if SAHM's & working mothers. Mostly met ppl. through my son's school (south shore, very happy), our shul, and through other friends. You definitely have to put in some effort as that some people are outgoing & friendly, and plenty of others are very closed & private.

We decided on Cedarhurst b/c it seemed to be very friendly, have a big mix of yiddishkeit & different solidly frum shuls available, that on shabbos it looks like shabbos - I.e. when we went to other 5T areas shabbos afternoon everyone gets into casual clothing, plays in ballgames etc. - by us you see more black hats & shabbos robes (generalizing, but you do).

Even if you're familiar with the area I think it pays to spend a shabbos in each area you're considering, and take in factors such as length of walk to the train (even if not for your work, it can be hard to get a babysitter etc. to come to North Woodmere or anywhere more than 10 min from train/bus). When we went we met a lot of families that really wanted to move 1 mile away, or who walked 20 min to shul and wished they were on the other side of town.

Each neighborhood will have wealthy people & areas, and lower income parts. My only complaint so far has been my elevation - we were hard hit by Sandy, but we knew we were in the highest risk flood zone when we bought so luckily we had insurance. Definitely look into that no matter which 5T you consider.

Good luck!