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Is living in Europe the solution?
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amother


 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 9:54 am
I've been reading the heated discussions on the threads:

"$100K great new income, yeh right!!!!!"
AND
"The husband won't make 200K, so they cant be independent????"

I hear that living in European communities, is cheaper ( Antwerp for instance) because
1- You don't pay or pay very little for tuition or health insurance,
2- Summer camp is free, etc..
3- Renting and buying apartments is much cheaper.
4- There are more parks.....
5- another advantage-I hear everyone knows one another and there is comeraderie between all types of Orthodoxy.
6- There is less pressure to be rich/ live rich.

Is this true?

If it is true, why are many of the young couples from there, settling here?
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withhumor




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 10:46 am
They’re coming here because some people find the camaraderie stifling. They also want all this excess that we so take for granted – a pizza store every two blocks, a fruit store on every corner, all designer brand names right on the main street etc.

They do not come here because it is financial bliss.

I for one am holding out here because of all the conveniences, not because it’s financial paradise. When I choke, we will move.
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amother


 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 11:00 am
withhumor wrote:
They’re coming here because some people find the camaraderie stifling. They also want all this excess that we so take for granted – a pizza store every two blocks, a fruit store on every corner, all designer brand names right on the main street etc.

They do not come here because it is financial bliss.

I for one am holding out here because of all the conveniences, not because it’s financial paradise. When I choke, we will move.

I've heard that people there are MORE show-offy. If they can't afford to take a vacation twice a year, when the rest of Europeans are "on Holiday", they'll hide in their homes and not go to shul, so no one will notice they're home. Is this true?
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withhumor




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 11:05 am
No, not that I know of and I know a LOT of people living in Europe.
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amother


 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 11:13 am
A reason that European boys look for American girls, is that in Europe, wedding/support expenses go- 50% boys parents and 50% girls parents.

Litvish/Yeshivish European Boys parents who can't afford this deal, need American girls, who foot the support bill almost completely. They have a preference for European girls, but do it for financial reasons.
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Flowerchild




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 11:15 am
interesting, I always thought it is more expensive to live in europe especially england.
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withhumor




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 11:19 am
No, in England the government pays for housing 100% even if your income is quite high. The kosher food is ridiculously expensive though but the mentality is very different. The people in London buy half dozen eggs and the milk bottles come in pints. And their refrigerators are as tall as a nine year old. They live with very little and you don’t see them cooking up a storm for dinner or even shabbos. It’s a whole different lifestyle, I doesn’t cease to amaze me.
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amother


 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 11:27 am
withhumor wrote:
No, in England the government pays for housing 100% even if your income is quite high. The kosher food is ridiculously expensive though but the mentality is very different. The people in London buy half dozen eggs and the milk bottles come in pints. And their refrigerators are as tall as a nine year old. They live with very little and you don’t see them cooking up a storm for dinner or even shabbos. It’s a whole different lifestyle, I doesn’t cease to amaze me.

How do they feed a nice size family with little to eat? Are they constantly cooking in small quantities? Do the women work outside the home? You can't have both.
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bandcm




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 11:28 am
Um - whom, exactly, in England are you describing?
Government pays for housing? What??
You do get family credit, but housing? Well, if you want to live in council housing (like the projects) among the lowest of the low, then yes, but otherwise?
And yes, while English/Europeans are much less spoiled than North Americans, they definitely don´t have tiny fridges and buy 6 eggs at a time.
I think you´re thinking fifty years ago, with the two child families.
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withhumor




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 11:43 am
I’m referring to my relatives who live in Stamford Hills. We crackup from them.
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mummy-bh




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 1:06 pm
Oh boy. You Americans really need to get out more Twisted Evil


The government pays for my house?! Then who do my mortgage payments go to?

I buy a pint of milk at a time? then who feeds my kids?

My fridge is as tall as a 9 year old? Perhaps 2 standing on top of each other Question Bounce

Summer camp is free??!! shock

After quite a few visits to Brooklyn, having seen your sewage system, your stupid parking rules, your lack of recreational space, and the lack of community spirit, I was quite happy to get back to the English backwater we call home.
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amother


 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 1:11 pm
mummy-bh wrote:


Summer camp is free??!! shock

I was refering to Antwerp. I heard that camp is an extension of school and costs little or nothing (school lasts longer than 10 months). Is it true or not?
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shayna82




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 1:13 pm
mummy-bh wrote:
Oh boy. You Americans really need to get out more Twisted Evil


The government pays for my house?! Then who do my mortgage payments go to?

I buy a pint of milk at a time? then who feeds my kids?

My fridge is as tall as a 9 year old? Perhaps 2 standing on top of each other Question Bounce

Summer camp is free??!! shock

After quite a few visits to Brooklyn, having seen your sewage system, your stupid parking rules, your lack of recreational space, and the lack of community spirit, I was quite happy to get back to the English backwater we call home.


lol, that what I thought. I didnt beleive any of that. there are huge 12 member familys in london, manchester... and I heard lots of them live very lavishly... so... I dont know who your cousins are, but I doubt they repersent the overwelming population in the UK
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Piper




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 2:33 pm
I would love to check out the community in Scotland. It was interesting seeing pics of men walking to shul wearing tallit and kilts.
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greenfire




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 2:37 pm
Oh no - where would I put my eggs - I buy 4-6 dozen at a time
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Raisin




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 5:25 pm
withhumor wrote:
No, in England the government pays for housing 100% even if your income is quite high. The kosher food is ridiculously expensive though but the mentality is very different. The people in London buy half dozen eggs and the milk bottles come in pints. And their refrigerators are as tall as a nine year old. They live with very little and you don’t see them cooking up a storm for dinner or even shabbos. It’s a whole different lifestyle, I doesn’t cease to amaze me.

[/quote]I’m referring to my relatives who live in Stamford Hills. We crackup from them.[quote]

I grew up in Stamford Hill and never met anyone who lives like your relatives. You can get housing benefits, but you are probably not declaring income. People do not live all that differently than in the U.S., but some Jewish Schools are state aided (yes even Chareidi ones) so tuition fees may not be as high. Housing in London is incredibly expensive, similar or more than New York, but cheaper in Manchester.

Quote:
Summer camp is free??!!
No, but in the uk at least in only lasts for 2 weeks or so. And the summer is only 6 weeks long so your kids will not die of boredom if they do not go.

Yo can not make generalizations about Europe because each city/country is so different. Antwerp is different than Paris, which is different to London, which is different than Manchester etc
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slush




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 6:28 pm
Quote:
I would love to check out the community in Scotland. It was interesting seeing pics of men walking to shul wearing tallit and kilts.

Where have you seen these pictures?
I don't think the avraichim that belong to Glasgow kolel would EVER do this!!! ( maybe purim - but then there is a possibility of seeing that in the US as well!)[/quote]
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chocolate moose




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 6:36 pm
I have also heard that "socialized medicine" is not the greatest.
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bandcm




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 8:18 pm
Chocolate Moose, you´re right that the NHS is not the greatest, but it beats Medicaid hands down! For one thing, the people who answer the phone know how to spell, and things like that.
Those who want to and can afford to go private in England, do.
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Piper




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 07 2007, 9:12 pm
slush wrote:
Quote:
I would love to check out the community in Scotland. It was interesting seeing pics of men walking to shul wearing tallit and kilts.

Where have you seen these pictures?
I don't think the avraichim that belong to Glasgow kolel would EVER do this!!! ( maybe purim - but then there is a possibility of seeing that in the US as well!)
[/quote]

A jewish woman on another site I frequent posted them. It was an Orthodox shul (modern) in Glasgow. I don't see it as a problem, as kilts are part of
Scottish culture. Unfortunately, she no longer posts on this site Sad .
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