Dallas - taking a pilot trip

amother

Thu, Jun 06 2019, 1:33 am

We are planning a trip to Dallas this summer to check it out as a potential relocation. Please tell me what you think I should see, where I should go, what to do and who to talk to. I want to see what day to day life is like and what locals do for entertainment/extracurricular. I'm not going to sightsee but you can give me these suggestions too, we may have time. I have 2 preschool age children (boy & girl) so schools are top priority. We are traditional/modern orthodox (dh leans right, I lean left). We are looking to buy a 4-5 bedrm house in a nice, safe, convenient location.

Rappel

Thu, Jun 06 2019, 2:05 am

Know that you're checking out 3 communities there - South Dallas, North Dallas, and Plano.

The houses near the big shul are mansions. Across Prestoncrest, they become much more normal, and affordable.

In Dallas proper, I only had a connection with the main shul and its community - very warm, friendly, sweet community. There is also a Sephardic shul, run by Rav Moyal, but I wasnt connected enough to tell you what it's like. There's a great girl's school, a kollel (linked to the main shul), at least one shochet, and everything else you would need for a good Jewish life.

As for relaxation/sightseeing? Dallas is a normal city, with everything a city can offer. But there is no where else in the world like Texas. The sky goes on forever Don't mess with Texas. Texan pride is huge, and you will see and hear local culture that will become as natural to you as breathing. If you run up north to the Oklahoma border, you'll meet the remnants of the Chocktaw nation. Cattle ranching is huge there, and there are bison as well. Stop in Paris Texas for the cowboy Eiffel Tower, the Confederate war memorial in the town Square, and the most stunning antique shops. There's also a Jewish cemetery there, and in the antique shops, you'll find many hidden Jewish treasures which the shopkeepers don't know to identify.
The original Sears Roebuck is down there too - a little clapboard building with a covered porch and a rocking chair. People like their guns, and their dogs, and they hate snakes, for good reason. There's a huge divide between the rich and the poor in Texas, and also between whites and blacks - I remember seeing a sign on a town "welcome to XYZ! Where the sky is blue, and the town is white." I remember one gentleman, my dad's neighbor, wouldn't even stay in the apartment complex' laundry room when I was there - and for good reason. Vigilante law is alive and well in small-town Texas.

ETA - I was last there nearly a decade ago. I hope someone who lives there now can give you more information than I.

amother

Fri, Jun 07 2019, 12:52 am

Thank you. The above reply helped me get a picture of the greater Texas culture. Can someone describe the 3 Dallas Jewish areas? Where are the schools and stores? And in general can someone describe the Jews culture in Texas? The above poster said there are mansions near the big shul - do the Jews live there or further out? What streets border the most desirable area to live, and zip code? ANY info helps and is welcomed!!

amother

Orange

Fri, Jun 07 2019, 2:18 am

Google Far North Dallas eruv and a google map will pop up and show a lot of what you would need to know about the literal community you were asking for. It’s very easy to get around. The area is a nice area and lots of bang for the buck in comparison to other areas with a larger population. There is at least one other thread about Dallas.

Most people there don’t think they have ever met a Jew. Texans have pride about being x-tian. A dentist may have his or her church membership location in the bio. Texans loooove football.

DallasIma

Fri, Jun 07 2019, 5:13 pm

As you can see from my screen name, I live in Dallas. Been in the community 15 years (before that, on the outskirts of the community for 6-1/2 years before we were able to move into the community itself). I'm in the North Eruv (the house prices here are cheaper than in the South Eruv). There are several Orthodox shuls here (there is a newer Sephardic shul than the one Rappel mentioned - Sephardic Torah Center of Dallas, run by Rabbi Zecharia Sionit - and many Ashkenazi shuls and a Chabad shul; there are many other Orthodox shuls in the other two Eruvim but I don't know details since I live in this one). All the shuls here that I know of are very accepting. My husband is Jewish but not religious, and I am Torah-observant, and everyone accepts us as we are. There is an amazing infrastructure with several kosher restaurants, two general-purpose supermarkets that have kosher departments, a couple of specialty kosher stores, Torah Day School of Dallas for grade-school kids, Mesorah High School for girls, Texas Torah Institute for high-school-age boys, a coed grade school and a coed high school, a Kollel, a few mikvahs - basically everything you could want. I love the warmth and friendliness of the community. When one frum person sees another, even if they don't know each other, they greet each other with a smile. I haven't experienced any anti-Semitism here except years ago, covertly, when I was applying for jobs; I'm now mostly retired although I freelance, and I've worked in the Jewish community since 1997. Most non-Jews are quite friendly although sometimes the level of ignorance is something to (secretly) smile at. There was a wonderful experience I had some time ago when I was waiting for routine maintenance on my car. A bunch of people, obviously not Jewish, were having a conversation in the waiting room, about the military, and one big tall Texan started praising the Israeli army and saying that the USA could learn a lot from them. I felt ten feet tall! Feel free to PM me with any questions.

amother

Lilac

Tue, Jun 11 2019, 1:31 am

mha3484 wrote:

If you are looking at the RW school, Torah Day School its been a revolving door in terms of administration the past few years. I would look into that more closely.

Not accurate, the school simply hired a new headmaster for this past year, I would say other schools have had more frequent change, lol.

OP-there are two schools you should look into since you mentioned your DH leans right and you lean left. Akiba is modern orthodox, has a fantastic preschool program but the students at a huge mix as far as observance. Torah day school is just mainstream orthodox. Their preschool isn’t as fancy facility wise but it’s incredibly warm and nurturing. Akiba is coed and TDSD is separate from 1st and up. Secular education is mostly the same.

The south Eruv used to be the main community but it has become very expensive so the north eruv and the newest eruv in Plano have become more popular. South eruv is $700,000+ for essentially a tear down (not a 4-5 br house), north eruv is around $450-500,000 and Plano is $350,000. Both the north and Plano are very safe and all three are incredibly welcoming communities. They are just a. Bit different and you have to find your fit. The south eruv has a large modern orthodox community and a large Yeshivish community. The north eruv has a lot of chofetz chaim families and Plano is a general mix just in a smaller scale.

Beware when you visit, summers are very hot but the rest of the year is rest. Quality of life is incredible compared to most other big cities. Most Jewish amenities are available here, it’s pretty rare that I feel like I can’t just get something locally or easily order online.

amother

Lilac

Tue, Jun 11 2019, 1:34 am

Ellie7 wrote:

I have actually found (with the few Texans I’ve worked with) that because they are so religious, they respect commitment to religion in others, as well.

This seems to be true. My DH works in the secular community and is often in the rural parts of Texas as well. He always wears a a visible yarmulke and has never had an issue, if anything he felt like he was treated better. He will put on a baseball cap when he goes into a gas station if he’s outside the big cities just because you never know, but he does that anywhere we visit, not specific to Texas.

amother

Tue, Jun 11 2019, 2:14 am

Thank you everyone! A few questions:

1) Describle Chofetz Chaim please? Excuse my ignorance.
2) Where are the schools, kosher restaurants,kosher shopping and Mikvah located?
3) What's life like in the summers? Do ppl live indoors? Hang out by the pool? How long is the summer heat?
4) What is the general culture/personality of the typical Texas Jew?
5) Tell me more about the south eruv.