South Bend | Imamother

amother

Wed, Dec 11 2019, 1:09 pm

I have a few questions about the city itself...

How many Jews are there (even not religious)? How's the anti-Semitism and violent crime, and crime in general? Is it a safe place to live? Safe meaning can you walk the streets at night, do you have to worry about rapes and robberies and whatnot. How is the law enforcement when something does happen? What about smoking, drinking, drugs?

Also do you need a car? Do you have a mikva and a rav who paskens on bedika shailos? Chalav Yisrael milk? How's the job market? Socioeconomic status of the city in general/ areas to avoid?

And how is the religious community - is it made of a specific type or does it include everyone/ is there achdus regardless of how you dress? Is it supportive, like if you get sick someone will come over with a meal?

Is there anything you don't like / didn't like about South Bend, and if so what is it?

Thanks to all who read till the end and even more thanks to anyone who answers... Smile

amother

Aubergine

Wed, Dec 11 2019, 2:41 pm

I'm only responding anonymously, b/c we are THAT small of a community that my screen name would kind of give me away.

While there are less affiliate Jews, we are really a self-sufficient community and not really connected with them. There are efforts to bring them closer to the frum community through efforts at the Federation and like the annual challah bake--but they are a real minority. Right now the shul list is at about 130-150 frum families. B"H the community has been steadily growing the past few years.

There have been random acts of violence in the neighborhood, but mostly like a mile away from my house, and you don't really walk around the neighborhood much at night--and in the summer it's light out until after 9pm so you don't really have to worry about that too much. Yes, you need a car for just about anything. The shul has a guard present every shabbos.
There is a mikva (kind of old but functional, but there's active talk of a new mikvah) and a rav who paskens shailos. He's very competent, but also knows when something is too complex for him and will refer you to a more experienced rav. Job market kind of depends on your field. Most families tend to have at least one parent who works remotely. There are local people who's job is to help people find jobs. Socioeconomic status is on the lower side, but the Jewish community area is nice. Houses are kind of polar--meaning tiny or big. Right now there are a bunch of good houses on the market.

While about 10-15 years ago, there was definitely a more yeshivish vibe in the community nowadays you'd find much more "just plain frum" kind. But the day school kids are almost exclusively shomer shabbos and kashrus--with minor exceptions. B"H there are a lot of people involved in the chessed committees and they help in all kinds of crises and simchos.

Some people might find that its TOO small. But most people are happy here. Beware the zmanim are a bit crazy sometimes--everything is about an hour later here compared to the East Coast, but you adjust. While we don't have a huge kosher store, there's very little that cannot be obtained locally and a lot of people travel to bigger cities--Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, NY/NJ to get those few items that they need. Chalav Yisroel is available and many families who do keep it exclusively.

I'm happy to answer any questions, but there's also someone whose job it is to answer these questions: cdisouthbend@gmail.com

melbee

Tue, Dec 24 2019, 1:37 pm

Sorry, I just saw your post now. I live in SB. The Amother above answered all your questions really well, but I figured I'd chime in. We feel much safer here than we did in Chicago and feel safe walking the streets. There is some minor crime, car break ins and robberies, but nothing you wouldn't expect to see anywhere. Every car break in I've heard of was when the car was left unlocked, for instance. I have B"H never had reason to use the police, but I believe them to be very responsive. The one time there was a mugging incident a few years ago, they set up a whole police meeting with the community to address concerns, which I thought said a lot about how they address things. My neighbor's house was broken into when she was at work, but they caught the perpetrators and my neighbor got her items back, which is more than I can say for victims of robbery elsewhere.

The achdus here is unlike anything I have ever seen. As the other Amother said, our day school has all types of people, from very modern to kollel. All the kids play with each other regardless of their "label". Because we are such a small community, there isn't really room to make waves because of how someone dresses or anything like that. We have meal trains set up when there is illness or a birth and I think a lot is done quietly that the community doesn't know about unless it comes up.

We have a kosher deli which supplies CY milk and other food products that is very well stocked. The owner often says that he can get anything if asked by putting in a special order and we have found that to be true. Anything you can't find at the deli is typically available at more mainstream stores like Wal-Mart, Meijer, etc.

My DH always says the only thing he doesn't like about SB is the zmanim. I've heard other people say they wish there was more to do as entertainment at night or with older kids.

cdisouthbend@gmail.com is the best email address. Their job is to answer questions about SB, help with jobs and housing, and schedule visits if you want to check it out. Please feel free to PM me if you have other questions.