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amother
OP


 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 10:51 am
Live in NY - considering moving to Baltimore.

Personally, I'm very nervous to make that type of move. It's far, sounds like options for schools are more limited. Anyone have info they can share?

Schools - We are looking for more yeshivish schools - heard the bais yaakov there is more of a community school, I.e. a bix mix of families/hashkafos. Is this true?

What neighborhoods do people live in there? Is Baltimore close to the bad neighborhoods/crime?


DH thinks its better to move to a smaller community (compared to larger NY/NJ areas) bc it'll be healthier environment for kids with less competition and social pressure...
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amother
Violet


 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 11:34 am
Baltimorean here. I'll answer in thread. The main thing to make it here is to right away learn not to compare Baltimore to NY. It is a different world and you can not come here with the NY mindset.

Live in NY - considering moving to Baltimore.

Personally, I'm very nervous to make that type of move. It's far, sounds like options for schools are more limited. Anyone have info they can share?
Yes we have fewer schools. The thing about Baltimore is unlike NY and Lakewood, we do not separate ourselves into tiny groups like you all do there. We have 2 big boys schools, a few smaller ones, and 2 girls schools. There is another mixed school and a chabad school. BH it is perfect for us. We all live together, daven together, kids play and go to school together. Its not uncommon to live on a block with kids who go to the different schools. That's just how we roll in Baltimore. To each their own is king here. TI is "yeshivish" and they have a longer school year. They start at age 3 and go through 8th grade. TA is a community school and thats where I send my boys. It is AMAZING. I can not say enough about it. Its amazing. We did send to TI for a year. A friend said this to us about TA vs TI and we found it to be true. All of the boys know who Harry Potter (for example) is. The TI boys are taught not to talk about it or admit they know. The TA boys talk about it, even with their teachers. My husband teaches at the local high school where many TI kids go (which totally just outed me so I am anon and he agrees this is true. This is just how the TI families prefer it. Not that are telling their kids to lie, CVS. I mean, they just do not talk about it. Its hard to explain unless you are here and can see. Its not a bad thing. It is what it is.

Schools - We are looking for more yeshivish schools - heard the bais yaakov there is more of a community school, I.e. a bix mix of families/hashkafos. Is this true?
See what I wrote above. Also there is Bnos Yisrael and Beis Yaakov. Both are amazing and everyone loves both. Bnos is hard to get into because they keep it small intentionally. But its not like in NY where you have to have pull to get in. Its a lottery. Literally. They will not take the full tuition payers over the financial assistance kids. Both go from age 3 through high school. You will not be sorry if you chose one over the other.


What neighborhoods do people live in there? Is Baltimore close to the bad neighborhoods/crime?
Baltimore has crime. The end. There is the Park Heights are and Greenspring. The county (greenspring area) is known to be safer but not so much lately.


DH thinks its better to move to a smaller community (compared to larger NY/NJ areas) bc it'll be healthier environment for kids with less competition and social pressure...
Yup. I agree. But you have to lose the NY mentality. Kids here wear what they want. They go where they want. They do what is right for their family. Some kids do the European shoe thing. Many get school shoes from Target. I go to Sketchers and see a million kids from the community there shopping also.
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amother
Floralwhite


 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 11:52 am
Curious if the MO community is integrated into the larger frum community in Baltimore?

I'm not OP but have been thinking about a move as well.
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amother
Violet


 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 11:56 am
amother [ Floralwhite ] wrote:
Curious if the MO community is integrated into the larger frum community in Baltimore?

I'm not OP but have been thinking about a move as well.

Yes. We literally all get along, live together, etc. Honestly. I was of course including MO when I said frum. Why wouldn't I?

There is a more left wing MO school called Beth Tfilloh which is not part of the general frum community so much, but it is very left wing and many of the students there are not shomer shabbos and do not keep kosher. The student body is not MO for the most part but the curriculum is and the teachers are. Many kids from Krieger Schechter go there. It is a college prep school with a very solid education and some parents from the larger frum community do send there if their kids need what they offer.

People who are truly MO send to Ohr Chadash which is excellent and frum. There are also many MO people who send to TA, Beis Yaakov, or Bnos.
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amother
Forestgreen


 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 12:04 pm
Bais Yaakov and TI have plenty of yeshivish kids but everyone gets along that’s the beauty of Baltimore. If u don’t want ur kids influenced or exposed in school or by neighbors then look for a more yeshivish neighborhood maybe labyrinth strathmore Menlo but these neighborhoods not as safe. Greenspring is safer less crime but not as yeshivish
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amother
Copper


 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 12:23 pm
Going anon bec we are moving to Baltimore... today!
My husband got a job in a smaller boys school called Toras simcha.
I have heard wonderful things about the community including that which Amother violet wrote. We are super excited to join such a warm cohesive community. I am coming from NY but not Brooklyn and have always had a more open minded mindset.
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amother
OP


 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 12:28 pm
amother [ Violet ] wrote:
Baltimorean here. I'll answer in thread. The main thing to make it here is to right away learn not to compare Baltimore to NY. It is a different world and you can not come here with the NY mindset.

Live in NY - considering moving to Baltimore.

Personally, I'm very nervous to make that type of move. It's far, sounds like options for schools are more limited. Anyone have info they can share?
Yes we have fewer schools. The thing about Baltimore is unlike NY and Lakewood, we do not separate ourselves into tiny groups like you all do there. We have 2 big boys schools, a few smaller ones, and 2 girls schools. There is another mixed school and a chabad school. BH it is perfect for us. We all live together, daven together, kids play and go to school together. Its not uncommon to live on a block with kids who go to the different schools. That's just how we roll in Baltimore. To each their own is king here. TI is "yeshivish" and they have a longer school year. They start at age 3 and go through 8th grade. TA is a community school and thats where I send my boys. It is AMAZING. I can not say enough about it. Its amazing. We did send to TI for a year. A friend said this to us about TA vs TI and we found it to be true. All of the boys know who Harry Potter (for example) is. The TI boys are taught not to talk about it or admit they know. The TA boys talk about it, even with their teachers. My husband teaches at the local high school where many TI kids go (which totally just outed me so I am anon and he agrees this is true. This is just how the TI families prefer it. Not that are telling their kids to lie, CVS. I mean, they just do not talk about it. Its hard to explain unless you are here and can see. Its not a bad thing. It is what it is.

Schools - We are looking for more yeshivish schools - heard the bais yaakov there is more of a community school, I.e. a bix mix of families/hashkafos. Is this true?
See what I wrote above. Also there is Bnos Yisrael and Beis Yaakov. Both are amazing and everyone loves both. Bnos is hard to get into because they keep it small intentionally. But its not like in NY where you have to have pull to get in. Its a lottery. Literally. They will not take the full tuition payers over the financial assistance kids. Both go from age 3 through high school. You will not be sorry if you chose one over the other.


What neighborhoods do people live in there? Is Baltimore close to the bad neighborhoods/crime?
Baltimore has crime. The end. There is the Park Heights are and Greenspring. The county (greenspring area) is known to be safer but not so much lately.


DH thinks its better to move to a smaller community (compared to larger NY/NJ areas) bc it'll be healthier environment for kids with less competition and social pressure...
Yup. I agree. But you have to lose the NY mentality. Kids here wear what they want. They go where they want. They do what is right for their family. Some kids do the European shoe thing. Many get school shoes from Target. I go to Sketchers and see a million kids from the community there shopping also.


TY for the info!

Because I grew up in a mixed, OOT community, I am hesitant to move somewhere with some of the same nisyonos that I saw growing up, especially because the world is so different now. No, I don't think Harry Potter is inherently bad at all, but would I rather my kids read Jewish books on Shabbos vs Harry Potter? Yes.

Obviously nothing is perfect, and I'm sure if we lived in a NY/NJ community we would run into some of the same issues as well. I'm definitely not a fan of complete exclusivity and I do struggle with all the labels. I don't think anyone with different hashkafos are bad/less.

But hear me out - maybe this is more for a chinuch forum - I am nervous about putting my kids in such a mixed environment/community/school and expecting them to still adhere to the same standards we keep in our house (they're young, btw).

When everyone on the block watches shows, or gets phones/ipads etc it has an influence...
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amother
Mauve


 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 12:33 pm
amother [ Violet ] wrote:
Yes. We literally all get along, live together, etc. Honestly. I was of course including MO when I said frum. Why wouldn't I?

There is a more left wing MO school called Beth Tfilloh which is not part of the general frum community so much, but it is very left wing and many of the students there are not shomer shabbos and do not keep kosher. The student body is not MO for the most part but the curriculum is and the teachers are. Many kids from Krieger Schechter go there. It is a college prep school with a very solid education and some parents from the larger frum community do send there if their kids need what they offer.

People who are truly MO send to Ohr Chadash which is excellent and frum. There are also many MO people who send to TA, Beis Yaakov, or Bnos.


Second everything you said about the frum community, not from NY but out neighbors are and they're also very yeshivish and their kids say that even though it was an adjustment they loved it in the end. We are definitely more modern-my husband is working, I watch TV, etc- but they have been so welcoming to us. Most of our block is more yeshivish but there definitely also are those who don't fit the mold (us included). Everyone gets along BH.

We have one kid preschool age. Last year we sent to BT (we even asked our Rav before and he agreed it was the best choice for our situation) and were pleasantly surprised. They said the preschool is 60% shomer shabbos, and that it's higher in the elementary school. They were very accommodating. They put all the frum kids in the same class with a teacher who was ss/sk, kept tzniut, covered her hair. She was so sensitive to all of our needs, even cholov yisroel (although we were flexible on that one after asking for hadracha). We definitely would sent to BY or Bnos for elementary (home schooling this year) but I would feel comfortable sending a different kid there if it was the best choice for them. It's true the kids in her class watched TV and talked about it sometimes, but she didn't really notice. I know for the older kids some of the kids who are shomer shabbos feel left out sometimes, but the school's official policy is that birthday parties etc are not allowed to be on shabbos and must use outside hechshered food. People were, again, very sensitive. They were never offended at birthday parties when I asked to see containers in a polite way to double check that it was something we would eat.

Re: crime, I walk all the time with my kids and have never had a problem. The one I hear about the most is bikes getting stolen or cars getting broken into, ie not violent. It certainly happens, and people should be aware of their surroundings, but in general the community has a friendly feel IMO. I would say that it's probably more important here to get to know your non-Jewish neighbors, precisely because it is a community. We have a couple of non-Jewish houses on our block and they seem to enjoy living with frum people because people check in on them and say hello.
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amother
Tangerine


 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 12:36 pm
What about the chassidish community in Baltimore? Do the chassidish all live in one area or spread apart?
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amother
Violet


 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 12:38 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
TY for the info!

Because I grew up in a mixed, OOT community, I am hesitant to move somewhere with some of the same nisyonos that I saw growing up, especially because the world is so different now. No, I don't think Harry Potter is inherently bad at all, but would I rather my kids read Jewish books on Shabbos vs Harry Potter? Yes.

Obviously nothing is perfect, and I'm sure if we lived in a NY/NJ community we would run into some of the same issues as well. I'm definitely not a fan of complete exclusivity and I do struggle with all the labels. I don't think anyone with different hashkafos are bad/less.

But hear me out - maybe this is more for a chinuch forum - I am nervous about putting my kids in such a mixed environment/community/school and expecting them to still adhere to the same standards we keep in our house (they're young, btw).

When everyone on the block watches shows, or gets phones/ipads etc it has an influence...

I am not going to try to convince you to move here, this is something you have to decide on your own. You may be more comfortable staying in NY if you want to have more control over who is in class with your kids or live segregated. Thats just not Baltimore and we love it that way. To each their own.
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amother
Violet


 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 12:41 pm
amother [ Tangerine ] wrote:
What about the chassidish community in Baltimore? Do the chassidish all live in one area or spread apart?

The chassidish (non chabad) community was imported here by their wealthy patron who is a Baltimorean who does not want to move to NY. They keep to themselves by design. They were not brought here to integrate, nor does their patron want them to. He built homes for them and employs the women. Very few chassidim from Baltimore are welcomed among them. Its ok. No bad feelings for the most part. The guy who brought them here bought a large plot of land in a key area and it really stabilized the location. As long as he does not hand it over to section 8 when he tires of his project, its all good.
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amother
Powderblue


 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 12:46 pm
I def hear you op.. I grew up in New York so the school system here took me a lot of getting used to..
I still am worried sometimes about the mix of kids that my children have in their classes.. (Please don't bash me.. I think there are lots of positives to it as well.. it's just not what I grew up with..and I have the same concerns as OP.. How will kids follow the standards we have at home etc..?
However, bh my kids have found many friends w/ families similar to ours.. (and some not as similar..) but main point is my kids have a strong sense of what is ok and what is not and seem to respect our family rules etc..) (versus when we lived in a diff community.. I don't think they about what they did.. it was more like go w/ the flow bec e/o was much more similar to eachother..)

OP- If you'd like to speak to me about it.. I'd be happy to post an email that you can contact me at..
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amother
Tangerine


 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 1:05 pm
amother [ Violet ] wrote:
The chassidish (non chabad) community was imported here by their wealthy patron who is a Baltimorean who does not want to move to NY. They keep to themselves by design. They were not brought here to integrate, nor does their patron want them to. He built homes for them and employs the women. Very few chassidim from Baltimore are welcomed among them. Its ok. No bad feelings for the most part. The guy who brought them here bought a large plot of land in a key area and it really stabilized the location. As long as he does not hand it over to section 8 when he tires of his project, its all good.


Is it in/near the Baltimore Jewish community or is it in a different area?
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amother
Violet


 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 1:06 pm
amother [ Tangerine ] wrote:
Is it in/near the Baltimore Jewish community or is it in a different area?

Right in the middle of the frum community in Park Heights. But I have to stress - they have nothing to do with anyone or anything else. Outsiders are not welcome and that includes other chassidim unless you are hand picked by the patron. It is a closed kollel by design. Again, no hard feelings here and the greater Jewish community is grateful to him for stabilizing such a large portion of the area.
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amother
Tangerine


 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 1:14 pm
amother [ Violet ] wrote:
Right in the middle of the frum community in Park Heights. But I have to stress - they have nothing to do with anyone or anything else. Outsiders are not welcome and that includes other chassidim unless you are picked by the patron. It is a closed kollel by design.


Oh. So you have to be offered a job or asked to join the kollel to move there? I can't just decide to move there? My neighbor just moved there and the way she's describing it, it sounds like she's living in paradise.
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amother
Violet


 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 1:24 pm
amother [ Tangerine ] wrote:
Oh. So you have to be offered a job or asked to join the kollel to move there? I can't just decide to move there? My neighbor just moved there and the way she's describing it, it sounds like she's living in paradise.

Your neighbor moved to join the chassidish kollel community here? Is she part of the kollel? The way I understand it is that its a closed kollel and even the shul is closed to only them or to who they welcome. I know their school is only for the kollel kids. Anyone can move here, of course. Can anyone join the kollel? No. Can any chassidish person move to Baltimore? Of course. Will they be welcomed in the chassidish kollel community? I thought not. I could be wrong. It started off that way for sure though, and its not even 6 years old.

By the way, there are other chassidim here. Not just this particular one. There is Rabbi Taub's shul which is chassidish, and there are other chassidim also. Rabbi Taub just opened his brand new shul with a stunning mens mikvah. It is old school Baltimore and I believe Satmar? There is a new chassidish shul in the county that literally just opened and people love the rav, but its not your classic NY style chassidish community. Hard to explain. Anyone and everyone davens there.
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BLG613




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 2:13 pm
Are there any chats/websites or realtors someone can reach out to regarding Baltimore home sales or home/apt rentals?
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amother
Tangerine


 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 2:19 pm
amother [ Violet ] wrote:
Your neighbor moved to join the chassidish kollel community here? Is she part of the kollel? The way I understand it is that its a closed kollel and even the shul is closed to only them or to who they welcome. I know their school is only for the kollel kids. Anyone can move here, of course. Can anyone join the kollel? No. Can any chassidish person move to Baltimore? Of course. Will they be welcomed in the chassidish kollel community? I thought not. I could be wrong. It started off that way for sure though, and its not even 6 years old.

By the way, there are other chassidim here. Not just this particular one. There is Rabbi Taub's shul which is chassidish, and there are other chassidim also. Rabbi Taub just opened his brand new shul with a stunning mens mikvah. It is old school Baltimore and I believe Satmar? There is a new chassidish shul in the county that literally just opened and people love the rav, but its not your classic NY style chassidish community. Hard to explain. Anyone and everyone davens there.


My neighbor moved because her husband will be a melamed in the cheder. She got a house from the community and free tuition. They needed to sign a 3 year contract.
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amother
Violet


 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 2:24 pm
amother [ Tangerine ] wrote:
My neighbor moved because her husband will be a melamed in the cheder. She got a house from the community and free tuition. They needed to sign a 3 year contract.

I assume you mean he is a melamed in the Chassidish kollel. Thats who provides the houses and tuition. It is in their self sustaining community. So yes, she is here for that. Very cool! Like I said, this is the one specific chassidish community that is doing this for THEIR people. Your neighbor is one of them.
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amother
Violet


 

Post Wed, Aug 12 2020, 2:26 pm
BLG613 wrote:
Are there any chats/websites or realtors someone can reach out to regarding Baltimore home sales or home/apt rentals?

I have an amazing realtor. Rephael Szendro. I can give you his number but I would prefer to do it off line. Do you have an email address? I will send it to you there.
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