My community is dying... I am so torn.

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Forum -> Inquiries & Offers -> Moving/ Relocating

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zigi

Thu, Apr 07 2022, 8:57 pm

Savanah Georgia and Atlanta

amother

Midnight

Thu, Apr 07 2022, 9:03 pm

amother [ Firebrick ] wrote:

However, there are smaller communities like Cincinnati that also have the proximity advantage, but don't seem to be growing in the same way.

😊

cincinnati is limited by available housing. the community is not very spread out and some parts of the eiruv is very large houses with lots of land so they take up more space. A lot of people who buy houses in cincinnati are actually buying from frum people who moved out. not everyone but A LOT.
blue ash is near by and has an eiruv but they really only have a chabad shul so not so many regular frum people live there. I also think blue ash doesn't get vouchers while amberley and golf manor do.

Goldie613

Thu, Apr 07 2022, 9:07 pm

amother [ Burlywood ] wrote:

Look at the OU community for website, lots of good options out there

I second that suggestion. They had a fair recently for people looking to move oot , and they still have a bunch of info on their site.

https://www.ou.org/fair/

Goldie613

Thu, Apr 07 2022, 9:09 pm

redgoldbean wrote:

I would not recommend Albany.

May I ask why? If we ever made the leap, Albany would probably be on our short list (we have family nearby), so if there's something you feel comfortable sharing, that would be great. Thanks!

amother

Thu, Apr 07 2022, 9:12 pm

doctorima wrote:

The day school in Overland Park isn't separated by gender, so that's out. I was thinking of Scranton as a nice affordable option not too far from NY/NJ, but I'm not sure their school is big enough for OP. Frum daycare can be a challenge in many smaller OOT communities. What's your housing budget OP?

Considering what we can get for our house now with inflation... probably not more than 350k. If the taxes are very high then we might have to decrease that amount.

amother

Thu, Apr 07 2022, 9:14 pm

amother [ Olive ] wrote:

Im so so sorry your in this situation. The community I grew up in is on major life support and often doesn’t have a minyan Shabbos. It’s so hard. What community are you talking about

I don't want to say - I have already put a lot of info about my family here, and if I named the community and if anyone from our community read this post they would easily identify me.

I will just say that someone recommended the community in this thread (later on)... clearly I will need to do a lot of independent research.

amother

Seashell

Thu, Apr 07 2022, 9:28 pm

amother [ Gold ] wrote:

If you move somewhere bigger, do lots of research first. I live in a pretty large OOT community that’s affordable, and our schools are overwhelmed right now because so many people moved here in the past few years. They’re struggling to provide the same level of chinuch they used to, and frankly it’s pretty chaotic at the moment. There’s a lot to be said for a small oot school with good middos and plenty of individual attention.

Where is this?

amother

Seashell

Thu, Apr 07 2022, 9:29 pm

zigi wrote:

Savanah Georgia and Atlanta

These are expensive.

Someone mentioned Scranton, I thought that's a shrinking community.

For 350 u can buy in the less desirable area of Baltimore, in Rochester, Waterbury, not sure about other places.

amother

Thistle

Fri, Jun 24 2022, 1:06 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Some of these towns are too small for us. We need an orthodox community that has enough families that the elementary school can separate boys and girls and have a class for each grade of at least 10 kids (meaning 10 boys and 10 girls). One of my kids has only 1 other in their grade, and it's stifling their ability to grow socially. Moving is tough, I don't want to move to a small OOT community to have to do it again in a few years if the next community shrinks down too.

Do these communities have affordable housing? I saw posters for Texas where housing is waaaaay out of our reach.

Childcare is also very important for us, we wouldn't move if there isn't a daycare or babysitting run by frum people. We both work full time. Cannot imagine moving to a place without daycare or babysitting that would allow us to work. Cleveland is out for that reason (at least from what I've seen others post on this site). Cannot afford to live without working full time because of health insurance benefits...

We've thought about Aliyah but cannot, both our jobs cannot be done outside of the US.

Open to and thankful for your suggestions.

Is your only information about other OOT communities from posts on imamother? Do you not know anyone IRL who lives in different OOT communities? (Not trying to sound mean or snarky, genuinely curious)
What is your background? What are you looking for hashkafically?
I live/grew up in Baltimore, and it's a great community. It's extremely diverse, with a lot of achdus. There's a lot of schools, your pick of shuls and rabbanim, very diverse housing to fit just about any budget, 2 kosher supermarkets, loooots of restaurants Wink

and lots of communal events/opportunities. Just a lovely place to live.

I would highly recommend you make connections in different communities and find out more detailed info from people. If there's one that sticks out to you, make a pilot trip and go for a Shabbos or a mini-vacay during the week. Put out feelers. This isnt a decision you have to (or should) make over night, but if it's something you want to do, it's better to do it while your kids are still younger.
Hatzlacha raba!

amother

Thistle

Fri, Jun 24 2022, 1:09 am

amother [ Seashell ] wrote:

She can get a nice house in a perfectly respectable area in Baltimore for 350k

amother

Cornsilk

Tue, Jul 12 2022, 12:07 pm

amother [ Thistle ] wrote:

She can get a nice house in a perfectly respectable area in Baltimore for 350k

Where?

amother

RosePink

Tue, Jul 12 2022, 12:22 pm

I'm the poster who moved to Philadelphia when our community died out. Houses go for $300-$350K. My kids have 20-30 kids in their classes, only boys in one building and only girls in a separate building. There is a kosher grocery store. People are moving in frequently, and not too many people seem to be leaving. It's very out of towny. I definitely recommend it.

amother

Periwinkle

Tue, Jul 12 2022, 12:47 pm

amother [ RosePink ] wrote:

Which area of Philadelphia do you mean?

The Northeast?
Bala Cynwyd?
Wynnewood?

amother

Seafoam

Tue, Jul 12 2022, 1:05 pm

amother [ Gold ] wrote:

Are we in the same community?? My community has this issue too

amother

Seashell

Fri, Jul 22 2022, 1:53 am

amother [ Seafoam ] wrote:

Are we in the same community?? My community has this issue too

And I'm in a small oot affordable community with one school that has also been completely overwhelmed and is massively chaotic with constant leadership changes and politics.

But I'd rather deal with that and live in a tiny enclave where my kids are constantly in and out of each other's homes, we all trust each other's kashrus, it's filled with chessed, we have tons of living space, and no one is trying to outdo each other. Every community has their issues, it's just a matter of what's most important to your family.

amother

Buttercup

Sun, Aug 21 2022, 8:58 am

amother Heather wrote:

It's a shame that many smaller out of town communities are struggling, and it mostly seems to be financially related. Probably because they're all set within the largest cities in the country, and generally in the more expensive areas.

Seattle, LA, Denver, Portland, Phoenix, Miami, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Cleveland, Detroit, etc.....

These are all big cities.

There needs to be more attention paid to growing communities in smaller American towns that are cheaper to live in. In today's world, more people work remotely, so finding local jobs is less of a concern than it used to be. I'm thinking West Virginia, the Carolinas, Wyoming, Tennessee...

Honestly, outside of South Bend, Indiana, and several east coast towns, I can't think of another small Jewish community that is set in a small, inexpensive American town.

If you can think of one, please let me know.

Cincinnati

amother

Buttercup

Sun, Aug 21 2022, 9:02 am

amother Firebrick wrote:

Detroit is actually NOT a small, struggling community...! Surprised

There are thousands of frum families here and more move in each year. And I don't think Miami would be considered a small, struggling community either these days.

That point about being near a big metropolitan city doesn't seem to be very consistent or true. You might say that distance from relatives and other nearby frum hubs means might mean less support for a community because a city like Detroit, for example, is close to Toronto, Chicago and Cleveland. (Seattle doesn't have that same kind of leverage which comes with the geographic advantage.) However, there are smaller communities like Cincinnati that also have the proximity advantage, but don't seem to be growing in the same way.

Is growth dependent on cost of living? Infrastructure? Ratzon Hashem? All of the above?

😊

I have been living in Cincinnati for more than 5 years and the growth here has been tremendous. At least 10 new families moving in each year, often more. Cost of living here is low and it's a beautiful thriving community that is definitely growing. I believe that it's a great solution for someone looking for an OOT place that is not busting at the seams but is looking for growth, OOT mindset and simplicity.

amother

Gardenia

Sun, Aug 21 2022, 9:09 am

I also live in Cincinnati and love it here!

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