OU emerging jewish communities fair

amother

Fri, Mar 25 2011, 5:34 pm

On this Sunday in NYC , the OU is having a fair showcasing communities
The places partcipating are
Allentown, PA • Austin, TX • Bangor, ME • Binghamton, NY • Cherry Hill, NJ • Columbus, OH • Dallas, TX • Elizabeth, NJ •Harrisburg, PA • Jacksonville, FL • Las Vegas, NV • Linden, NJ • Long Branch, NJ • Manalapan, NJ •Malden, MA • Memphis, TN • Merrick, NY • Metairie, LA • Milwaukee, WI • New Haven, CT • Norfolk, VA • Oceanside, NY • Overland Park, KS • Parsippany, NJ • Phoenix, AZ • Pittsburgh, PA • Plainview, NY • Richmond, VA • Rochester, NY • Roslyn, NY • Sacramento, CA • Southfield, MI • Springfield, NJ • Springfield, MA • Stamford, CT • Staten Island, NY • White Oak, PA • Wynnewood, PA

Anyone here going? Anyone know anything about these places? Some I have heard of but others I had no idea were jewish communities

Thanks!

hila

Sun, Mar 27 2011, 3:48 am

I know three of those communities... I would not call any of them emerging, but "dying" .
They are all stuck with old shuls, which wont sell, almost no kids in the community, and very low mechitsot . And of course, LOTS of politics and problems.
Be careful

Mrs Bissli

Sun, Mar 27 2011, 6:04 am

I find it interesting they use the word "emerging", in a similar context to "emerging markets" (you know, brazil, china, india...) These countries used to be called Third World (First being west, Second being communist countries), then Developping countries, then Emerging countries.

amother

Sun, Mar 27 2011, 6:10 am

We are moving to Richmond, VA this summer!!

I wouldn't call it a "dying" community by any means! Sure, it's not big like Silver Spring or Baltimore, but it certainly has a lot of the charm of a smaller community.

nylon

Sun, Mar 27 2011, 10:54 am

There's a real mix in that list. Some of them are close to dying. Some are bigger than what I would call "emerging". Some are in a really good position to grow.

As for low mechitzot, it depends on your perspective as to whether that's a problem. I live in a community with a lower mechitza, and I can tell you, I don't think anyone wants outsiders coming in and telling us to raise it.

Also, in some cases, the problems with the community also involve wider structural issues that the frum community is powerless to change (hila, you and I might be thinking of one of the same communities...)

chavamom

Mon, Mar 28 2011, 3:05 am

I am familiar with 16 of those communities. Huge mix, very different variety and yes, some of them are quite established. Dallas? Seriously? Emerging? It's a growing community, that's for sure, but it's a very well established community. Wynnewood is just a Philly suburb that is actually where the day school for the Western suburbs is located. Columbus and Memphis - quite established but looking to recruit younger families and grow. And then yes, there are some dying communities on that list. Caveat emptor.

nylon

Mon, Mar 28 2011, 8:49 am

I don't know about L"H, but if you're talking about some of the smaller ones, and you're speaking because you live there (or left only recently) you could be completely giving yourself away. I don't think it would be L"H to say "such and such place has no high school" or "the local job market is bad"; these are basic facts that anyone could easily find out for themselves. Communal politics is another story.

chavamom

Mon, Mar 28 2011, 11:45 pm

Sherri wrote:

Is it Lashon Hara or something to say which are dying- is that why nobody is mentioning which?

Look, if a community is making an effort to grow and someone says "Eww! That's a dying community!" Would you want to move there? But if someone checks it out and wants to move there, let them. Sometimes "dying communities" emerge and become really beautiful communities. At one point the community I live in was dwindling fast. It's not today - doesn't even seem to have made the "emerging communities" list LOL

Hashem_Yaazor

Tue, Mar 29 2011, 9:29 am

Just a note: These communities aren't randomly selected. There isn't anything special about them vs elsewhere. The communities themselves submit their name to be put in. It's as simple as that. A community wants to draw in more ppl? They submit information about their city to interest newcomers.

spring13

Wed, Mar 30 2011, 11:43 pm

There is a difference between "small" and "dying". And I would expect that the communities participating are doing so in the hopes that they will attract newcomers - and therefore grow or revive. Actually, that's pretty obvious, so I'm not sure why people seem to have a problem with this.

Please, New Yorkers/Angelenos/Baltimorons/etc., please understand that just because a community isn't exploding with Jews doesn't mean that it's a bad place to live, or to be frum. Everyone has different priorities when it comes to where they want to live. Drawing a parallel between small frum communities and third world countries is pretty obnoxious.

mirror

Thu, Mar 31 2011, 12:25 am

I think that jobs and cost-of-living are a major factor, in addition to the community.

Pennsylvania seems like a great place to live, but I wouldn't be able to find a job there.

chavamom

Thu, Mar 31 2011, 6:24 am

spring13 wrote:

Drawing a parallel between small frum communities and third world countries is pretty obnoxious.

Are you reading different posts than I am?

Peanut2

Thu, Mar 31 2011, 9:33 am

Mrs Bissli wrote:

Isn't the whole 'emerging markets' thing because these countries are playing a bigger and bigger (and leading?) role in world economics, or something like that? I'm so not an econ/business person, though.

zaq

Thu, Mar 31 2011, 11:17 am

Isramom8 wrote:

Elizabeth and New Haven are emerging? Maybe getting a second wind.

It has nothing to do with whether they're young, old, growing by leaps and bounds or barely hold on. As has been said, the communities themselves apply to participate because they're genuinely interested in attracting new people. Not every community is interested in doing so, and some are actively opposed to doing so.

Tziril Miriam

Mon, Jan 07 2013, 8:27 pm

I'm in the Boston area and am a bit familiar with Malden, MA. Malden is on the "T", the public transportation system, it has great access to the whole Boston metropolitan area and all the jobs available here. NY's Mayor Bloomberg grew up in Malden,MA; I believe that he supports his old shul. Malden's housing stock is considerably cheaper than downtown Boston, or suburbs with fancier public schools.

Malden has a regular minyan, and a few of my friends have loved it as a welcoming place to say Yiskor. Some people may call Malden a dying community, but it offers a lifeline to many Jews right now.

imasinger

Mon, Jan 07 2013, 8:37 pm

Tziril Miriam wrote:

Not to mention that, last I heard, the shul had funds to help with housing costs and was offering free transportation to the day schools.

I know a few of these communities. I think it's easier for a community to "emerge" (or re-emerge) when many of the expensive basics, like a shul, are already there. But I agree that it is very important to do your research well.