Is Passaic similar to Baltimore?

amother

Sun, Dec 18 2011, 5:00 pm

I am living in the Passaic - Clifton area for 17+ years, so I know the community quite well. I do not know anything about Baltimore.

Taxes are around 10k + per home

Tuition in Yeshiva Ktana is around 9k a child, Yeshivas Bais Hillel and the Clifton Cheder are a bit more.
Yeshiva Ktana is by far the largest school with around 1900 kids, Hillel around 400, Cheder around 150.
There is NO free bussing, so either you will pay to bus your child (I believe about $80/month/child) or you will carpool. Thus, having a mini van or bigger is a MUST. School hours for Yeshiva Ktana (YKP) are 8:45 to 3:45 for younger grades, and later for older grades. Hillel (YBH) is from 8:15 until 3:45 for younger grades, later for older. Unsure of Cheder hours.

There is a Shop Rite, a Costco, an Acme with a kosher butcher and bakery (not yoshon) , a Food Basics (definetely cheapest option for staples) a Kosher store, 2 pizza shops, 1 take out, a chineese store, a grill restaurant, a frum bakery, a bagel store, a fish store.

I do believe the cost of groceries (ie. cheese) is more expensive than in Brooklyn, but probably cheaper than in Baltimore. There are grocery stores in Brooklyn (Moishy's Discount) that deliver on Tues. to Passaic.

Home prices seem to begin in the mid 300's and can go way up to 1 million for top of the line. Most homes are old and will need work. Homes in Clifton tend to be newer and smaller. Homes in Passaic, especially on the side of town from Van Houten to Boulevard are older and larger. The cheaper homes are on the side of Main Ave that the Kosher store is on. There are actually quite a number of frum families and minyanim there. Recently families have been moving into streets in Clifton ( Patricia Pl?) that have never had a frum element, and I believe those blocks (ie. off of Passaic Ave and closer to Rt. 3 ) are cheaper as well. Blocks such as Ridge, Crescent, and West Parkway are far more expensive.

The community is very yeshivish. It is not wealthy in general. There are those professionals who make incomes well over 300k a year, but it is not the norm at all. The average family here is a struggling middle class one. Most of the women are working outside of the home. There are many women who babysit in their homes for a number of children at one time. Many hire babysitters from downtown Passaic.

Cleaning help costs around $10 -12 an hour.

The community is friendly and warm. It used to be that you knew everyone. That isn't the case anymore, but you can easily call to speak to someone, find someone to introduce you to that person, etc. There is a community guide which is published by Yeshiva Ktana once a year. It has everyone's phone numbers and addresses and is a staple in every home here. Walk outside on a Shabbos, Sunday or spring/fall afternoon and you will see that there are kids playing everywhere and in everyone's backyards and homes. They tend to go from home to home together on a block and you just sort of expect a crowd of kids at some point to be in your home or yard or deck. You know everyone on your block, even if they aren't your close friends. You shmooze with everyone and feel comfortable asking them questions, to borrow things etc.

There are a lot of shuls now. BTU, Adas, Ahavas, Tiferes, Agudah, R. Weinberger, Young Israel, Rabbi Hirsch, Ridge Minyan, Rabbi Spira , Wolf--- these are just a few that I can think of and I never go to shul. If I'd ask my husband, he could probably list me another 20 minyanim.

There are tons of shiurim for men, women, both men and women. It is a community very into speakers and events of that sort. There is a Tomchei Shabbos, a Bikkur Cholim, Hatzolah, Project Inspire, Partners in Torah and many other organizations. The PTA's of the schools are also very active.

Hope this info was helpful. Good luck on your decision. If you have any specific questions I can answer please let me know.

amother

Mon, Dec 19 2011, 2:49 am

amother wrote:

OP here. Thanks for taking the time to write this all out. This info was super helpful!

One more question - is it hard to get a tuition break in YK if needed?