for those of you who have made BIG moves... how to decide?

shanie5

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 12:02 am

Before we moved, we spent a shabbos and then purim here. And then another shabbos. But its driving distance.

When here, we also stopped in to observe at the school, met the rabbi and a few families too.

A note about accountants: I have been told that its hard for CPA's to get jobs here because the job would be with a non jewish company. And they all expect cpas to work the full weekend during tax season-no shabbos off. Check that factor when looking into communities too.

alpidarkomama

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 1:46 am

We considered a move for 2 years. We visited one community w/2 of our kids. Then when we had 4 it just wasn't practical/affordable for all of us to visit. DH kept applying for jobs in his field in any town that met our (very!) basic requirements. He went to a few different communities for interviews. We ended up moving to a community that was not on our radar at all do to the very small size of the Jewish population (the frum community was the same size as our former city, whose Jewish population was 15x what the one here is!). DH went there for a job interview and loved it, so we moved there! I knew that wherever he'd be happy I'd be happy. Best move ever!!!!!!! Smile

gold21

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 9:36 am

Sorry to stick my nose in here, but I find it really not mentchlich to post as Amother and say to a poster "oh I know who you are! I know where you live! I am considering a move to your hometown! I was in your hometown for your vort!" and not reveal anything about yourself. how not nice is that??? if you want to be a mentch but dont want to reveal your screenname (which is a legitimate concern), then maybe drop a few hints about yourself under the Amother diguise (such as, "my initials are A.B. and I know you from the neighborhood"), or PM a mod with your real name and have the mod PM the poster with your name. if you do it this way she wont know your screenname, which I understand that you dont want to give away. but please, seriously, be nice!!

Hashem_Yaazor

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 10:00 am

Debsters, Baltimore is not super yeshivish. Not everyone is even yeshivish at all, let alone super yeshivish.
Most people here are working; not in kollel.

The OT field really has what to offer here (I know someone hiring experienced pediatric OTs right now, another frum place also is, and the public school system has lots of frum therapists....then there are many that work in rehab or nursing homes; not just for children.) My sister just got a job here with no experience.

Peanut2

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 11:44 am

amother wrote:

I'm an OT living oot. My #1 piece of advice is to make sure there are jobs that pay well in whatever area you're looking at. You're used to NY rates, so you will be in for a surprise when you find out that some of the salaries are lousy oot! Obviously you will want to weigh it against the lower cost of living. But be wary of that. And same for your husband's job.

Right, but it's worthwhile to check out the price of houses especially. They are universally cheaper outside of NY, and where they aren't salaries are also higher.

sarahd

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 1:18 pm

gold21 wrote:

I second the motion. Yes

abby1776

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 1:54 pm

Another vote for Baltimore - we moved from NY and I wouldnt say its super yeshivish. It is a good size with lots of amenities (kosher pizza, bagels, buthers, bakers, etc.) choices of schools and not too far from NY. There are many different housing options at a wide range of prices. There are employment opportunities in the health care field and a lot of people wotk at the social security administration - perhaps they are looking for accountants. The pay I believe is decent and you get great benefits working for the government.

Rubber Ducky

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 1:59 pm

Re Baltimore: it's a big mix. Not all yeshivish, and certainly not all yeshivish in the sense of Lakewood yeshivish.

Years before we moved here from the west coast, we spent a week here, talked to lots of people, visited the schools...

My DH is a CPA. Not all CPA's work for CPA firms or are tied to "tax season" schedules. DH is an internal auditor for a large non-Jewish company -- no tax season to worry about! We moved to Baltimore without DH having a job here. DH spent a few months here before we moved (the kids and I stayed in LA) without landing a permanent position, but he was able to get temp work easily. We decided to move anyway, even without a job in hand. While we were making the trip cross country by car, DH got a call from a headhunter for an interview that became his first job here.

Have hatzlacha wherever you land!

Tova

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 2:48 pm

There are DOZENS of CPA's in public practice in Baltimore. There are a couple of firms here that actually have frum partners. You bring the issue of Shabbos/Pesach up during your initial or second interview and if they don't offer you a job fine. There are plenty of companies that will be fine with you working Sundays instead. In fact, it's sort of a maalah for me because one of the partners knows I'm available when others aren't. It's all siyatta dishmaya, of course, but b'derech hateva it's not an insurmountable obstacle. I really think the benefits of this profession are worth it. It's a great field that was not hit hard in the recession.

jzmom

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 2:53 pm

In the past the OU has run a program where they bring representatives from growing communities out of NY. It may be worthwhile to check out their website to see if they are running a similar program soon. Even if they are not, they may have contact information for people in those communities where you can start to ask questions and maybe narrow down your options. I hope that helps. Good luck.

amother

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 3:36 pm

Peanut2 wrote:

amother wrote:

Right, but it's worthwhile to check out the price of houses especially. They are universally cheaper outside of NY, and where they aren't salaries are also higher.

Actually, houses where I live are equivalent to NY prices. And my salary is nowhere near a NY salary.

amother

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 3:39 pm

sarahd wrote:

gold21 wrote:

I second the motion. Yes

I actually messaged the OP on FB. Didn't think it was crucial to post that here, but I figured I'd alleviate your concerns. Smile

spinkles

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 5:26 pm

Years ago, when we were in NY and trying to decide which OOT community to move to, we did a road trip to a bunch of cities--Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, etc. and spent a day or two in each. Don't know if that's an option for you or not. We also did individual trips to a few places.

Since you and your husband can really get jobs anywhere, the question is, which community will allow you to grow and give the most? What are your dreams...what would you like to do for Klal Yisroel over the next few decades? And, of course, which schools seem like the best fit for your family?

I agree with what others said, that Baltimore might be a good fit. There's a good mix of people there, and good access to jobs because of the closeness to D.C.

gold21

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 5:40 pm

amother wrote:

sarahd wrote:

gold21 wrote:

I second the motion. Yes

I actually messaged the OP on FB. Didn't think it was crucial to post that here, but I figured I'd alleviate your concerns. Smile

OK good, I am glad that you did. Thumbs Up

Peanut2

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 5:43 pm

amother wrote:

Peanut2 wrote:

amother wrote:

Right, but it's worthwhile to check out the price of houses especially. They are universally cheaper outside of NY, and where they aren't salaries are also higher.

Actually, houses where I live are equivalent to NY prices. And my salary is nowhere near a NY salary.

Wow, that's tough. Where I live now the housing market is pretty terrible and you can get a starter home for maybe 1/2 or 1/3 of NY prices, and big beautiful homes are even cheaper by comparison. Salaries are lower, but so what?

Where I lived before, also OOT, many housing prices were similar to established NJ communities. It is a very upper middle class area with barely any frum Jewish amenities, and salaries were lower than NY area, but I think quality of life was higher in non-frum related aspects.

That's why I say take a look at housing prices. And cost of other things, like basic groceries. Some places are much cheaper than NY, but in other areas that's not the case, and the higher cost of kosher products makes things much more expensive.

sarahd

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 6:53 pm

amother wrote:

sarahd wrote:

gold21 wrote:

I second the motion. Yes

I actually messaged the OP on FB. Didn't think it was crucial to post that here, but I figured I'd alleviate your concerns. Smile

Glad to hear it.

debsters1101

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 8:36 pm

oh wow look at all these comments I don't know why imamother failed to email me!! thanks all for the plethora of information. and yes, one of the amothers did message me, now the other one should please come out of the woodwork too!!! :-)
Thanks for all the info on Baltimore, it NEVER would have occured to us, but it seems really worth it to check it out.
how are housing prices there? what are the schools like?

bdot

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 9:00 pm

I'm a new yorker who moved to baltimore- we live here 4 years, and are bH very happy! all of our relatives come and visit - it's not a bad trip to new york! if you want to look at a sample of what houses go for, I'd suggest looking on www.baltimorejewishlife.com - on the bottom of the home page there is a real estate section--
schools are excellent-- tuition not that much cheaper from the average ny yeshiva, I am told ..
when we were considering the move, we took a pilot trip, and saw the diff neighborhoods, and saw the schools, and even met with potential employers..
if you ever consider balt. seriously, feel free to pm me-- I'd be glad to help!
good luck!

Hashem_Yaazor

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 10:37 pm

Housing depends on the area...you can get cheaper than 2 but 2-4 seems to be the majority of the homes.

Schools are great. You'd be choosing between 2 boys' schools and 2 girls' schools that each have its mailos and chesronos, but overall are good picks no matter where you go.