Fantasy Move OOT | Imamother

amother

Mon, Jun 14 2021, 10:44 am

We are newlyweds in Lakewood and we would love to move out of town.

For logistic reasons it can't happen for a year or two...

But we're still discussing possible communities even though it's still theoretical.

We're yeshivish but not super conformist type.

What out of town communities:

*have basic infrastructure plus a kollel
*yet are small enough you don't fall through the cracks
*lower cost of living
*near nature

Thanks all!

amother

Rainbow

Mon, Jun 14 2021, 3:16 pm

some of the larger communities can meet your criteria too if you find the right place to live there. For example, I live in Baltimore, if you pick the smaller schools for your children (eg Bnos, toras Simcha, darchei noam montessori) and join a shul which is a good fit for you, then it could be great and you will definitely not fall through the cracks. Another idea if you are yeshivish, my friend lives in Scotts Hill, near to TA. she loves it there and we love visiting her for shabbos. There are about 35 frum families, mostly on the yeshivish end, but OOT yeshivish, not over the top yeshivish Wink

and there is a real kehilla feel and house prices are lower around 300k.
Baltimore has all the infrastructure you could need, it is largely suburban with lots of beautiful nature and parks around,

amother

Mon, Jun 14 2021, 5:52 pm

Interested in hearing more about Cincinnati and Hollywood, Fl.

The rest that were mentioned are all wonderful communities, I have relatives in two of those and my husband is actually from a third. Not sure if we're interested in any of them, but interesting point about a community within a community-- would love to hear more about Scotts Hill in Baltimore too!

Also, does anyone know about Phoenix or Dallas? Do they meet our criteria?

amother

Cerise

Mon, Jun 14 2021, 6:02 pm

"fall through the cracks"
is subjective. I think you would probably be happy in Cincinnati otherwise.
We aren't moving because I honestly don't think we'll be happier someplace else. My kids are finally happy. Each went through a hard tekufah socially but b"H are currently doing well. It's really very pretty here and it's convenient. As long as you aren't sending to the Montessouri school all the other schools are literally in walking distance from the frum community.

amother

Wheat

Tue, Jun 15 2021, 3:59 pm

St Louis, Missouri meets and exceeds all these expectations and has an amazing school, kollel, and diverse community including a strong yeshivish presence.

Someone I know travelled as a couple to several OOT communities to decide on the best place to raise their family. I would highly recommend this if you can! (Doesn't have to be all in one trip!)

amother

Molasses

Tue, Jun 15 2021, 4:02 pm

amother [ Wheat ] wrote:

Ooh would love to do a road trip like that. Can you help me put together a list of communities that we can check out?

amother

Pistachio

Tue, Jun 15 2021, 4:14 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Interested in hearing more about Cincinnati and Hollywood, Fl.

Some info I posted in a past thread about Cincinnati, but updated.

Kosher food: a meat restaurant (Kinneret Grill), a dairy South Indian restaurant (Amma's Kitchen), a bagel shop (Marx Hot Bagels), a JCC cafe (dairy, including pizza), a donut shop (Silverton donuts), and at least one Graeter's ice cream location. Kosher food available at numerous non-Jewish grocery stores, such as Kroger, Remke, Costco and Trader Joe's.

Two elementary Schools (toddlers to 8th grade):
- Cincinnati Hebrew Day School
- Ohr Torah (Montessori-style, but not strictly Montessori)

Since you're newlyweds, I won't get into the high school options. There has long been a girls' high school and a boys' one is scheduled to open this fall for the first time. Also we have a Chabad boys' yeshiva.

The JCC has an excellent early childhood program if you need full-time year-round daycare. But the wait list is long, especially for infants. There are also in-home playgroups with shorter hours. In the summer, we have two frum day camps here, Ashreinu and Chabad. And there are some little backyard camps at the beginning and end of summer.

The state of Ohio provides tuition vouchers for K-12, either based on where you live or income. Voucher amounts may increase soon with pending legislation.

To help incoming prospective families, we have Move2Cincy (more aimed at MO families) and Destination Cincinnati (more aimed at yeshivish families), both of which are happy to talk with prospective new families about the job market here and to make connections with other community members as appropriate.
www.move2cincy.org
www.destinationcincinnati.org

amother

Pistachio

Tue, Jun 15 2021, 4:37 pm

amother [ Cerise ] wrote:

I don't know if destination cincinnati is still so active. It's very hard to find housing here so it's hard to recruit people if there is no place to live.

I agree that housing is a challenge right now, but I think it's worth reaching out, especially since OP is thinking about a move 1-2 years in the future. Or are you saying that Destination Cincinnati is no longer operating at all? I may not be up to date in that regard.