Sell me on your community

amother

Tue, Aug 30 2022, 6:26 pm

Currently in a situation where both me and my husband are looking for new jobs and the lease is up on our apartment. We’re in Lakewood and our oldest is only 2 so we figured that it might be worth thinking about moving elsewhere while it’s still that simple.

Tell me about where you live! (I’m bt so even if you live in bore park or Monsey, it’s all new info to me) What’s your community like? What’s the cost of living? Do people say hi to their new neighbors? Are there younger families? Can you find rentals? Or starter homes? Sell me on where you live! Non-America options also!

Not sure if it’s relevant or not but my husband works in construction and I work in administration so they’re both easy enough jobs to find in new places.

amother

Mintcream

Tue, Sep 13 2022, 8:03 pm

OP if you add in a few specifics that matter, people will answer.
Also, culturally where would you feel comfortable.
and what dont you like about where you currently live and make better for yourself.

amother

Opal

Wed, Sep 14 2022, 1:47 am

I live in a great community in Israel. Lots of young families, everyone is very friendly. Low prices. A lot of rentals. (I don't really know what a starter home is.)
Quality of life is very high.
Are you considering Aliyah?

dats me

Wed, Sep 14 2022, 6:00 am

amother Opal wrote:

Where is this magical place in Israel with low prices etc? Would be helpful to hear more!

Kiwi13

Wed, Sep 14 2022, 7:36 am

amother Opal wrote:

Tell me more!

amother

Chicory

Wed, Sep 14 2022, 9:16 am

I live in a small town in the US. No traffic. Everyone is friendly. Around 200 Jewish families. A few shuls. An excellent day school. You can buy a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom house with a driveway, garage and large backyard for under $300,000. Home rentals of the same size go for less than $2,000 / month. There's a kosher supermarket. A mikvah. Several larger communities within a few hours drive. School tuition is under $10k / year, and there are several programs to reduce it even more.

amother

Honey

Wed, Sep 14 2022, 9:22 am

amother Chicory wrote:

Please what is it?!

hodeez

Wed, Sep 14 2022, 9:57 am

Maybe start off with your price range. Plenty of nice communities that some of us can only dream of being a part of

Not_in_my_town

Wed, Sep 14 2022, 10:13 am

amother Chicory wrote:

Casa Grande, Arizona
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Kingston, Pennsylvania

?

amother

Celeste

Wed, Sep 14 2022, 10:23 am

Staten Island, NY! Short drive to Brooklyn and pretty well located to drive to other Jewish communities in the tristate as well. Houses are available in quite a big price range depending on your budget. Personally, I chose a tiny little house on a well-sized lot with the potential to expand in the future.

mha3484

Wed, Sep 14 2022, 10:25 am

I am very happy in Chicago. Lots of choices and amenities that you would get in the east coast in terms of schools, shuls, food, clothes. But its also less intense. I don't feel huge pressure in terms of gashmius. It exists obviously I don't live in utopia but its not so in my face.

I send my boys to the yeshivish schools and feel like its a really nice mix of people. The rules are reasonable. I don't feel micromanaged out of school. They have grown a lot in terms of professionalism which I appreciate too.

Oh also lots of BTs (I am one) and feel like I am treated like everyone else.

amother

Aconite

Wed, Sep 14 2022, 10:29 am

Once you start looking into a community, I look very carefully at the schools. Make sure it is where you want to raise your family. I would say that the school is the most important thing to look at. There are many schools, and many communities, but definitely factor that in before you move

amother

Gray

Wed, Sep 14 2022, 11:10 am

Passaic NJ. its got the layout and space of a neat typical out of city town, you can still see Manhattan skyline from some places. houses are relatively affordable, you get a nice little detached property. Good school options, great Kosher conveniences and theres a bit of everyone, from Modern Orthodox to Yeshivish to Chassidish to everything in between.

shabbatiscoming

Wed, Sep 14 2022, 11:26 am

amother Opal wrote:

Opal amother, where is real estate still low? Would also love to know. Also, what you think is low may not be low to others Wink

amother

Birch

Wed, Sep 14 2022, 12:23 pm

Chicago! I know someone already mentioned it, but it has the conveniences of food and shopping that you’d get on the east coast while still being out of town (ish). There definitely are people that focus on gashmius and build mansions, but they’re very easy to ignore. I moved here about a year ago and I found people to be nice and welcoming. I only have a baby so I haven’t dealt with the school system. I know housing prices are definitely rising though (I’m renting an apartment).

amother

Celeste

Wed, Sep 14 2022, 12:27 pm

amother Gray wrote:

This might actually be a really good fit based on what OP said. OP- make sure you check this out!

amother

Pansy

Wed, Sep 14 2022, 12:32 pm

amother Gray wrote:

Relatively affordable, keyword being relatively. It isn't actually all that affordable and there are a shortage of houses on the market which isn't helping the price problem.

If money isn't a problem then Passaic or Clifton is great. Clifton has lower taxes but is basically still part of the Passaic community.