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Thursday, June 11, 2009

Emerging Jewish Communities

Hat tip: Jack

This coming Sunday, June 14th, is the OU's (Orthodox Union's) fair on emerging Jewish communities around the country. For those interested, you can register in advance at www.ou.org/communities, for the chance to win a laptop computer and other valuable prizes. For more information call 212.613.8188.

One of the primary purposes of the Jewish Economics Survey I've been carrying out is to gauge costs of living in different communities around the country, including smaller towns such as the ones listed. Obviously, data is harder to come by in those communities, but my guess is that those smaller communities which wish to pitch the idea of relocating to their communities would gain tremendously by being able to demonstrate just what their actual costs of living are.

The list of communities at this fair are interesting; some are obviously larger than others, and may have the advantage of being able to pitch "small but not too small" to people. I wish I could go, but alas, Serach is taking part in a fair in Brooklyn, selling her tichels and headbands. All the cities I've wanted to hear more about (Dallas, Memphis, Phoenix, et al) will be there, and I'm curious to hear how they each pitch their communities, particularly economically.

We'll actually be spending this Shabbos in one of those small communties, Harrisburg, PA, for my nephew's bris.

If anyone at the fair wants to mention/pitch my survey to representatives of different communities, I'd be really thrilled - the more this can spread, particularly to smaller communities, the greater the impact it can have in helping people determine where to live, understanding what things should cost, and hopefully improving how our Jewish communities run by making them more efficient and helping them learn from one another.

Communities that will be there according to the flyer:
Allentown, PA; Atlanta, GA; Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Des Moines; IA; Fairfield, CT; Harrisburg, PA; Houston, TX; Jacksonville, FL; Malden, MA; Memphis, TN; New Orleans, LA; Phoenix, AZ; Providence, RI; Richmond, VA; San Francisco, CA; Southfield and Oak Park, MI; St. Louis, MO; Stamford, CT; Stony Brook, NY; Upstate, NY - Albany, Schenectady, Troy.

20 comments:

  1. That should have said, "No Wilmington?"

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  2. The two people there would have to come up and pitch it. :)

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  3. Who is coming in From SF-
    are they representing the entire Bay, or just SF proper?

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  4. I also think people are way underestimating the cost to live on the coasts. Rental/housprices in the bay are not cheap...I don't think Colorado is either.

    Michigan is bankrupt. You can buy practically a mansion there for next to nothing because people are fleeing the state. I have grad student friends who are making next to nothing snapping up property in event the state turns around...

    They are also not highlighting other emergent communities such as San Diego, or Portland..why?

    Further, a number of these communities, especially the CT and TX communities, beyond SF, are actually hevily reliant on banking, oil, and high-tech.

    Most Jewish people are not heavily involved in banking, oil and high tech at the levels employed in these areas. It would require a massive cultural shift to tell everyone to learn Maya, Ruby, Scala, and to figure out what LAMP is.

    Even the idea that, for example, you could revive an old Jewish enighborhood in the same city (LeS-Manhattan, I have a friend who is the rabbi of a hip orthodox shul down there)- hasn't hit anyone on this list. You could get property cheap in parts of the Bronx and be outliers in the same areas that you are already from, and revive a Jewish community at the same time.

    The idea of an emergent community is an odd one....SF has been on the list for who knows how long, yet you can meet people in SF who have been Jewish there for ages. Anomalies, because most people who go to the Bay go to either redefine or flee their Jewish identity- but it does happen (and the Levi family will help fund you if you want to do anything about it...)

    Same thing in Columbus...it and its outlying communities have been active for generations, just the meaning of what is active is changing as there has been a drive to a more "sociological religious" core defined by a "New York" clique. Either way, young people are fleeing.

    And on top of that, the statistics they tell most Orthodox Jews are lies, damn lies. There is a huge drop off rate. Hence why these communities feel they are in peril....

    Otherwise Palo Alto would be fine.

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  5. SM - No idea on SF.

    Erachet - "Emerging" - !? :P

    SM - Whoever isn't there didn't want to send, I presume.

    Many Jews are heavily involved in banking, and any oil/high-tech industry requires a large amount of financial and computer support staff.

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  6. Are they specifically leaving out communities in the NY area?

    I know a community like Oceanside, NY is very interested in recruiting young couples there.

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  7. The communities who want new people have to be able to provide credible leads to jobs. Wishful thinking on that score will not persuade anyone.

    Low costs mean nothing if there is lower income.

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  8. More on the above:

    It's senseless to tout local industries that are not hiring.

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  9. Jeremy - I assume they're catering to places which are not a short drive away that a person could easily find out for themselves.

    Bob - That shouldn't be an issue in many of these places. Texas has one of the strongest economies at the moment, for example. Obviously jobs is a major part of any such pitch. I went to one for a community about a year ago, and after housing the focus was jobs.

    Lower income is typically more than made up for by lower cost (and lower taxes!), as you well know - how come nobody is coming from your neck of the woods? :)

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  10. You know, if you want to know about Memphis you can always ask us.

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  11. As someone who moved almost a year ago from one of these communities to the the east coast, I have a few things to say.

    1) My house (on the market for a year): respectable 2000 sf Cape Cod, asking $160K, would go for $400K minimum where I am now.

    2) People in the midwest are nicer. (better middos?)

    3) Big plus: There are more yeshivas on the east coast, and B"H our kids are totally thriving after having been in a modern O community school. Now, if they'd only teach middos...

    My husband could only advance in his career by going to a larger city, otherwise we probably wouldn't have left. It's been hard to make friends, but for the sake of our Yiddishkeit and the chinuch of our kids, I'm can't say I'm unhappy.

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  12. Does the OU pitch Israel as an option? Just curious.

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  13. i don't usually post on these things, but i'm just so unimpressed by the amount of criticism this post has generated.

    saddens me.

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  14. No I am just equally annoyed about the lack of real investment inside the communities people are in already. Or the fact that we don't understand that we move out of our parents communities. Our communities are not actually self generating.

    The MO parts of Flatbush, for example, are slowly being sold off as the parents age...

    What does this tell you?

    I don't see why you can;t reclaim the really ghetto neighborhood where there are barely surviving shuls (and there are neighborhoods like these...) It speaks of investment and continuity...which we do not have now.

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  15. Sigh, the future is in Israel....not emerging new communities.

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  16. Jameel - Sigh, the future is in Israel....not emerging new communities.

    It's both :-) The future is in emerging new communities in Israel ....

    Mark

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  17. Now, if they'd only teach middos...

    Agreed, there is something much more...friendly about the people out of town. That said, I think people go overboard in criticizing the midos of New Yorkers. I was always taught midos both at home and at any school I went to. And I'm from New York.

    The issue isn't what's being taught or not taught. The issue is a problematic attitude. Don't know how it started or how to stop it, though.

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  18. TL - Oh, I know. Or friends. Still, always interesting to hear pitches, particularly those which discuss jobs, housing, etc.

    JWH - That's actually one area where I wonder if a BT vs. an FFB would have a different experience. An FFB might have an easier time "filling in" what they think isn't being taught in the school.

    Baila - No clue. I'm curious as well.

    PN - ? I didn't think there was too much... just simple points.

    Shana - It still doesn't come close cost-wise. Plus, once the first handful go, it shoots right back up.

    Jameel - Then someone needs to be making a better pitch of it.

    Mark - :)

    Erachet - Mhm.

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  19. "how come nobody is coming from your neck of the woods? :)"

    They did, last year. No particular results yet. This economy makes landing a job at most destinations, and also selling one's home, problematic. This increases inertia.

    Indianapolis does have a Mesivta now, small but growing, with outstanding staff. Low housing prices have gotten even lower.

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