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Whether you guys might thnk it or not, there are places in North Carolina where Jews might have a difficult time. however, Charlotte is probably not one of those places. Especially if you consider they will be looking for a $500-700k.
Out of curiosity, can you tell us about the hard times faced and where incidents occured? I am caucasian and have had my life threatened for being in the wrong neighborhood more than once (not by Jews).
Ok so I will be the one who tells you differently I grew up in a very heavily populated jewish area in Pittsburgh and then moved to Sfla where the area was also heavily populated. The Jewish community is small here and everyone is nice but still it is difficult to be Jewish here if it is the center of your life and who you are. We live in Union county and my son's field trip is on Yom kippur the response i got form the principal was oh sorry and we cannot guarantee it will not happen again. that is just one incident, I do not want to say do not move here but we are moving back to where we fell we can be Jewish. It is beautiful here and great for kids but I feel for my kids and us as a family it is hard. Good luck with what ever you do!
Wasn't the principal simply saying that he can't guarantee that the next field trip won't fall on a Jewish holliday? During my tenure as a teacher, I had students that could not participate in activities for various religious reasons. The schedule pressed on. Students had the option of participating or not. No big deal. You seem to refer to this incident as something prejudicial? Don't see it that way. Anyway, good luck.
"We live in Union county and my son's field trip is on Yom kippur the response i got form the principal was oh sorry and we cannot guarantee it will not happen again. "
The schools here will not change their plans to accomodate religious holidays. Why should they?
I can't believe anyone would expect the public schools to do that, especially in the age of "Winter holidays" and secular "Spring Breaks". Surely you didn't expect a principal to promise never to schedule a field trip on Yom Kippur?
BTW, our family has many holidays that other religions and even other Christians do not recognize. But if my child went to a public school, I wouldn't dream of asking them to change plans to accommodate Orthodox Great Friday.
If you are an observant Jew, there are Jewish schools here in Charlotte that your children can attend. That way, they are sure to get around these types of problems.
I am from NJ and a lot of schools close for Jewish holidays. I happend to live in an area where there was not a lot of Jewish people so they did not close our schools. I do not believe I lived in an area that was not accepting of people of different faiths it was just not necessary.
I cannot imagine how you would feel uncomfortable...we have a TON of Jewish friends here. It seems like their is a large jewish population here and our school has always made sure to recognize all religions around holiday time here.
Sure, there are going to be school districts that build some locally important observations into their schedule, but surely you would not expect a school in (still, mostly rural NC) Union County to change a field trip because of one student's religious preference? Isn't that sort of what getting religion out of the public schools was supposed to accomplish? Not that I agreed with it, but ...
back to the original question, I think a Manhattanite would have many other adjustments to make upon moving to this Southern suburban paradise. it's a completely different lifestyle, then when you put being a religoius minority on top of it, I could see how it could be a real challenge.
I grew up in (and have always lived in) places where I was a cultural and religious minority, almost to the extreme. It's never been easy and it's frequently very difficult, especially as I raise my own child in our church.
Sure, there are going to be school districts that build some locally important observations into their schedule, but surely you would not expect a school in (still, mostly rural NC) Union County to change a field trip because of one student's religious preference? Isn't that sort of what getting religion out of the public schools was supposed to accomplish? Not that I agreed with it, but ...
back to the original question, I think a Manhattanite would have many other adjustments to make upon moving to this Southern suburban paradise. it's a completely different lifestyle, then when you put being a religoius minority on top of it, I could see how it could be a real challenge.
I grew up in (and have always lived in) places where I was a cultural and religious minority, almost to the extreme. It's never been easy and it's frequently very difficult, especially as I raise my own child in our church.
considering iM jewish and live in Union County, but they should RESPECT ones religious holiday....the only reason why NJ and NY schools close for our holidays is because the percentage of jewish teachers is astronomical, and since they observe and wont work they close the schools...Would you expect the schools to be open Christmas day? it really is no different..
However I could care less about living with jewish people as it isnt a big thing for us, we arent religious, My sons school was very accomidating on jewish holidays for us so I cant complain...I keep my kids home and send in a note not a big deal again...As far as the original poster is concerned You will not be out of place..we have alot of friends some jewish most not and honestly no big deal...there is the JCC and the Temples if your interested in getting involved, it will be difficult to make friends there though as most of them know each other for quiet some time, but it is a beautiful facility...
It really depends on what your looking for, I have a few friends that are jewish that live in Western Union County not far from us that are very happy here and I have another friend who 5 of her neighbors are jewish....
weez you could become very tolerant in charlotte, we have more than just catholic and jews in charlotte and real tolerance is to get along with people you dont actually have alot in common.
you would be welcomed in Charlotte as long as you dont have the Manhattan chip on shoulder that thinks every place should be just like manhattan and the center of the world is NYC
its not
What about the chip on your shoulder that thinks everyone from NYC thinks NYC is the center of the universe. Thats obviously ok. ::eye roll::
I taught in a language institute, at UNCC for many years; as you know, UNCC is a public institution where religion should not be a factor. However, up until a few years ago, we always had classes on July 4th, but the Teaching Excellence Award Dinner and the International Festival were carefully scheduled to avoid conflict with Yom Kippur. Nevertheless, we always had class on Good Friday in spite of the fact that the majority of our students and teachers were Christians. On the third (or is it the fourth?) hand, we didn't have class Friday afternoons so that our Muslim students could pray.
So go figure???????? Who were we showing preference for or prejudice against?
Ok so I will be the one who tells you differently I grew up in a very heavily populated jewish area in Pittsburgh and then moved to Sfla where the area was also heavily populated. The Jewish community is small here and everyone is nice but still it is difficult to be Jewish here if it is the center of your life and who you are. We live in Union county and my son's field trip is on Yom kippur the response i got form the principal was oh sorry and we cannot guarantee it will not happen again. that is just one incident, I do not want to say do not move here but we are moving back to where we fell we can be Jewish. It is beautiful here and great for kids but I feel for my kids and us as a family it is hard. Good luck with what ever you do!
I think that the manner in which you positioned your response to OP and other people of the Jewish faith would, without a doubt, steer them to live in another city and that would be an injustice.
You are giving a very self-servering point of view in that you obviously want to live in a community where your religious practices are a thread that runs throughout ALL parts of your families life including school. (the example of the field trip and your thoughts that Yom Kippur should be considered in the planning). I know of many communties that you would be very happy in but I don't beleive that you will find them in the state of North Carolina.However,to answer OP question of "I'm Jewish and can I be happy here" needs to be answered with a lot more questions to OP than just "there are a few Jews here". or "it's hard on my family and kids" That's just too broad of the stroke of the brush.
OP should tell a little more about herself and how closely tied she is to following a traditional way of Jewish life ie: is she liberal, reformed, strict etc.In this way I think she might get a more informed opinion about the "diversity" of Charlotte and how comfortable she will feel living here.
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