Jewish Community (Columbus, Cleveland, Bexley: house, job market, neighborhoods)

[stellar]

Hello: I am an RN considering a move to Ohio. Many people have redirected me to Columbus versus Cleveland. Is there a vibrant Jewish community there, a specific part of town with kosher food and restaurants? While I am at it, what are the median home prices and what is the medical community about? Thanks

[NewToCA]

I don't know, but they have some synagogues on the east side of Broad St, between Nelson and James. I believe they also have one in New Albany.

synagogues loc: Columbus, OH - Google Maps

You may want to contact one of these for more information, if nobody else provides insights.

[stellar]

Thanks, I do have those names and numbers, but I wanted a view from the average Columbus community members. The synagogue contacts tend to glamorize things a bit. Are you familiar with Cleveland at all?

[NewToCA]

Yes, I lived there for a few years awhile ago. If you are comparing Jewish communities, my impression was that they had a more "robust" level of activity. Again, I think it would be better to communicate with someone who may have been involved, my impressions are distant. But the Beachwood area had a lot of publicity about all of the stuff going on when they had holidays.

[stellar]

Thanks so much.

[jkc1970]

I grew up in the suburb of Bexley. It used to have a very strong Jewish community and large Jewish population. You may want to check it out. It was a very nice place to live as well and the school system was excellent.

[mapcat]

Cleveland has a larger Jewish community with deeper roots than Columbus. Most of the Jewish immigration to the US came while Cleveland was growing, not recently while Columbus got bigger. But jkc1970 is right, Bexley was and is an important Jewish community on the east side of Columbus. I understand that the high school football team wouldn't play Friday night games until recently. Despite being surrounded by older Columbus neighborhoods, it is still very attractive and the residents are very community-oriented.

Both cities have excellent opportunities for someone in healthcare, but overall if I had to choose between the two, I would go with Columbus since its economy is better and the region is still growing.

[mitmax]

I agree with Mapcat in two respects: the Jewish communities in Cleveland are plentiful and many maintain their robust existence (the east side of Cleveland has, for decades, been called the synagoge district); and, Columbus' economy is better. Since you are an RN, you'll want to know that The Cleveland Clinic took over all but one or two of the other healthcare systems in the city - if you want to work as a nurse, chances are very good that you'll work only for the Clinic (which is HUGE and "CORPORATE"), or for a tiny hospital system or healthcare givers system in one of the suburbs. Overall, Cleveland's job market has fallen badly. It's a nice town, but your prospects for work are probably better in Columbus, which also happens to be a very nice town! And, Jewish communities do exist here, as was already mentioned. It you can't or don't want to live in Bexley, I'm sure folks from the synagoges there will still be happy to give you a bird's eye view of the whole Columbus Jewish community.

[thedrifter]

I work in the health care field, live in Bexley and although
I am not Jewish, most of my clients are.
The JCC is just 1 block south of Bexley. It's on the Wexner Heritage Village campus. Heritage House is the Jewish nursing home/all kosher, Zusman Hospice House, Creekside is AL, The Towers is HUD housing , they also have MRDD housing
There are 5 synagogues within walking distance of Bexley. 2 conservative and 3 orthodox. The reformed one is about 6 miles away. Most of Columbus' Jewish population lives in Bexley. Bexley is about 4 miles to downtown in the heart of Columbus. The schools are in the top 3-5 in Ohio. Housing prices are steep, but they hold their value and appreciate very well. They also live in New Albany (Les Wexner-The Limited) developed his own city/town which is abut 15 miles from downtown. Kosher market is in Bexley on Broad St. also the 2 Kroger's in the Bexley area sell packaged Kosher food.

As for the healthcare field. There are 3 main hospital groups. OSU-2. OhioHealth-3 plus another opening in 2008, Mount Carmel-4. There is a nursing shortage in Columbus and and openings everywhere. There are also about 125 facilities in central Ohio.

Good Luck,

David