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So DH and I have decided to move DD (and hopefully growing family) out of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Various reasons but the two main ones being financial (our house here was WAY too expensive and our mortgage ginormous - we can sell it and buy something almost for cash elsewhere) and cultural/religious - we are Conservative Jews who are very culturally into the religion (even though we don't strictly observe Shabbos, keep kosher, etc). The Jewish community here is way dwindling and the temple closing, etc.
Anywho, we are going to be selling and moving and are trying to narrow down where. We belong to a beach club in Atlantic Beach and LOVE it so we want to be relatively close (half hour or less, preferably less) from there. And we want an area with good schools, relatively good commute (DH works in lower Manhattan), a strong Jewish community (but not overly Orthodox or where we will feel like outsiders for not being super religious ourselves) and an area with at least somewhat of a walking area - some shops, etc we can walk to and not always have to drive.
We were thinking Oceanside could work and/or maybe Cedarhurst/North Woodmere, etc. Any thoughts? Anywhere else we should be looking?
Of those two, Oceanside. Without a doubt. If you don't want somewhere overly Orthodox, you will HATE the Five Towns. It's not really a walkable area, though; that's the one thing you'd be missing from your list.
Merrick also has a nice Jewish community if you want to go a little further east. Commute as good or better since Babylon branch service is better than Long Beach.
Thanks. So then are all of the Five Towns very Orthodox? It looks like North Woodmere, Cedarhurst and Hewlett all have large Conservative temples (well Hewlett shares with East Rockaway). We don't mind it being a relatively Orthodox area as long as we wouldn't be considered "outsiders" for being Conservative, not really observing Shabbos and not keeping strictly Kosher, etc. Thoughts?
Will look into Oceanside as well. Commute seems a bit longer from there?
Cedarhurst is frumming out. It used to be that Lawrence and Woodmere were the frum parts and Cedarhurst not, but that's changing. Hewlett is still mixed, but I don't expect it to last. All non-Orthodox shuls in the 5T are on the slide.
5T in general is filling up with people who can't afford Midwood/Flatbush any more, and they're bringing their attitudes with them. Which means people who won't talk to you because you're not frum enough and won't let your kids near theirs.
Hewlett-Woodmere schools are still OK, but Lawrence (which also serves Cedarhurst) has a lot of Orthodox vs non-Orthodox tension in the schools. It's also increasingly dominated by Inwood as the public school population drops.
I'll be honest. I'm probably more frum than you are (I keep kosher and belong to an Orthodox shul), and I can't stand the 5T.
Thanks Alexis - that really helps. Sounding like Oceanside might be the best option, no? Merrick not so much - DH doesn't really like it there. Maybe we'll go visit the Oceanside Jewish Center and check out the JCC this weekend. Is there a lot for families to do (in addition to the temple related stuff) in Oceanside? I know the schools are good, correct?
Oceanside's nice. I've spent a lot of time there, but I wasn't a child or parent (I was college age and a little older), so I don't know family stuff so well. Schools are good, and the JCC has a lot of programs. The beach is close by, which is wonderful in the summer. Rockville Centre has a lot of restaurants if you like to go out to eat.
Thanks again. Oceanside definitely seems like a strong possibility. We'd love to have one other town (at least) to really consider too. Based on our criteria (Jewish community but not overly Orthodox, not terrible commute to Manhattah, good schools, friendly community, lots of families/young kids, not too far from beach and if possible an area to walk around) do you think Merrick is worth checking out? Anywhere else?
On the South Shore, yeah, Merrick. Elsewhere - Plainview, Great Neck (not Kings Point area), Massapequa (don't know this last so well). But that would put you further from the beach.
ETA: Plainview and Great Neck are mixed Orthodox/non communities (Great Neck also has a substantial Persian community, especially in Kings Point and the north of Great Neck). Both areas we've looked at. Syosset/Woodbury/Jericho are heavily Jewish, but much more secular and may be disappointing if you're looking for more commitment rather than casual affiliation. Again, these are probably outside your target area but just putting that there for the sake of completeness.
Last edited by AlexisT; 09-15-2008 at 01:43 PM..
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