Israelis moving to Bay Area? or elsewhere in CA (Los Angeles: house, buy)

[yaya_mama]

We're looking for a small but heterogenous community, safe, family-friendly, but with a groovy, counter-cultural feel. My husband's a chef and I'm an artist. We'd like somewhere we can buy a single-family home, but with a somewhat walkable downtown. We're Israeli, so we'd like somewhere we won't stick out like so many sore thumbs.

Any ideas? I lived for years in Berkeley but that's way too urban for us now. Something smaller and perhaps more remote, but with a "Berkeley" feel would be ideal. Pipe dreams? Any thoughts?

[Curmudgeon]

There were some Israelis in Sacramento when we live there until a couple of years ago.

[mayorhaggar]

There are Jewish people all over the Bay Area, I'm not sure how many Israelis though. Maybe contact some local synagogues, they might know of one that attracts a lot of Israelis. The more rural you are the less Jewish it gets though.

[jeffredo]

I don't care where you're from in the world, you won't stick out in most of California (especially coastal cities). I knew a girl in Monterey who's parents were from Beruit, Lebanon. They chose that city because the view from their house over Monterey Bay reminded them of their old home.

JCCSF - Home

The Jewish Community Center of San Francisco should be able to give you information not only about The City, but the Bay Area in general.

A little more Googling turned up this. Maybe they can help.

http://www.israelicorner.com/

[Parti Rhinocéros]

Random story: I was with a friend in Berkeley who had a t-shirt that said "Free Palestine" and some guy - I presume either Jewish or Christian - walked by and yelled, "F^&# your shirt!"

You'll be fine, regardless of sex, color, creed. You'll have a few bozos from all persuasions (as seen above) but for the most part, people are accepting. It's not like you're moving to Modesto. It's the Bay Area!

[jade408]

Try Alameda for a smaller town feel that is very walkable.

[mayorhaggar]

Also just north of Lake Merritt in Oakland there's an Israeli falafel place near Grand, then on Grand a few blocks away there's an Israeli bakery. I dunno if it's indicative of anything, you don't see too many places that brand themselves as Israeli here.

[EdJS]

As mayorhaggar said, the Israeli community in the Bay Area is not that big. It is not to be confused with the Jewish community, which is substantial, although of course there is some overlap.

In Los Angeles, on the other hand, both the Israeli and the Jewish communities are huge. If you really want to go someplace with a lot of Israelis, go to L.A.

[jeffredo]

Originally Posted by EdJS

If you really want to go someplace with a lot of Israelis, go to L.A.

And Armenians, and Persians, and Palestinians, etc...

The LA metro area is a big draw for Middle Eastern folks of all kinds.

Originally Posted by Parti Rhinocéros

It's not like you're moving to Modesto. It's the Bay Area!

And even in Stanislaus Count there's a big Assyrian community (Christian ethnicity from Iraq), so its not like they can't handle diversity from a Middle Eastern source.

[silverkris]

You'll find a fair number of Israeli families in/around Palo Alto. Lots of Israelis work in the high tech industry and there's a lot of back and forth links between Silicon Valley and Israel. Unfortunately Palo Alto isn't what I'd call "countercultural" so that might not be your cup of tea.