Moving to SF with 2 babies + Jewish Wife (Alameda: area, top)

[humboldtrat]

Palo Alto has a new Jewish community center Oshman Family JCC and one of the best school systems in the Bay Area. Palo Alto (about 35 miles from SF) is upscale and expensive.

[batransplant]

I wouldn't want to live 35 miles from San Francisco in Palo Alto if you are working in SF. It will take you too long to get to work with the traffic. If you choose to live on the peninsula, you might want to consider Burlingame because it is much closer to San Francisco, but still close to Palo Alto. I dont know what the schools are like though.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Burlingame schools actually somewhat challenge PA schools.

And it's reflected in real estate costs.

[marintoct]

What about Marin?

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by clongirl

Laurel Heights and the Avenues around California/ Lake Street area would be a great choice. There's a beautiful Jewish temple -Temple Emanu-El nearby. There's also a fantastic park with trails, a little lake, tennis courts, and great children's playground. I'm pretty sure the Jewish community center is around the Laurel Heights area as well. Oh.. if only I had the money back then, it would have been my first choice to live had we not left San Francisco! I lived there in my twenties and I just loved that neighborhood.

That's the neighborhood I would suggest... I'm Jewish too, and actually attend Temple Emanu-El from time to time. It's probably the strongest Jewish community in the city, and a fabulous neighborhood to boot. I'd live there in a heartbeat if I could afford it! Outside of the city I'd suggest the mid-Peninsula, including Burlingame (more north), San Mateo, Hillsborough, Foster City, Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Woodside... I can recommend Temples in those areas if you'd like, depending on which denomination you prefer.

[batransplant]

Are there any reform jewish communities in the bay area similar to west LA or the Valley in Los Angeles? Is there a jewish/ny deli on the peninsula or in Silicon Valley area?

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by batransplant

Are there any reform jewish communities in the bay area similar to west LA or the Valley in Los Angeles? Is there a jewish/ny deli on the peninsula or in Silicon Valley area?

I'm not that familiar with LA, but the majority of the Jewish community here is Reform... I grew up going to Temple Shalom in Burlingame (Reform), and there are quite a few others like Emanu-El in SF & Etz Chayim in Palo Alto. Unfortunately the delis are terrible up here, even in the city. Brother's Deli in Burlingame is where my family used to go, but as native east-coasters ourselves, we'd complain as we wolfed down the food. In SF there's a place called East West Deli on Polk St which is alright, and even has Dr. Brown's soda. I'll let you know if I think of any others!

[LeavingDetroit]

I'm similarly situation to the OP in that I'm Jewish, we have 2 kids (school-age though). We are moving to the Bay area within 6 weeks and still don't know where we will live. We are leaning heavily toward the mid-Pennisula as we want to be central to SF and Silicon Valley. We are making a trip out to search for rental homes. Price is a concern though, price-wise we'd probably be between 3k to 4k (although high end stretches the budget quite a bit).

Regarding shuls, we are currently going to a reform/renewal type and like it.

Any advice one could give regarding the different character of the various mid-Pennisula towns mentioned would be very helpful. Because we do have 2 kids in elementary schools (2nd and 4th grades), if at all possible, we'd like to pick a neighborhood to rent where we'd actually want to stay put and buy, assuming things go well. So any comments/input to help us frame our trip out there next week would be great.

Thanks!

[batransplant]

I think most jewish people in the bay area are reform or non-practicing, which is why it is so hard to figure out the jewish scene, where to live etc, because there really isn't one unless you join a synagogue. You have to seek it out. In Westside LA, many people you meet in your day to day life will be jewish. I just got back from LA for Thanksgiving and we went to the Grove, which is an outdoor shopping area in West Hollywood. There was a choir singing hanukah songs at Barnes and Noble. That would never happen here. I think where I live (Lafayette, Orinda area), there may fewer jewish people than other parts of the bay area. At least I am starting to think this is the case.

[daepro]

Last Hanukkah I was looking to buy the special candles in Alameda and I could not find any in the local stores. Finally I called a synogogue and the Rabbi gave me a box. Although it felt strange that there non available commercially it felt welcoming that the Jewish community reached out to me.