Jewish Baby boomer "retirement" in NC/SC (Charlotte: transplants, rentals)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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Living in the NYC area and we know we can't retire here. Far too expensive. Looking for a community with Jewish presence (not religious -- more like JCCs), Baby Boomer age groups (found Florida to be G-d's waiting room), and reasonable rentals (say 2 bedrooms for @$1500). Must have good health care because my husband is a walking medical textbook. For me, a good cultural community means a lot.
Any suggestions?
The Triangle will be a good fit for most of your criteria. While there's culture here it pales in comparison to NYC. But there's an active Jewish community, an increasing number of retirement communities (and very affordable rentals) and world-class medical care. Plus you get to keep the traditional four seasons, are convenient to New York, the beach and mountains and will find yourself among a fair number of transplants.
We live in Carolina Preserve in Cary and there is a very active Jewish population in our community. The age range starts in the 50s. We are from Long Island, NY and are very happy living in this area. Lots to do in terms of theater, museums, restaurants, classes at local universities etc. We did not choose to move to Florida so this was a perfect choice for us. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
Living in the NYC area and we know we can't retire here. Far too expensive. Looking for a community with Jewish presence (not religious -- more like JCCs), Baby Boomer age groups (found Florida to be G-d's waiting room), and reasonable rentals (say 2 bedrooms for @$1500). Must have good health care because my husband is a walking medical textbook. For me, a good cultural community means a lot.
Any suggestions?
My parents just retired here this year. They live in North Durham/Bahama and are super happy about it. They like the Jewish community in Durham. They got plugged in at the conservative congregation right away and are super active already. There is also a good-sized reform congregation, a Jewish day school, and the Levin JCC in Durham in a little complex together.
They also enjoy the things to do in Durham, the restaurants and such. And health care is pretty good everywhere around here I think.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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I was going to suggest Durham, too. As AdVentive mentioned, there is a complex in Durham which has three separate facilities - the JCC, a Reform congregation (Judea Reform), and a private, Jewish day school. The JCC is only about 5 years old so is a very nice facility. They have a gym, a large outdoor pool, an indoor pool (I think), meeting space, and several special activities throughout the year. We have cousins in Raleigh who sometimes meet us at the Durham JCC because the one in Raleigh isn't much of a facility according to them (I've never been there). They couldn't believe how nice the Durham one was.
I grew up in Philadelphia and then lived in the DC area for 20 years, and now here for 2 years. The Jewish life here is quite limited in comparison (and NY has more than either of those places) but by belonging to a synagogue and/or the JCC should be fulfilling if you want some spiritual needs met, and places to go to celebrate the holidays. You'll be hard-pressed to find good bagels, and may not be able to find knishes or bialys at all. Passover offerings in the supermarket are pretty thin, and you'll miss Jewish delis and bakeries but that's what visits back to New York are for!
The 4 seasons are mostly nice. The summers are hotter and longer, but the winters are milder and shorter. You'll get great medical care here - with Duke and UNC in the area.
Overall, it is a decent place to live. You mention NC/SC. I don't know about SC, but Charlotte, NC might be another area to look into. Although the Raleigh area is a bit more convenient if you plan to drive up to NY or have others drive to see you. It's about 2 hours shorter than to Charlotte.
I was going to suggest Durham, too. As AdVentive mentioned, there is a complex in Durham which has three separate facilities - the JCC, a Reform congregation (Judea Reform), and a private, Jewish day school. The JCC is only about 5 years old so is a very nice facility. They have a gym, a large outdoor pool, an indoor pool (I think), meeting space, and several special activities throughout the year. We have cousins in Raleigh who sometimes meet us at the Durham JCC because the one in Raleigh isn't much of a facility according to them (I've never been there). They couldn't believe how nice the Durham one was.
I grew up in Philadelphia and then lived in the DC area for 20 years, and now here for 2 years. The Jewish life here is quite limited in comparison (and NY has more than either of those places) but by belonging to a synagogue and/or the JCC should be fulfilling if you want some spiritual needs met, and places to go to celebrate the holidays. You'll be hard-pressed to find good bagels, and may not be able to find knishes or bialys at all. Passover offerings in the supermarket are pretty thin, and you'll miss Jewish delis and bakeries but that's what visits back to New York are for!
The 4 seasons are mostly nice. The summers are hotter and longer, but the winters are milder and shorter. You'll get great medical care here - with Duke and UNC in the area.
Overall, it is a decent place to live. You mention NC/SC. I don't know about SC, but Charlotte, NC might be another area to look into. Although the Raleigh area is a bit more convenient if you plan to drive up to NY or have others drive to see you. It's about 2 hours shorter than to Charlotte.
The Levin JCC in Durham has an outdoor pool, but no indoor pool. Also, they sell bialys there.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,777 posts, read 15,781,748 times
Reputation: 10886
Quote:
Originally Posted by ADVentive
The Levin JCC in Durham has an outdoor pool, but no indoor pool. Also, they sell bialys there.
They sell bialys??? Yum! I need to go pick me up one on Sunday! Wasn't sure about the indoor pool - I thought I saw one, but I must be mixing it up with another place I toured.
They sell bialys??? Yum! I need to go pick me up one on Sunday!
OK, I had to admit I was curious what a bialy is - never heard of one. For others, here's the description I found:
Quote:
A bialy is similar to a bagel, in that it is a round, chewy roll. But it is unlike a bagel in three important ways: One, it does not have a hole in the middle, but a depression; two, bialys never became popular outside of New York City; and three, bagels are boiled and bialys are baked. The indentation in the middle of the dough is filled with onion, garlic, or poppy seeds. Because the bialy has a very short shelf like, about 6 hours, they do not lend to being shipped around the country. They can be modest in size, 3 to 4 inches, or the size of a small pizza.
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