marin or lamorinda (Walnut Creek, Walnut, Mill Valley: schools, allergies, living)

[bayarea-girl]

new2bay, my mother swears by honey. Try it, it just might work.

[artemis78]

That's actually exactly how I was raised (and how our family is today). I recently found out that it was actually the norm for German Jews, both in the U.S. and in Germany, up until the twentieth century---Christmas was considered a cultural holiday, not a religious one. It does require synagogue shopping to find a good fit, though---I remember my parents getting a lot of grief from one temple we belonged to about how it was "confusing" for children to have multiple religions. It didn't feel confusing to us, though, because we had no idea Christmas was a religious holiday until we were quite a bit older. I'm happy with the way I was raised, and we plan to follow roughly the same formula with our own children.

That said, we don't belong to a synagogue right now, and don't plan to join one until we have children. I sometimes "shop" by going to different high holiday services. It seems like a critical factor is how many interfaith families there are in the congregation---the more there are, the more likely that you'll find people comfortable with your flavor of Judaism. I've also found that it's important to understand how your political views wrt Israel, the Middle East, etc., relate to the temple's, since that varies a lot in the Bay Area and can be a point of contention.

You could also consider whether it makes sense to commute to a synagogue that's further afield (specifically, the SF/Berk/Oakland reform/reconstructionist congregations, which have strong, established interfaith communities). Doesn't help with the "only Jew in the class" issue (and I grew up that way in the South, so I know it can be a huge challenge!) but might be a way to connect with like-minded folks even if you don't want to live in the inner Bay Area.

[Taboo2]

We had jewish friends in San Rafael and San Anselmo and even in Sebastopol when we lived there.

[new2bay]

artemis,

where in the bay area do you live? My family is not political so Im not sure if I would get involved in that aspect of the temple here. I am looking more for another social and cultural outlet for my family. People who know what schlep means. LOL

I wonder if the bay area is more like Orange County vs. LA suburbs? This is how it seems to me since we moved to Walnut Creek.

[artemis78]

We're in Oakland near the Piedmont line, so the two temples we're most likely to consider are Kehilla, which is in Piedmont, and Temple Sinai, which is in Oakland near Uptown (and is apparently the oldest congregation in the East Bay). My impressions so far are that Kehilla is crunchier (it's renewal v. reform) whereas Sinai is more traditional reform. Sinai is also WAY bigger---they hold their high holiday services at the Paramount, a restored deco theater downtown! (They are also working on a new building, so maybe that will move back to the temple when it's done?) I find the congregation size a little overwhelming, but it also means they offer lots of other amenities (they have a preschool, lots of different kid-related programs, etc.) I get the sense some of their members are commuting from farther than Oakland/Berkley, but could be wrong on that.

[new2bay]

Today I saw my doctor and he recommended that we move to marin or berkeley to help my allergies. We are going to rent a place in marin for a couple of weeks to see if we like it and I feel better.

I think marin is really expensive for what you get. I am really not into hiking or all the outdoors stuff which I know is popular there. I do like things being walking distance though.

I wonder if marin would be more boring than lamorinda?

[gobruins]

Lamorinda! Lamorinda is a better overall package than Marin. This is opinion, not fact. I went to UCLA and lived in LA for 5 years. The westside is great. The Bay Area is different from LA and Lamorinda is no exception. But for raising a family, Lamorinda is ideal. Temperate climate, wonderful schools, educated people. Allergies might be an issue (they will be anywhere in the BA) and I can't comment on the Jewish factor (I just don't know).

[new2bay]

We just rented a house in the strawberry section of Mill Valley. Anyone familiar with this neighborhood?

[bayarea-girl]

new2bay, the Strawberry area is REALLY nice! What info are asking about?

[new2bay]

Well...I just posted another thread about what the different marin areas are like for
commute
flooding/rain
young children
walkability