Baltimore Maven,
It is not a matter of time. There’s a reason Chasidish Kollel members come & go.
Chasidim are anchored in NY & while for me or you Baltimore is fine for a Chasid it’s quite “Out of town”
Baltimore is not Monsey, KJ or Lakewood where it’s easy to be connected to NYC. How long & exhausting is it to drive from Baltimore to KJ in the summer on a Friday afternoon? Most Chasidim are more family oriented & living in Baltimore means you & especially your children will miss those Vach Nachts, Vorts, & other non-major events & attending the big events is exhausting & requires kids missing school & (if they work) parents missing work.
There are many Baltimore Jews that would be fine relocating to a Memphis or Phoenix, but many would not because they would be missing out on a lot
To many Chasidim Baltimore looks like a Memphis or Phoenix. For proper upbringing of their kids, the way women dress at the Baltimore kosher supermarket is very different than in KJ or Boro Park. They’re constantly exposed to English & are a major minority. I grew up in the Baltimore Yeshiva community of old & we felt very different (& not always in a good way) than the majority of Jews in Baltimore & even within the Orthodox community.
The video guy Shloime Z. is a great example. How does he know how to speak & interact in a positive manner with outsiders? Because as he has explained he grew up in a very small Chasidish community where they had no choice but to interact constantly with Non-Chasidim. If you’re ok with your children growing up like that then great but many are not & will insist on staying close to the NY Chasidish communities.
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