??? If anything, Torah im Derech Eretz davka (as opposed to living a Torah life and working, which probably was the norm until the haskila came around and led people astray) is the 200 year old movement.
The old system was closer to Williamsburgh or KJ Satmar – the town rav ran a single kehilla, and you could take it or leave it. Even the village oisvorf was part of the kehilla, albeit perhaps its laughingstock.
If you took it, you were taken care of as much as possible when hard times hit and expected to contribute in good times. If you left it to go to a big city or emigrate, you were on your own but often found people from the same place and established a shul and small kehilla in your new place of residence (later more like a meeting house with no frumkeit especially on the Lower East Side, but look at all the shuls called Anshei-some unpronounceable name or any of the pre-American Chabad period Tzemach Tzedek shuls in the US and you’ll see what I mean). If you were an oisvorf, you hung around anyway and you were perhaps known as Shmerel der Oisvorf, but you were still part of the kehilla, just as the town gonif remained within the kehilla but was known as a gonif.
And as usual Zahavasdad blows it again. Many charedi BTs have contact with their families and plenty of MO do not. Nevertheless, only the Satmarer Rov Reb Aron holds that American-born Jews who are frei are not tinokos shenishbeu (I agree with him until it comes to people who are 30 or under, and who really are confused by all of the crazy New Age ideas out there regarding Jewish identity).
Gebrokts? That’s Chassidish. Charedi BTs who go through Aish or Ohr Sameach don’t give up gebrokts. Got news for you – not all Breslovers avoid gebrokts either – they hardly have any unified minhagim. Mode of dress? Maybe – but how far is a dark suit from regular business or professional attire? Again, Chassidish is not the only choice for charedi BTs and it is not even the usual choice. Chabad and Breslov are not as “charedi” as some Litvish communities are. Bostoner chassidus is certainly not hard-core charedi and neither is Reb Michel Twerski’s community in Milwaukee.