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It seems like all the out-of-town Jewish neighborhoods and even Brooklyn is emptying out of young Jewish families, with everyone seemingly moving to Lakewood. This seems to have been going on for a while. Now it seems a lot of the older generation (baby boomers) are also moving to Lakewood “to be near the einekelech”. The Yeshivos and Beis Yaakovs (both out-of-town and in Brooklyn) seem to be shrinking more and more each year.
Thoughts?
I am moving to Manhattan. With Ed Koch feeling so strongly about remaining in Manhattan, this has really inspired me to be in Manhattan, near a subway stop, and hence easy commuting.
Less Bitul Toroh with commuting & snow shovelling, being in Manhattan.
Naaah, the people who observe all the mitzvos move to E”Y.
Lakewood has the advantages of affordable housing (at least compared to Monsey or Brooklyn), a huge yeshivishe community with many choices in Yeshivas and Bais Yaakovs, close to major job areas, close to many peoples friends and family and established systems for yeshivishe families. Everything is centered around Yeshiva life and the various gedolim who basically have final say in anything that goes on.
All that being said, I can never see myself living there like many other members of my family chose to do. There is a huge boom in children that resulted in massive competition to get into schools. Homes are built cheaply and often have major maintenance issues. Properties are tiny and it results in a sever lack of the type of tznius not taught in most Bais Yaakovs. There is a ton of “frummmer” competition with everyone worried about what everyone else thinks, much more that out-of-town places, that results in everyone attempting to “fit in” to some weird standard of frumkeit. Most high schools don’t have secular studies (although that should change once the Lakewood babies start hitting 14). Traffic is utterly miserable.
Lakewood is cheaper than Brooklyn and the housing needed for large families is even more expensive in Brooklyn
Properties are tiny and it results in a sever lack of the type of tznius not taught in most Bais Yaakovs.
This. I am aware of too many “bungalow colony” type stories. Many aspects of a Yiddishe family are meant to be private between the husband & wife, not the yentas who stand outside in their complexes and watch who passes by.
Yseribus: Doesn’t sound too much different than a sort of mix of Flatbush/BP.
Confucious: I agree. I personally never liked those places either for the same reason, it’s an “in town” thing. The larger the frum community, the more tznius issues there are.
When I was learning in Eretz Yisroel I sat next to a chashuva yungerman who is currently a Rosh HaYeshiva. He once asked me, quite bluntly and in front of several others, how much money my father makes. I retorted with “Tznius isn’t just about skirt length” (and probably threw in some insult involving Brooklyn or Lakewood while I was at it. Give me a break, I was 19). That lead to a whole new argument where he talked about how there is no problem with discussing things that come Min HaShomayim, which I eventually conceded but later regretted doing so.
if you want to be told which toilet paper has a hechshar Lakewood is the place to be!!!
Nope.
When I get married, I want to live in a trailer. Rent is cheap and you can move if you don’t like your neighbors.
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