Convince me why a Jewish family should move to NoVA instead of Maryland?
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Anonymous
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Hi all,
Our family has recently made the big decision to move to the D.C. area (yay!) from a New York area suburb. We are very aware that it will already be somewhat of a shift culturally in terms of the number of Jews in the area! With that being said, I think we were (as many Jews who move to the area likely do) thinking that we would probably end up somewhere in Montgomery County, as that seems to be the more obvious option for Jewish transplants who want somewhat of a similar feel to the more Jewish areas they may have grown up in. However, upon researching neighborhoods, I have become very intrigued by some of the Northern Virginia towns we have looked at, such as Arlington and McLean. The vibe overall of Northern Virginia seems a bit more down-to-earth, I am a big fan of many of the schools in that area for our kids when they are of age (I'm an educator and am in the know/have many connections to schools in the general Mid-Atlantic region), and after doing more research, it may end up being an easier commute relative to where my husband and I will end up working, and seems more diverse. Plus, I am under the impression that the Jewish population in Northern Virginia has grown significantly in the last decade or so. I was even lurking on this sub recently and read someone say that NoVA actually has an even BIGGER Jewish population than MoCo but is more spread out so there's not as many Jewish enclaves (not sure if that's true, but that is what someone said). My husband is also on board with considering buying a home in Virginia, but my parents and some of my friends seem to be trying to convince me otherwise. They are saying things such as "it will not be the same" "it will be too much of a culture shock" "do you really want to be in the minority group" etc. My husband and I also have quite a few friends between us from childhood/college/grad school who have actually moved to the D.C. area (both VA and MD) and are raising their families there, and they have been sending us very conflicting messages. Our friends in MD are basically saying the same things as my parents are saying, with one saying that she gets the impression that her Jewish friends in Virginia are not nearly as involved in the Jewish community there, and another one saying that anyone who wants an active Jewish community is basically doing their family a disservice by not choosing to reside in the more Jewish of the D.C. areas. On the other hand, some of our friends in Virginia absolutely love the Jewish community there, and say that although it is smaller, it has actually pushed them to be MORE involved in the Jewish community so they can connect with other Jews. I'm a bit torn, though putting all opinions aside--and putting all religious reasoning aside--I personally think we would enjoy living in NoVA more. However, the notion of it possibly not being Jewish enough has been lurking in my mind for a while and is something I'm taking into consideration. For the record, I don't necessarily care as much about the sheer population of Jews, but do want to be able to find a strong Jewish community. Now that I have most of the pros and cons I can gather laid out, I'm interested in hearing from Jewish people on this sub who have moved to Virginia about why you decided to move to Virginia as opposed to Maryland, and whether or not it has ended up being a good fit. I know of the basic pros and cons, but I thought it would do us well to hear from the horse's mouth why Jews who move to the area CHOOSE to move to NoVA as opposed to the more Jewish and Northeast-esque MoCo. What are the best parts of being a Jew in Northern Virginia (or any challenges that you feel are relevant, if necessary), that you would try to use to sell me, an NY-area Jew by upbringing, to move there? TIA! TIA! |
Anonymous
| I'm not Jewish, but I do know that Arlington, Fairfax and Montgomery counties all had last Monday off school for Rosh Hashanah. |
Anonymous
| We are a Muslim family in Nova and our next-door neighbors are Jewish. Nova is far more diverse than people realize. |
Anonymous
| I haven’t lived in the DC area for over 8 years but we moved to Montgomery County (specifically Potomac). We had looked a bit in VA and switched realtors and our new (Jewish) agent implied that we would be more comfortable in MD. I think you would be fine in either place. It seemed like there was a synagogue every other block in Potomac (slight exaggeration) but the public school was very diverse and was filled with kids from all types of families (which was a good thing from our perspective). I assume you would find similar demographics in Northern VA. There are several synagogues in Northern VA and one of the largest (and most successful) is in Falls Church (I believe). |
Anonymous
Anonymous
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I am not Jewish and cannot speak to a lot of your concerns. I think you should rent in NoVA for a year and see if you like it.
This whole area, including NoVA, is very diverse. People are used to meeting families with lots of different religious traditions. But, across the whole area (and I would include MD) I think you will encounter much less awareness of Jewish culture, holidays, etc. than you might be used to in NY. So I think it will be a culture shock in either destination. |
Anonymous
| Are you Reform? |
Anonymous
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Op, Montgomery County will feel more Northern. Northern Virginia will feel more Southern. McLean and Arlington will feel less Southern than outside The Beltway. That's one important reason MoCo feels more like home to New Yorkers.
Colleges in Virginia will feel Southern. For all of this I'm obviously generalizing. As for my credentials: I lived 20 years in MoCo and 20 years in Northern Virginia. BUT commute is King. I would decide based on commute. |
Anonymous
| The desire for religious connections will be secondary to commuting once you live here. Have to go to a different jurisdiction in this area for work is hell on earth. You cannot underestimate how living close to your job matters until you spend time here. For as many people as we have, our public transportation is horrendous. |
Anonymous
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I’m Jewish. Grew up in Mont Cty, moved to FFX after grad school, and moved back to Mont Cty when the kids were ready for school.
Judiasm is much easier in Mont Cty. But it really depends on what you want/need. Do you keep kosher? Yes you can get frozen Empire in FFX but for a big meat shop, you’ll need to come to Rockville or Silver Spring. I can walk out with a rotisserie chicken from Motis and have dinner. Both areas have great Jewish preschools. Beyond that though if you want a Jewish education, you’ll need to consider your options. Gesher is very small and goes to middle school. The High School is in Rockville. I actually like my FfX synagogue more than my Rockville one. Both are conservative and I feel welcome in both. I think the FFX is more family friendly though. Many a Shabbat morning was spent on the playground. When you look at camps, the buses leave from Mont Cty. There were Jewish people in my neighborhood in FFX but not like in Mont Cty. My neighborhood has a sukkah hop. If you run out of something during pesach, a quick post to the listserv will save you a trip to the grocery store. It’s not that you can’t have all that in FFX, it’s just not as convenient. But it’s not inconvenient either, it just takes a bit more planning. |
Anonymous
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join the FB group: Jewish Moms of MoCo group and ask there. They may advise if there is a similar NoVa group as well.
It is true that there are more Jews in NoVa, but they are much more spread out. Do you have children? If so, you should look at the Jewish educational options in each area. Do you keep kosher? Access to Kosher meat/foods is a lot easier in MoCo (e.g. 2 kosher butchers/kosher stores, Wheaton Costco and I think Gaithersburg Costco in MoCO has a lot of Kosher products-- wheaton has a kosher bakery at coscto-- my brother lives in Arlington and he can't get the more specialty kosher items like meat and cheese in his costco). |
Anonymous
Yes. |
Anonymous
| Honestly? Both areas are fine, and looking at the costs of towns you are looking at, upper NW DC may be in play too (Mclean and NW DC have similar costs). There are a half dozen synagogues up there |
Anonymous
| Choose where you will be working. Commutes are a nightmare. |
Anonymous
This. Also, if you have family and friends in NY/NJ and you plan on visiting often, there’s a LOT to be said for living at the top of the Beltway instead of the bottom. |