Convince me why a Jewish family should move to NoVA instead of Maryland?

[Anonymous]

I’m AA living near Tysons and there are a lot more Jewish families than families of color. Not an issue in where I decided to live.

[Anonymous]

If you can visit some synagogues in both areas before making your move, I would absolutely do that.

When my husband and I first moved to this area, we lived in Silver Spring, because we were told that's where the Jewish community is. And yes, there is a Jewish community there and lots of synagogue options nearby, and kosher grocery stores and kosher restaurants, and preschool through high school day school options. But despite trying out multiple synagogues (Conservative, Reform, and Mod Orthodox), we never found the right fit. The Maryland Jewish community is older (both more established and by age) and more concentrated, so it will probably feel more like New York, if that's what you're looking for. We found it stuffy and cliquish, mostly. We weren't planning on day school, so that didn't impact our decision, but we know lots of people at Gesher in Fairfax who love it for Pre-K-8th grade.

Northern Virginia's population is lovely. We find it much more open and friendly. Maybe because more of NOVA is transplants? You'll find pockets of more Jewish neighborhoods near the synagogues. There are some Chabad locations, but no other Orthodox options, which might be why we don't have the same level of kosher options, but it's not hard to shlep to Maryland for specialty runs to the kosher stores, and Moti's has regular central point deliveries to some of the synagogues here. We keep kosher and maybe go to or order from Maryland every three months, but mostly we can find what we need here.

We're in Fairfax, so that might be farther than you're looking, but it's a great location. The Mantua neighborhood (Woodson HS pyramid) is where you'll find the highest concentration of Jewish families. The JCC, a large conservative synagogue, and a Chabad are all down the street from each other. Other neighborhoods nearby that are popular are Ridgelea and Kings Park West. You'll also find a good-sized Jewish population in Burke and Falls Church, and if you're looking closer in, near the synagogues in Arlington and Alexandria.

Someone else suggested joining the Jewish Facebook groups for the regions. There are three big ones in NOVA: Jewish Mom's of Nova, Jump into Judaism Nova, and Northern Virginia Jewish Families.

[Anonymous]

Jewish person who has lived in both. I would decide based on commute. The vibe/schools are not so different. I think you can find the neighborhood you want in either. We live in MoCo as DH works here. I would be fine living in NOVA too (well less fine given the recent politics but still fine)

[Anonymous]

We live in Arlington and are Jewish (conservative). We moved here in part because for us commutes are shorter than in MoCo. Also I liked the more down to earth vibe. We love it. There is a nice conservative temple near our house. Our kids have a few Jewish friends at school and from temple. We also send them to a Jewish summer camp.

One downside of Nova is there are fewer good non denominational private schools that go through high school so if public school doesn't work out you are looking at a long commute to private school if Potomac School isn't an option.

MoCo works great for a lot of our friends so I won't try to convince you Arlington is better. But it works for us.

[Anonymous]

Come to NOVA! It’s a warm, welcoming community. And we live in an area of Fairfax that is not one of the most Jewish, and my kids have classmates who are at least secular Jews. It’s a smaller community, but if you get involved, you can make great connections.

[Anonymous]

Call Nurit Coombe Real Estate and ask them your questions.
They are experts in this area and Nurit is from Israel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you can visit some synagogues in both areas before making your move, I would absolutely do that.

When my husband and I first moved to this area, we lived in Silver Spring, because we were told that's where the Jewish community is. And yes, there is a Jewish community there and lots of synagogue options nearby, and kosher grocery stores and kosher restaurants, and preschool through high school day school options. But despite trying out multiple synagogues (Conservative, Reform, and Mod Orthodox), we never found the right fit. The Maryland Jewish community is older (both more established and by age) and more concentrated, so it will probably feel more like New York, if that's what you're looking for. We found it stuffy and cliquish, mostly. We weren't planning on day school, so that didn't impact our decision, but we know lots of people at Gesher in Fairfax who love it for Pre-K-8th grade.

Northern Virginia's population is lovely. We find it much more open and friendly. Maybe because more of NOVA is transplants? You'll find pockets of more Jewish neighborhoods near the synagogues. There are some Chabad locations, but no other Orthodox options, which might be why we don't have the same level of kosher options, but it's not hard to shlep to Maryland for specialty runs to the kosher stores, and Moti's has regular central point deliveries to some of the synagogues here. We keep kosher and maybe go to or order from Maryland every three months, but mostly we can find what we need here.

We're in Fairfax, so that might be farther than you're looking, but it's a great location. The Mantua neighborhood (Woodson HS pyramid) is where you'll find the highest concentration of Jewish families. The JCC, a large conservative synagogue, and a Chabad are all down the street from each other. Other neighborhoods nearby that are popular are Ridgelea and Kings Park West. You'll also find a good-sized Jewish population in Burke and Falls Church, and if you're looking closer in, near the synagogues in Arlington and Alexandria.

Thank you! This is super helpful. I never considered the possibility that NOVA would have more transplants, though I guess that makes sense since the Jewish community is younger (younger not as in the age of people but younger and newer as an established community).

Someone else suggested joining the Jewish Facebook groups for the regions. There are three big ones in NOVA: Jewish Mom's of Nova, Jump into Judaism Nova, and Northern Virginia Jewish Families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you can visit some synagogues in both areas before making your move, I would absolutely do that.

When my husband and I first moved to this area, we lived in Silver Spring, because we were told that's where the Jewish community is. And yes, there is a Jewish community there and lots of synagogue options nearby, and kosher grocery stores and kosher restaurants, and preschool through high school day school options. But despite trying out multiple synagogues (Conservative, Reform, and Mod Orthodox), we never found the right fit. The Maryland Jewish community is older (both more established and by age) and more concentrated, so it will probably feel more like New York, if that's what you're looking for. We found it stuffy and cliquish, mostly. We weren't planning on day school, so that didn't impact our decision, but we know lots of people at Gesher in Fairfax who love it for Pre-K-8th grade.

Northern Virginia's population is lovely. We find it much more open and friendly. Maybe because more of NOVA is transplants? You'll find pockets of more Jewish neighborhoods near the synagogues. There are some Chabad locations, but no other Orthodox options, which might be why we don't have the same level of kosher options, but it's not hard to shlep to Maryland for specialty runs to the kosher stores, and Moti's has regular central point deliveries to some of the synagogues here. We keep kosher and maybe go to or order from Maryland every three months, but mostly we can find what we need here.

We're in Fairfax, so that might be farther than you're looking, but it's a great location. The Mantua neighborhood (Woodson HS pyramid) is where you'll find the highest concentration of Jewish families. The JCC, a large conservative synagogue, and a Chabad are all down the street from each other. Other neighborhoods nearby that are popular are Ridgelea and Kings Park West. You'll also find a good-sized Jewish population in Burke and Falls Church, and if you're looking closer in, near the synagogues in Arlington and Alexandria.

Thank you! This is all very helpful. Never considered the fact that NOVA would be more transplants, but I guess it makes sense considering that the Jewish community in NOVA is likely a newer/younger phenomenon.

Someone else suggested joining the Jewish Facebook groups for the regions. There are three big ones in NOVA: Jewish Mom's of Nova, Jump into Judaism Nova, and Northern Virginia Jewish Families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: When my husband and I first moved to this area, we lived in Silver Spring, because we were told that's where the Jewish community is. And yes, there is a Jewish community there and lots of synagogue options nearby, and kosher grocery stores and kosher restaurants, and preschool through high school day school options. But despite trying out multiple synagogues (Conservative, Reform, and Mod Orthodox), we never found the right fit. The Maryland Jewish community is older (both more established and by age) and more concentrated, so it will probably feel more like New York, if that's what you're looking for. We found it stuffy and cliquish, mostly. We weren't planning on day school, so that didn't impact our decision, but we know lots of people at Gesher in Fairfax who love it for Pre-K-8th grade.

Northern Virginia's population is lovely. We find it much more open and friendly. Maybe because more of NOVA is transplants? You'll find pockets of more Jewish neighborhoods near the synagogues. There are some Chabad locations, but no other Orthodox options, which might be why we don't have the same level of kosher options, but it's not hard to shlep to Maryland for specialty runs to the kosher stores, and Moti's has regular central point deliveries to some of the synagogues here. We keep kosher and maybe go to or order from Maryland every three months, but mostly we can find what we need here.

Thank you! This is all very helpful.

[Anonymous]

OP, can you give us more detail on exactly what you want?

What denomination are you? Do you just want to be able to walk around and feel comfortable as a Jew, and be a member of a thriving congregation? Or do you want more - to be able to easily keep kosher? Send your kids to a Jewish school? Be able to walk to Shul?

[Anonymous]

We live in NOVA and are Jewish, but not very religious - we are comfortable enough. My daughters' school friends seemed excited to go to her bat mitzvah and learn about her religion, but none of them are Jewish themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

+1

Keep in mind that you'll have to deal with the laws of the larger state, not just liberal NoVA and MoCo. Maryland, as a state, is more liberal than Virginia. That may or may not matter to you.

[Anonymous]

We live in NOVA are Jewish and love it. We purposefully picked it over MoCo. I’m from an NY suburb while my husband is from Kansas, he feels like the rea is very Jewish, while I went through culture shock. Our oldest goes to Gesher and we LOVE it. FCPS did give kids the first day of RH off this year and everyone except 12 month employees are getting YK off, this is new and we are hoping permanent. We have always found friends to celebrate Chaggim with and never have had any issues (even from our strict HOA) about our Sukkah every year. While we are currently the only Jewish family on our block, we back up to another Jewish family. With the release of the recent survey that said NoVA is the larges Jewish community in the DC area, they sent out a survey about Kosher restaurant options to try and get some Kosher restaurants. The area around Woodson high school would probably feel the closes to NYC, they have even talked about bringing Hebrew to the Woodson Pyramid as a second language, but you will find nice communities in West Springfield, Burke, Fairfax, Alexandria, Arlington, Falls Church/McLean (near Rodef) and Herndon. I would suggest spending a few weekends down here and maybe pop by services at the different area Shuls, talk to the families there and get a feel if it’s a good fit for you.

We love it here but as other posters said, it’s not as easy to just be Jewish like it is in the NYC area or MoCo, but we think it’s worth it. Also, as previous posters said, commute here is king. We rival NYC traffic so that should be a major point of consideration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not Jewish, but I do know that Arlington, Fairfax and Montgomery counties all had last Monday off school for Rosh Hashanah.

Yes, but at least for Fairfax, this is the first year they ever have. MoCo has been doing it for many years. This was one of the deciding factors for us in choosing as well - admittedly, about 15 years ago, so clearly dynamics have changed a bit since then. But we have family and friends in Arlington and Fairfax and it seems to us it's easier to be Jewish in MoCo. Also, we are Conservative, and there are a lot more Conservative shuls in MoCo. If you're Reform, you'll have more choices overall - there are several good ones in the Fairfax area as well as DC and MoCo. But it's so much more spread out.

We aren't interested in living in a majority Jewish area and don't, but we wanted a place where it wasn't unusual to be Jewish. The schools are closed only for the first day of Rosh Hashanah but no one bats an eye when we tell them the kids aren't attending because of the second day. Teachers responded with appropriate holiday wishes (not Happy Yom Kippur!). There's a comfort level that is really nice.

But, of course, it's not like Virginia is a wasteland. As others have said, if that's what's best for your commute, you can absolutely build a wonderful Jewish life there. It might take slightly more work. Or it might not, if you also manage to buy near a shul you like. Commute and car travel generally is the bane of this area - we picked one shul over another similar one because of the drive.

[Anonymous]

if you can afford Lyon Park, it is a great Arlington neighborhood, very close to DC and is also close to Etz Hayim, a nice conservative synagogue.