Convince me why a Jewish family should move to NoVA instead of Maryland?
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Anonymous
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I'm Jewish, but I don't know what a "strong Jewish community" means to you. I would not say that I have ever encountered one here in Fairfax. I have encountered a whole lot of over-zealous Christian hypocrites who are anti-Semitic, though. This was quite a shock, since I am also from NY and there was a kind of culturally Jewish community there, and very little overt anti-Semitism that I was ever aware of. Here I have neighbors who hate me simply because I'm not Christian, and I don't feel especially safe in my neighborhood.
Here, if you are very religious, I suppose you will make some connections, but otherwise I just don't see that here. We have been pretty active in joining local Jewish groups - there are some for sure - and of course you can make Jewish friends, but somehow it's just not the same. I suppose like anything, it's what you make of it, and a lot will depend on what kind of person you are and how good you are at making friends. I'm a bit introverted, so that has been an issue for me that maybe you won't have. I can't compare to Maryland, but I do know that the only Jewish private high school in the area is in MD, and there is only one Jewish private K-8 in NoVa. |
Anonymous
Even if a real estate agent is from Israel, federal laws forbid them from steering people to one neighborhood or the other on the basis of religion. |
Anonymous
Answering the question OP is asking is not steering. |
Anonymous
| Temple rodef shalom |
Anonymous
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OP VA is out full stop
If Republicans win at midterms it will not be safe for Jews in VA. MD is where you need to be. If they win in 2024 make sure your whole family has passports. The Republicans have said it out loud. It will be ugly for us. You need to be paying more attention. |
Anonymous
NoVA is extremely blue. I’m a POC NYC transplant (non-Jewish) and has had a Jewish (orthodox) neighbor for over 20 years. My neighbor grew up in MoCo, but moved down here when his commute became untenable. At the time we met, FFX county was red trending purple, and it has shifted hugely in the blue direction since. I 100% understand your concern. It’s shared by my Jewish friends across the nation, anywhere from LI to Boston, to Alaska. However, I do not believe NoVA specifically poses any more threats than MoCo. |
Anonymous
Really? VA is going red it 1000% will be worse than MD. Not to mention what is happening to public schools in VA. The only reason VA has held is L. Louise Lucas and she will not be able to hold on after the midterms. This is way bigger than just antisemitism. Moving to any red state and yes VA is heading to a dark place is just well dumb at this point in time. What will you do when VA has ankle bracelets for women? If any female in VA thinks that is not coming from Youngkin and his god-awful crew you are not paying attention. Besides the fact, he will destroy those public schools. You do you OP but we are at 1939 Germany at this point and red states are not going to be a place for any minorities or women. Again you do you. I am not wrong. |
Anonymous
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The biggest difference between MD and NOVA from my POV is the overall feeling of the surrounding community. MD feels more Jewish than NOVA, while NOVA feels more Southern than MD. Southern is not a bad thing (my wife is from Texas) - it's simply very different from New York.
Just like people from NYC will tell you that you can't be Jewish in Ohio, people in MD will tell you that you can't be Jewish in NOVA. Coming from America's Jerusalem, you are going to have culture shock. MD is not going to feel like NY, even if you are more likely to meet East Coast people at shul. In NOVA, you will meet plenty of transplants but also Jews from New Orleans and Atlanta. Your kids may have fewer Jewish friends but the friends they do have are likely to be respectful and interested. There's nothing wrong with having to work a little harder to be Jewish and I personally think it's good for kids to realize that we are actually a small minority in America and we need to represent. I wouldn't worry about moving to NOVA if it works for your commute and you see things you like. |
Anonymous
| OP - you stated that you like Arlington and McLean. Can you afford a home there? |
Anonymous
Then Reston in VA would be fine. |
Anonymous
+1. I’m near Reston and friendly with several Reform families. |
Anonymous
| +1 to everyone saying commute is king. |
Anonymous
Especially in Fairfax. Fairfax is lovely. I would highly recommend the Mantua area. It’s very lovely and the JCC in Fairfax was amazing during Covid. The truth is, is that we need liberal voters. I don’t want to make any assumptions, but your vote will be more impactful in NOVA than in MD. We contemplate moving back to Md all the time because of the whole safety issues. But our votes are so much more powerful here. So we stay. |
Anonymous
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Honestly the only thing that matters is commute and preferences for amenities.
My personal go-to deli is in MoCo (parkway). |
Anonymous
+1. But they are the wrong type of diversity in the eyes of some one-party one-culture folks up in MD. |