Rabbi Moshe Matz: Is Florida the Next New York? 

More and more people are eyeing Florida, the Sunshine State with a business-friendly governor and lawmakers about to pass another major voucher program. Developers are already planning what they bill as the first new chassidish community in Tampa Bay.

Not so fast, cautions Rabbi Matz. The director of Agudath Israel’s Florida office, he feels it’s his responsibility to shed sunlight on Florida realties. Miami, he noted, is still a developing community. Outside of tuition aid, government benefits are minimal. And the job market ain’t that great either.

There is no ballpark figure of how many frum Yidden live in the state, though Rabbi Matz estimates that there are over 10,000 families, with a school enrollment of between 7,000 and 8,000. House prices range from $1 million in costly areas such as Miami Beach to half that in North Miami Beach.

The past few months has seen an exodus of Jews from New York to Florida. What is Florida doing to welcome them?

Let me first give you an understanding of Florida and what infrastructure exists to enable us to welcome new families to a community.