The beauty, benefits, and challenges of living way out of town
I’ve only ever lived out of town. I grew up in Des Moines, Iowa (yes, really), and became frum in the wonderfully warm community in St. Louis, Missouri. The first time I came to Cleveland, I remember standing on South Taylor Road, in awe that I was in front of a kosher grocery store, next to a frum clothing store, and across from the Torah day school my children would one day attend.
Though I love traveling to bigger Jewish cities — the first time I visited Brooklyn, I thought I was in some sort of frum wonderland — my heart will always be with small out-of-town communities. You may not get the perks of numerous frum amenities there, but what you will find is plenty of teamwork, idealism, passion, and warmth.
Eleanor Warshaw grew up in Portland, Oregon, but spent much of her childhood fantasizing about leaving it. As a child, she visited extended family in Los Angeles often and was always sad when it came time to leave. “My childhood in Portland was wonderful, but I was desperate for more friends and more opportunities,” she shares.
Since there’s no Jewish high school in Portland, Eleanor eventually ended up at Bruriah High School in New Jersey. After seminary, she attended Stern College and then met her husband, who was studying in Shor Yoshuv. The first few years of marriage, they lived in Far Rockaway, and Eleanor began nursing school at Maimonides in Boro Park.
Create a free account to keep reading.
