Okachobee | Imamother

amother

Fri, Mar 08 2024, 10:04 am

I would love to move from NY and I was thinking maybe okachobee can work for us ,as I have a 12 year old son and I need a cheder for him. This week someone told me she thinks the community is going to be very chassidish. To be accepted you can't drive. I'm chassidish, however, I do drive and I have a smartphone. I would love to hear more about what type of families are moving there.

amother

Denim

Fri, Mar 08 2024, 10:06 am

How can they ban driving, when this community is in the middle of nowhere & you must have a car to get around? That makes no sense.
It's not like Brooklyn, Monsey, Lakewood....where everything is more easily accessible. It's literally in the middle of nowhere.

berger7

Fri, Mar 08 2024, 10:13 am

Someone told me before you can sign contract you need to have an interview to get accepted in the school. They were very. Much looking forward to moving there and were turned off when they were told women will not be allowed to drive...

amother

Lawngreen

Fri, Mar 08 2024, 10:18 am

It’s spelled Okeechobee.
If you spell it right you’ll find other threads on imamother and you’ll get more information.
You can also look it up in maps and see how close it is to other communities and in general get an idea where you’re going.

amother

Denim

Fri, Mar 08 2024, 10:18 am

berger7 wrote:

That's abnormal & so not realistic. So the women will basically be locked in to the community? Taxi is not as convenient there as in other areas, it's basically non existent, and everything is a far drive. Doctors office, shopping.... so unrealistic. Okeechobee is not close to any Jewish community in Florida.

amother

Fri, Mar 08 2024, 10:31 am

I just called and verified myself. They said that they do ask on application if you're currently driving. They said it's not confirmed that you can't drive.

amother

Denim

Fri, Mar 08 2024, 10:58 am

amother OP wrote:

I'm glad they don't have any other restrictions like technology...

If they're attracting a very RW crowd, you can't know what restrictions they'll put in the future.

amother

Sage

Fri, Mar 08 2024, 11:40 am

amother OP wrote:

I just called and verified myself. They said that they do ask on application if you're currently driving. They said it's not confirmed that you can't drive.

Did you ask them why they need to know this?
I would try to find out, judging from the threads I read on Imamother it could be nothing or something else.

amother

Orchid

Fri, Mar 08 2024, 11:45 am

amother OP wrote:

I just called and verified myself. They said that they do ask on application if you're currently driving. They said it's not confirmed that you can't drive.

"nor confirmed you can't drive" sounds like it is not off the table. If it's important to you, you should ask for clarification make it clear that you need to know specifically yes or no.
As others have said, it's kind of in the middle of nowhere and I think at least an hours drive to the closest frum area, probably more. Just as an FYI if driving or not is going to be a sticking point for you.

amother

Valerian

Fri, Mar 08 2024, 11:50 am

I met with them.

They claim that if you’re serious in your Yiddishkeit, they don’t care if you drive, or have technology.

But then they said, in order to go further with the application we need to meet with the board of the school And decide if we’re the right fit.

We decided not to meet with them because we don’t want to be under a community that has rules It will just end up being another KJ or Kiamisha Lake.

FTR we are mainstream chassidish and I do not drive or have a smartphone. We just don’t want to live in a box.

amother

Denim

Fri, Mar 08 2024, 11:59 am

amother Valerian wrote:

The fact that the community is in the middle of nowhere and over an hour away from any frum or city infrastructure, tells me that they want to keep the community very segregated and in a box.

amother

Lawngreen

Fri, Mar 08 2024, 12:18 pm

amother Denim wrote:

The fact that the community is in the middle of nowhere and over an hour away from any frum or city infrastructure, tells me that they want to keep the community very segregated and in a box.

Or it can tell you that they bought the real estate very cheap.
Okeechobee literally is in middle of nowhere. If you wanted to buy property near all the frum shuls, restaurants and supermarkets in Miami or in a big city with an already existing Jewish community like Atlanta you’d pay many times as much as they did for that big piece of empty land where your main neighbors are alligators and iguanas.

amother

Caramel

Fri, Mar 08 2024, 12:43 pm

I feel like there is a huge need for a community for chassidish people who prefer not fit in a mold completely.

Unfortunately okeechobee doesn’t seem to be it.

meyerlemon44

Fri, Mar 08 2024, 3:09 pm

amother Caramel wrote:

I feel like there is a huge need for a community for chassidish people who prefer not fit in a mold completely.

Unfortunately okeechobee doesn’t seem to be it.

Is Airmont a bit like that?

amother

cornflower

Fri, Mar 08 2024, 3:18 pm

amother Caramel wrote:

I feel like there is a huge need for a community for chassidish people who prefer not fit in a mold completely.

Unfortunately okeechobee doesn’t seem to be it.

North Miami Beach!!

amother

Navyblue

Fri, Mar 08 2024, 3:19 pm

meyerlemon44 wrote:

Is Airmont a bit like that?

Airmont is like Monsey, huge and diverse. Literally all types, from ultra Chassidish to Modern Orthodox

amother

Navyblue

Fri, Mar 08 2024, 3:31 pm

Isn't Rabbi Moskowitz on the board? He's a Chassidish Rav and all but has no issue with women driving. I think they can close shop if they're going down that route. Most normal men and women are not OK with this rule and only toe the line because of their children's schools. I know a few wonderful and Erlich Chassidish families that applied but will not go if they're transferring nonsensical rules there. The driving ban by some in Monsey let's say, wasn't a planned premeditated rule, it morphed into it Moised by Moised. To actually establish this ban, which has no rhyme or reason, no sources, especially in a place like Okeechobee is self sabotage.
Personally I think they want to use this line to weed certain people out, although it's silly to use driving as the gauge. It's a necessity and that's why we drive. Technology use or dress code would be a much better indicator. There's no way that they'll have this rule. They're just trying to present themselves with a certain image. Just my humble opinion.