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2024 OU Savitsky Home Relocation Fair virtual lobby. (Courtesy of The Orthodox Union)<\/p>\n 2024 OU Savitsky Home Relocation Fair virtual lobby. (Courtesy of The Orthodox Union)<\/p>\n
When Renanit Baker and her husband were looking for a new city to settle down in, they wanted a place with plentiful resources and a large Jewish community where \u201cyou still really matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The couple had lived previously in Brooklyn, where resources for the Jewish community were vast. However, Baker felt she lacked a personal connection with many of her neighbors. Still in New York, the couple got married and decided to move to Albany where there was a small, tight-knit Jewish community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were really enjoying \u2026 the feeling of being an important part of the community. You can\u2019t \u2026 fall through the cracks when you\u2019re part of a small community,\u201d said Baker. \u201cSo, we were \u2026 looking for the sweet spot of big enough that you have all the resources and you have all the schooling options, [but] small enough that you still really matter. So that was Philadelphia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Currently living in Northeast Philadelphia, Baker will participate in the Orthodox Union Savitsky Home Relocation Fair as a representative of the area for the second time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am an active member of the Jewish community in the Northeast, and I definitely really enjoy the community. We\u2019re really happy with it, and we love the people here, and all the great stuff that they have here,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it was only natural \u2026 when the relocation fair comes around, that I pick it up and \u2026 set up our booth and make it all happen for the Northeast.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fair was launched in 2008 by former OU President Steve Savitsky, geared towards singles and families to showcase affordable communities that have amenities for the Orthodox Jewish lifestyle. When the pandemic hit, the fair was held virtually and has continued to be held online ever since. This year, the fair will be held on Feb 22.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn many ways, we act as a matchmaker, connecting people looking to move with communities eager to expand,\u201d OU Senior Director of the Savitsky Communal Growth and SPIRIT Retiree Initiatives Rebbetzin Judi Steinig said in a press release. \u201cWhen our communities thrive, we all share in that success. We want to facilitate connections. Our support extends beyond the fair; it is always available to those considering relocation and the communities eager to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Participants log on to the nine-hour long event, choosing from different avatars to roam around the virtual expo hall, auditorium and discussion panels with community representatives.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are really a very centrally located community that is very old and established,\u201d Baker said. \u201cWe really want to let people know \u2014 whether it\u2019s because of what\u2019s going on in New York or just because the general shift of people is to move out of big cities right now [or it\u2019s] people who want to stay on the East Coast stay close to their families, but still have that warm out of town feeling \u2014 [they] might really enjoy Philadelphia. So we want to get our name out there and really let people know what a gem we have over here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel Miller has been living in Bensalem, just outside of Center City, for seven years now with his wife and four children. Miller, also the director of outreach and programming at Bensalem Jewish Outreach Center, will be representing Bensalem this year at the Home Relocation Fair.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have that incredible balance between the out of town and the in town,\u201d he said. \u201cWe love the community here. We love the shul. We love the community programming.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cEvery place has their own advantages, but some places, you could have 10,000 Jews and not know your neighbor\u2019s name. And here it\u2019s not like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the fair is held only every other year, the resources stay online for individuals and families to learn more about different communities.<\/p>\n
For Baker, she was looking to move during the off year but was able to see all the information about Northeast Philadelphia on the OU\u2019s out-of-town communities directory online.<\/p>\n
In 2024, the last Relocation Fair, more than 2,000 people from 24 different countries registered to participate, including Argentina, China, Ethiopia, Finland, the Netherlands and the UAE.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have family in the New Jersey, New York area, we\u2019re close enough that just a hop, skip and a jump away,\u201d Miller added. \u201cIt\u2019s only an hour drive to New Jersey, an hour and a half to New York and two hours to Baltimore.\u201d<\/p>\n