To tackle the spiraling costs facing observant families in America, our community should remember that housing costs aren’t unchangeable

In a recent Times of Israel article, Zev Stub wrote an article that covers the breath of the financial difficulties plaguing Orthodox Jews in America. Stub focuses on tuition as the largest cost of observant life in the US.  He discusses other costs more briefly, such as weddings, kosher food, summer camps, and, of course, housing. Some of these are complicated and require analyzing our communal values to decide where money is best spent. Solutions to housing costs are a small part of Stub’s article, but this is an area where the solution is relatively straightforward.

For the big ticket items, Stub suggests moving “out-of-town” as a possible solution for housing costs, while explaining why many do not. Stub describes advocacy efforts under way to reduce tuition with government assistance.  What this article takes as a given is that housing costs are inflated in frum communities, and assumes the only solution is for individuals to move to other........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)