The term “out-of-town”, in Judaism, is often used to refer to anyone who lives outside of the Tri-State area, or even just the greater New York area.
My husband initially suggested the name for this blog and I really liked the sound of it. To me, it means more than simply just living outside of New York. I am proud that I grew up in a very small town in Montana. “Out-of-town” living was literally where we lived, 8 miles outside of a small town of about 2700 people.
Now, years later, living in a city and being a part of a smaller Jewish community, I can see that I will always be an out-of-town girl. One who enjoys the occasional challenge of working a little harder with limited resources. And it is a great feeling to know what it means to be an integral member of a community. Sometimes in a large community it is just too easy to blend in.
Living in an “out-of-town” smaller Jewish community has its pros and cons. It is easy to know most of the wonderful people in our community, and overall everyone is pretty laid back and welcoming. There is a connection amongst each other that cannot be broken. You don’t have to “dress to impress”. For the most part, you just have to be yourself. Most smaller communities also have better housing prices and job opportunities. While we live in Seattle, where tech jobs are pretty abundant, but housing prices and the cost of living in our neighborhood are pretty high. With all the positives of living out of town, on the other hand, sadly we don’t have a lot of kosher restaurant options.
Another aspect of this blog is to include tips and info on traveling. Getting out-of-town and exploring. And all our journeys along the way. Honestly, this blog is something I want to do for fun in my spare time. Blog posts may happen a lot or a little depending on life and of course, my motivation.
1. To find a place to stay in Israel for a month, we used Airbnb and we checked in with a friend of ours who knows Israel well to make sure that it was in a safe location. The apartment that we found is in Rehavia, which is a very nice and very safe neighborhood, within walking distance to pretty much everything in Jerusalem. According to the host’s profile, he offers 6 holiday apartments in the same building in Rehavia. And he also lives in the same building, which was very helpful for someone like me, who managed to lock ourselves out of the apartment a few times.
Coffee concentrate (or essence) comes in handy when you are tired of 
