Neighbourhood, community and residential change decisions in the Dublin Jewish community

Abstract

The Dublin Jewish community has undergone numerical decline over the past thirty years. At the same time, there have been substantial changes in the residential locations of members of the community. This paper investigates the significance of the neighbourhood and the community in residential change decisions through an examination of social visiting patterns, friendship and family networks and the perception and importance of having Jewish neighbours. The results show that although contacts with non-Jewish neighbours have increased, there is still a tendency to choose residential locations close to other community members. While there is still a tendency to move to higher status suburbs in south-cast Dublin, there is an opposing trend back towards the area of second settlement in the south-west of the city.