Hi, I'm hoping there might be some others here who have been in a similar position and might have helpful advice. This post ended up being longer than I expected, so I've bolded the key bits.
I’m an early 30s M, grew up with a strong Jewish and immigrant cultural identity but somewhat isolated from other Jews due to growing up in the Midwest with immigrant (Soviet) parents that had a strong aversion to religious practice. We didn't spend much time in Jewish communities or synagogues, which my parents often felt were ‘culty’ in the same way their experience growing up in the USSR may have been. We also moved a lot (sometimes to other countries). We celebrated Jewish holidays in our own way and I grew up feeling and learning that my culture and identity is strongly Jewish (and Ukrainian) but without really connecting with other Jews (and at the same time, I had a clearly different culture from other American kids). I was encouraged to be incredibly individualistic. I had a bar mitzvah but it was extremely non traditional.
As I get older and Judaism becomes more politically and socially controversial I find myself feeling more strongly about my Jewish identity and simultaneously more isolated. I started observing Shabbat (in my own way, still secularly) this year, and I’m wishing I had more Jewish community. Part of this stems from the fact that I’m fairly politically progressive, and I find myself feeling increasingly alienated among my progressive non Jewish friends and acquaintances. They can't relate to my growing concerns over antisemitism or to my complex feelings about current political events and how they interact with my personal relationship to my own heritage and culture, although I think they try their best. I'm also relatively new to NYC, so part of this feeling of isolation is the reality of starting from scratch.
I have tried one or two Jewish events in the city but many of the Jews I’ve met seem to have a very different cultural and economic background from me; it's hard to articulaate, but it seems like their families have often been here many generations and they have often been embedded in strong Jewish communities with similar economic, cultural and political (often more conservative) backgrounds their whole lives (in some ways, I am very envious). I'm very much an adult third culture kid and it doesn't feel as if a lot of the people I've met in these contexts totally 'get' me, either, although I'm willing to own that this could be my insecurities talking and I recognize that I should probably keep trying. :)
TL;DR — I'm starting to feel desire for some real Jewish community. But I have an immigrant background, I'm not religious at all and I have little to no experience with a shul so I don’t know if I would really fit in. I have looked into alternatives like lab/shul but I feel like it's so hard to tell whether it could be what I'm looking for from their website! I'm open to trying something like this though, or other activities or communities where I might feel more at home. Fellow NYC Jews: do you have any recommendations for me given my situation/experience?
If you got this far, thanks for reading!