Help me make aliyah!

Executive Member Joined: Jun 22 2008 Posts: 363

So my husband and I really really want to make aliyah, we feel so connected to Israel and can't imagine raising our kids here even though our families both live in America (for the most part).

We are hoping to go next January so that I can finish grad school, and hopefully my husband will be doing a masters program there.

We don't know where to begin in terms of planning and organizing oursleves and could use some advice from those who have done it...any advice would be greatly appreciated Smile

Can you experts let me know how much money (b'erech) it takes to make the move? Is it worth it to bring all of our furniture over with us (its not amazing stuff) or try to sell it here and buy cheaper when we get there? Are there things that you reccomend we for sure take from the US? Also, how long does an intensive ulpan take? My husbands Hebrew is pretty good but mine is downright lousy. Are there ulpans for children as well? Do we really need a car or is it a luxury?

My husband is already a citizen and so my kids are too through him. I'm not sure how that will impact everything but if anyone had a similar situation can you let me know if there are extra hoops (or less) that we're going to have to jump through?

Thanks so much!!!!

Executive Member Joined: Jun 22 2008 Posts: 363

no advice at all Sad

??

anything??

Posted: Tue, Oct 20 2009, 2:11 am Post subject:

Hey there- first of all, kol hakavod for the decision and hopefully we'll see you soon on this side of the ocean! I made aliyah with my parents when I was 18, so I didnt go through all the details of it myself, but I can help you out a bit.

I'm not sure what bearacracy/benefits you'll have with your dh and kids being citizens- first of all, get in touch with Nefesh B'nefesh, they should be able to help you out with most of these questions. as far as a lift- they are very expensive, I have friends who brought and friends who didnt. mostly those who brought (my parents included) had lots of nice furniture accumulated over some years of marriage. if your furniture isn't all that important to you, than it might be worth it to sell it there and buy new stuff here. you can get great second hand furniture here in certain places.

there are some things that it's worth it to bring IMO. my european washing machine and dryer take 2 hours each. american machines are worth it!!

as far as a car, totally depends where you live and ages/number of kids. if you live on a yishuv with little kids a car is a must. we lived in neve daniel for a few months and even though we had a car, my dh would take it to work and I was STUCK at home all day with 2 little kids- there were no cabs, I wouldnt go on a bus myself with 2 babies and the mode of transportation there was tremping. so if you're going to be home with kids, either make sure you live in a city with good buses and cabs, or have a car and make sure dh wont need it to get to work.

if at all possible, plan a pilot trip. you'll need to register and get a feel for schools here, jobs, communities, etc. I live in bet shemesh and I'm happy to help you out if you're interested in looking here!

any more questions, feel free to pm me, good luck!

Posted: Tue, Oct 20 2009, 2:22 am Post subject:

Basics:
Your DH will be considered an Ezrach Chozer, your children will be Ktinim Chozrim (returning citizen and returning minors). You will be an olah chadashah. It should NOT majorly impact your "rights", as the Ministry of Absorption is including the toshav chozer as a new oleh for the purpose of benefits in an attempt to entice back former yordim.

I wouldn't bring anything that is made for an American sized room, unless you happen to find a huge apartment, or unless it's a family heirloom that you would be devastated to lose. Otherwise sell your stuff (you'll spend less on shipping too) and buy here. IKEA here sells the same as IKEA there, for example! Also, it means you'll get furniture within a few days of arrival (once you can get to the stores) rather than a few weeks; yes, it makes a difference!
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Emmanuel Tzvi: 26 Shevat 5766
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Posted: Tue, Oct 20 2009, 2:27 am Post subject: re: Help me make aliyah!

And remember there is a 6-8 hr time difference between here and the US - and you posted at 3am.... we sleep when you are wide awake ! So teh lack of response was due to our snoring!

Great taht you are making aliya.. and I second going to the nefesh benefesh website and reading everything there.

( I would disagree about the american washing machine though - they are often too big for an Israeli appartment, and they need heated water to run.. European machines heat their own water, and are usually smaller)

You may find you American furiture is too big for our rooms. Before you decide about it - get an idea of where you want to be - a yishuv, or a town.

Look at the other threads in this section about places to live, and you may get an idea of where you would want to be.

Keep asking questions.
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Hila
Certified doula/birth assistant
In Israel, Ima to 4 kids and 1 dil and two sils
and the four sweetest grandsons in the world

Posted: Tue, Oct 20 2009, 3:00 am Post subject: re: Help me make aliyah!

Shlushiemom had great answers.

It is hard to plan the details of bringing a lift or not unless you know what knid of place you'll be moving into. A mercaz klita is small and you don't need all your stuff yet. A small apartment may or may not be able to fit (because of the size of the doorways and actual room size) the big (and definitely worth it if there's room) washing machine and dryer. Same goes for an oven and fridge (I think those are better off being bought here.)

Everything costs more here but either you decide to save on the cost of a lift ($5K for a small, $10K for a big - general estimate) and buy the pricier beds, sofas, closets, etc. here, or you buy the cheaper stuff which is not as well-made and won't last as long (or get lucky with good quality secondhand stuff - I would find people moving out of the country for that.)

Ulpanim are in every big city but often, if you live somewhere smaller, you'll have to travel to the ulpan. The government is closing down ulpanim all of the time due to lack of funds even though olim are always coming. I wish there was an ulpan on our yishuv - then I would have gone much more. Now the closest one moved from 1/2 hour travelling time to at least 45 min. It is almost impossible when you have kids in gan and you need to get back by bus in time for pick-up. Yerushalim is easier for that.

Children learn Hebrew very easily in gan. Usually within a short time, they'll pick up quite a few words and understand almost everything and speaking takes a little longer, maybe 6-8 months, depending on the kid. Since they are in gan, it is not like they'll need to learn major stuff like in 1st grade. Everything you teach them until January will help.

I agree with Shlushie about the car. I need one here on my yishuv but wouldn't in a major city. I didn't have a car during working hours for the first 2 years here and I didn't take the older kids anywhere really. I did grocery shopping after 7 PM with the car or had it delivered if I managed to get there during the day. I didn't have babies then though. If I had, then I think a car would have been necessary even though there are those who do without (recent olim would find it difficult though if they are used to driving.) They are VERY expensive and leasing is hard here.

Sorry, I don't know anything about the citizenship.

Hatzlacha raba!

Posted: Tue, Oct 20 2009, 3:49 am Post subject: re: Help me make aliyah!

Good luck with the move, it isn't easy but it's worthwhile.
Find out where you are going to live before making any decisions. Like everyone said, everything depends on where you will live, what size your bathroom, kitchen, living room and bedrooms are.
Some people find a car a necessity, others don't.
Kids really do pick up Hebrew fast, and there are ulpans in various places but not on some yishuvim.
Whatever you bring, you will only find out afterwards what you really needed. That's the time for a "second lift", meaning sometimes it's better to decide only afterwards.

I second the american washing machine as it's really bigger, better and faster, same goes for a gas oven and gas dryer but it all depends on the size of your kitchen, bathroom, etc.
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"Olam Chessed Yiboneh", Tehilim 89.

Moderator Joined: Dec 04 2005 Posts: 6172 Location: israel

You have to decide on the furniture.

If there's nothing you are attached to, you might want to start over.

New furniture here is not cheap, but it's designed more for the rooms. The styles are also more modern (which I personally like better). Beds, for instance come with much more storage space. They are also usually smaller. Our Israeli dining room table has storage inside for all the leaves and it opens to a crazy large size if you put them all it.

We didn't bring any furniture back when we returned on shlichut. We were sleeping on new beds here in a pretty short amount of time. My brother on the hand, brought everything over, and impressively his lift came bring quickly... The beds they have are huge for the size of the rooms, but they are higher quality and nice....so you need to choose. Their kids are sleeping on full twin size beds with American mattresses, but they have no storage....while here you would get an L-shaped maybe...and there would at least one more bed that pulls out for a guest...plus drawers under each bed for storage.

You can also buy second hand from people who are leaving Israel and get a nice deal.

It's a good idea to buy new appliances at the 220 store and ship them, rather than buying here. You can get a bigger, nicer washer/dryer, but the downside is it might be hard to fit in the space provided for it here.

Posted: Tue, Oct 20 2009, 5:22 pm Post subject:

Executive Member Joined: Jun 22 2008 Posts: 363

wow thanks so much for the excellent responses!

we made an appointment with nefesh b' nefesh so thanks for pointing us in that direction.

we've been trying to research some communitites in Israel from here so that if/ when we do a pilot trip it can be very focused. Our big question is, is a 45 minute commute crazy? It isn't such a big deal by U.S standards but are things like that very different?

I ask about the commute because we would like to live on a yishuv or in a smaller community but both of us will need to be working in the Tel Aviv area and real estate close to the city also seems very expensive.

Posted: Fri, Oct 23 2009, 1:26 am Post subject:

It's not crazy, people do it. I live in Bet shemesh where there are many people who take the train to TA daily for work. It's not a yishuv, but there are wonderful communities in Bet shemesh, as well as all your necessities because it is technically a city, although where we live is very suburban.

Posted: Fri, Oct 23 2009, 1:43 am Post subject: re: Help me make aliyah!

45 minutes is not terrible - but be warned it may not be 45 mins if you drive - Tel Aviv is terrible for pkakim (traffic jams) and delays. Try and find somewhere that is accessible by train to your work - as it is more reliable than any other method.

So Modiin or Bet Shemesh make sense - as do some of the other suburbs of TA .
Jerusalem area would be hard but people do it.

From the Gush there are people who drive and carpool to Bet Shemesh and then get the train
But it takes more than 45 minutes

Let us know when you are coming and we will be here to welcome you and answer questions