Making aliyah this summer!!!!!!

Senior Member Joined: Nov 21 2007 Posts: 200

Wow, I am totally freaking out. We got our flight for aug. 18th moving to Ramat Beit Shemesh!!!!!

Questions, where can I get like a fridge when I get there and an over, washer and dryer??? are there laundromats in RBS? also what Health Insurance do I get, im trying to figure this out. Any Help would be amazing. Thanx

Platinum Member Joined: Aug 12 2007 Posts: 20597

Senior Member Joined: Apr 08 2010 Posts: 217

Mazal Tov! Take a deep breath:) I live in Bet Shemesh and hope I can help you. There are appliance shops here and Yerushalayim to buy the items you mention. I highly recommend you get on the BS/RBS listserve if you want to buy used. For more BS info go to: http://www.shemesh.co.il I think you can apply to the list from there as well.

Re: Health Funds. Meuchedet is the largest in BS. There are many wonderful Anglo and non-Anglo doctors. The others have been marketing themselves to the Anglo population here so are also adding more and more doctors/staff and services. Basically they all provide the same services BUT there are nuances that make one better than others for each family. EX: We have been w/ Meuchedet for 6 years, since our Aliya. It's been great. This year my 2.5 year old son (who has Down Syndrome) had all therapy services taken from him without warning. Following a little investigation we found out that the guy in charge did not agree with the amazing integrated gan my son was in (HUH???) and stopped services. We put up a huge stink and all was reinstated in 2 weeks. I know for a fact that no other Health Fund has a problem providing all the paraprofessional services needed to special needs kids. This is a warning about Meuchedet in central Israel if you have any kids that will need OT/PT/ST for a "chronic" situation (DS/CP anything that is considered "somati") (If this is NOT the case I still recommend Meuchedet!)I spoke with Maccabi and they will provide these services for another few years if we switch to them. I have on good information that Leumit will, as well. Clalit is very small here in BS. I don't recommend a new olah go to a small Kupah because you want to know that you will have as much available to you as possible!

Best of Luck! Please PM me if you want to "talk" more.

Senior Member Joined: Nov 21 2007 Posts: 200

I heard macabi was good, and then I spoke to clalit and they told me they were the biggest. Thats not true??

Platinum Member Joined: Aug 12 2007 Posts: 20597

Clalit is the largest and most established in Israel, but that doesn't mean that they will be the biggest in a given community. We chose Clalit because of the offerings and convenience where we lived at the time, and it's paid off. People who live in RBS will be able to direct you to what they feel is "the best" in your area. The bottom line is that they are all more or less the same.
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The future simply isn't what it used to be....

Senior Member Joined: Apr 08 2010 Posts: 217

Biggest isn't always best Smile

If there are not a lot of clinics in BS/RBS that works against you. If you won't have a car and have young children you might want to find out where the clinics are near your new home. What street are you renting on?

We are considered "Cholim Chadashim" the first year or two as we are more susceptible to new bacterias in our new land.

Posted: Sat, Jun 19 2010, 3:30 pm Post subject:

my family and I and many others recently switched out of meuchedet. we were not happy with the doctors or their services and their lack of recognition and friendliness. we switched to leumit, which switched over to a complete english speaking staff and amazing doctors that are available 24-7 via cell phone and actually remember your names and your childrens names when you come in. its a breath of fresh air.
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Death Is The Only Guarantee In Life.

Senior Member Joined: Nov 21 2007 Posts: 200

yeah I am on the list. So hopefully I can get some usefull information. Thanx everyone