Live in Israel but husbands work in America -- anyone?

amother

Wed, Apr 21 2010, 2:30 am

Marion wrote:

When I was looking into a Hyundai Getz (automatic, 4 door, hatchback) 2 years ago I found the following:

1. Most leasing companies require a 50% downpayment on the car. (This makes sense, as there is almost 100% taxation, so a 50% downpayment covers the taxes and then you're basically paying off the car.) The cost of the basic model at the time (no a/c!) was almost 100,000NIS.

2. With that 50% down, I was looking at:
1500NIS/month lease
1300NIS/YEAR basic (mandatory) insurance
2300NIS/YEAR extended/3rd party insurance (if I wanted it)
1000NIS/month fuel/petrol
1000NIS/YEAR maintenance/test fees

In the end I got "lucky", and my employer offered to change my compensation package to include the car. The government has since changed the taxation schedule (when I got the car it was equivalent to 1420NIS/month in income, now it's equivalent to 2170NIS/month!). My net take home pay was reduced by about 1000NIS/month, but because I did the research I know I couldn't own a car for only 1000NIS/month, so for MY FAMILY it's worth the lower take home pay for the higher quality of life. If we really needed the money, however, I could see giving up the car for the extra funds.

Wow that was a great break down. Thank you!

So that is like 4-5k a month to have a car.

amother

Wed, Apr 21 2010, 2:36 am

Look at this. It looks on target from what I hear:

http://www.worldsalaries.org/israel.shtml

So accordingly an average salary is said to be 8k a month. If you make 8k a month which is average, half would go to car expenses. I can understand why owning a car can be so cost prohibited for many.

Marion

Wed, Apr 21 2010, 2:52 am

Tamiri wrote:

The car Marion is referring to is probably smaller than a VW bug, just for your reference. Micro compact

Nope, not smaller than a bug. Smaller engine than a Mazda 2 or Nissan Micra or Toyota Yaris (1300cc vs. 1500cc), but it's a driver + 4. I have 2 carseats and can fit a (skinny) adult in the back between them. Car classes are generally determined by engine size, not real size.

I don't drive a lot (about 1250km/month), so I am under 1000NIS/month in fuel (even when fuel is at 6.50NIS/L!). But someone who has a longer commute or just farther distances to drive would have a higher bill. The Getz is NOT particularly fuel-efficient either.

lst

Wed, Apr 21 2010, 4:09 am

I have a decent sized family car, a Renault Magane, comparable to a Mazada 3. We did not put down as much as we should have, we had it in savings but we decided to put down less than more, I don't know why. This is our basic breakdown:
900 nis/month for car payment
400 nis/month for gas (average, some months less, some months more) - we usually fill up once and then a little more, not full, if we need
1000/year maintenance and test (some years we need a lot less maintenance)
between 3000-4000/year for insurance- that includes the mandatory and comprehensive, and im not sure the exact amount-I know it goes down every year
1200/year for registration

chanchy123

Wed, Apr 21 2010, 4:29 am

Most people I know own cars as well, not every one owns a new car (think under three years old) many people own cars that are ten years old or so (young couples) but some way or another most people have cars (some have two). Most people who work in high tech and other professions have their car from work - sometimes they own an aditional car as well. I think professionals we know, who have been working in their profession for about three years will tend to have nicer cars/homes etc.
The exception to the "almost everyone we know has a car" rule are chareidim, we know. Many of them do not own cars (some don't have a license) they either use public transportation (which is pretty good in most chareidi areas) or rent a car with or without a driver when they go to a simcha or on vacation (all chareidim I know go on vacation and tiyulim). Actually, most other people I know who don't own cars rent a car whenever necessary.
We own a 2007 Mitizubishi Lancer bought last year (used from car rental through a dealer) it was about 70,000 NIS (I think maybe a bit less) it seats five. We have three car seats/booster seats in the back and they all just fit.
We paid for most of it using a bank loan we have monthly payments of 800 NIS for five years. I think our car expences are about 2,000 NIS monthly (gas + insurance).

amother

Wed, Apr 21 2010, 8:41 am

anon because too many people know about this Very Happy

I didn't get a chance to read through the whole thread but certaion things that were being said really upset me. I have this kind of arrangement with dh and we live in the states. He comes home every other weekend from thursday night until mon morning. For everyone who's saying it kills shalom bayis and ruins the children you can't generalize. My marriage is 1000% times stronger than it ever has been and my children, although it is tough on them, have an amazing relationship with dh. I have no cleaning help, and my nearest relative lives about an hour away. For whatever reason we have to live like this now and although of course I'd like things to be different I've learned to live like this. I manage, I'm ok and my children are ok.

amother

Wed, Apr 21 2010, 10:31 am

Quote:

For whatever reason we have to live like this now and although of course I'd like things to be different I've learned to live like this. I manage, I'm ok and my children are ok.

having to live like that is very different from choosing to live like this. Someone I know lives like this too, because she wanted to live in israel but wanted a bigger salary than her dh could earn their. They have a very solid marriage, the kids are close with their father, but it is still difficult and a stress on the family. They choose to live this way though, because like everything else in life you have to pick and choose between different values.

We considered it but opted against it. Our lifestyle in the US is very stressful because of work and we wanted a different kind of life in Israel and not seeing my dh on a daily basis does not fit into that, and I don't think I or my kids could handle it well anyway, and I'm not sure my dh would be too happy either. Even though we will have to forgo certain luxuries because of it. Having my dh as a regular presence in my home is more important, but I do understand why someone would choose otherwise.

Tova

Wed, Apr 21 2010, 2:48 pm

lst wrote:

And forgot to add- most people that I know in Israel, from all walks of life (including the kollel community that I live in), all have cars. The only exception that I can think of are those that come for a couple of years and then return to the States.

I was wondering when someone would mention the kollel people...I don't know any kollel people in E"Y who own cars. My brother looked into it but it was far far far cheaper for him to pay his way on the "tender" going to Mir from his neighborhood and for my SIL to take a bus one way to work and a cab for the way home. They live in walking distance to several makolot, a pharmacy, housewares, clothing places, etc. (near Shmuel HaNavi, Geulah). Also, my SIL's parents have a car and I guess they can rely on that for big trips, etc.

Marion

Thu, Apr 22 2010, 1:21 am

Tova wrote:

I saw on the NBN site that they discourage people bringing their cars over to Israel on a lift, but they don't say why...out of curiosity, what are the tax/financial implications of doing this?

Lots of reasons...
1. If it's an American-made car, parts are harder to get and repairs are more expensive.
2. Customs (meches) rules state that only cars that are available in Israel are permitted in Israel. So if there's a car brand not available here (fewer now than it used to be) you can't bring it in.
3. Taxes are prohibitive. I think an oleh purchasing a new car in Israel pays 50% tax; a "regular" Israeli pays 97% tax. Import tax is also around 50%, and I'm not sure if an oleh vehicle is exempt from that.
4. Cars are huge cargo space wasters...the shipping on the car itself is very expensive.

lst

Thu, Apr 22 2010, 3:43 am

Tova wrote:

lst wrote:

I could be that I live in an atypical Kollel community, I don't know. But we don't live in Yerushalayim. We live in a place with no public transportation whatsover, and it's not really the middle of nowhere. It's very close to big cities and only 25 minutes from Yerushalayim. It is also a 99% Israeli kollel- if that makes a difference (I dont know the kollel people that you know). All the wives work, at least part time, and most of them have older cars. Yes some of them did get cars from parents that were getting themselves new cars, but others, like us, work hard to be able to afford our car. It helps that our housing is subsidized A LOT by the kollel. Also the very young,newly married kollel couples,where the wives are in university, mostly do not have cars.

e1234

Thu, Apr 22 2010, 4:08 am

To me it seems that more israelis have cars and Americans living here don't - not sure what the reason is.
maybe the israeli's don't mind going under for it and the Americans do...
and I'm not talking about people who work at a well paying job - I'm talking about mostly kollel familes and I have no clue how they can afford it. (especially after seeing the prices here)
It's probably cheaper to take a cab everywhere you need to go then own a car. (unless you work out of your city and go twice a day -- but for a family like mine where we don't travel as much.