Home
Log in / Sign Up
    Private Messages   Advanced Search   Rules   New User Guide   FAQ   Advertise   Contact Us  
Forum -> Inquiries & Offers -> Israel related Inquiries & Aliyah Questions
Please help me figure this out
1  2  Next



Post new topic   Reply to topic View latest: 24h 48h 72h

Racheli




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Mar 30 2014, 12:44 pm
I live in Northern New Jersey. My children attend Modern Orthodox schools here. I live in a mid-range house (for the area). Both my husband and I work full time. I have a number of close friends who have made Aliya in the last 15 years or so. They say that living in Israel is not markedly less expensive than living in America, even though there is not the tuition issue in Israel. They tell me that certain things in Israel are very much more expensive than in America and so you don't end up saving money by living in Israel. Is that your experience? And can you give me details about what you have found to be more and less expensive?
Back to top

Marion




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Mar 30 2014, 1:17 pm
OWNING AND MAINTAINING A CAR is by far more expensive in Israel, but it's also not a necessity. In places where it's a necessity the cost is often offset by considerably cheaper housing.

I've never lived in America. My health care costs more here than it did in Canada.
Back to top

Lizzie4




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Mar 30 2014, 1:39 pm
If you live in a sought out area in Israel your rent may be a lot more expensive.
Healthcare is generally cheaper in Israel especially if you're on Bituach Leumi.
I have found that food is a lot more expensive in Israel.
American products are understandably more expensive here.
Tuition is much cheaper.
Back to top

amother


 

Post Sun, Mar 30 2014, 2:20 pm
Anything relating to housing or a car is much, much more expensive in Israel. Food is also more expensive unless you live on pita and fresh vegetables. Add to that the fact that salaries are much lower in Israel - this all pretty much cancels out whatever you save by not paying high American tuition. By the way, Israeli high school tuition isn't free, and can be between 5-10,000 shekels a year.
Back to top

amother


 

Post Sun, Mar 30 2014, 2:26 pm
Lizzie4 wrote:
If you live in a sought out area in Israel your rent may be a lot more expensive.
Healthcare is generally cheaper in Israel especially if you're on Bituach Leumi.
I have found that food is a lot more expensive in Israel.
American products are understandably more expensive here.
Tuition is much cheaper.


Healthcare can be much cheaper in Israel, especially if you don't make much money. But many people don't realize that if you make a good salary, a lot of money is taken from your pay for healthcare. This can be a few to several thousand shekels a month depending on your salary.
Back to top

amother


 

Post Sun, Mar 30 2014, 4:22 pm
amother wrote:
Anything relating to housing or a car is much, much more expensive in Israel. Food is also more expensive unless you live on pita and fresh vegetables. Add to that the fact that salaries are much lower in Israel - this all pretty much cancels out whatever you save by not paying high American tuition. By the way, Israeli high school tuition isn't free, and can be between 5-10,000 shekels a year.


It's free in secular schools and regular dati schools. It's true that many DL schools are semi-private and charge though (usually under 5 K tho if it's not a dorm school)
Back to top

Tablepoetry




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Mar 30 2014, 4:24 pm
How much is a mid range house in northern New jersey? What is a midrange house?
Here prices vary greatly, really depends if we're talking Tel Aviv or Arad or Tzfat....
Back to top

Racheli




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 12:39 pm
In the Teaneck area (where I live), houses range in cost from approximately $450,000 (very small, very old, usually need a lot of work) to well over a million dollars. So I think a pretty normal house (fine but nothing exciting) now would cost between $550,000 and $750,000, depending on location. Tuition at local day schools and high schools varies from about $10,000 to $26,000, depending on the age and grade (so having 4 children in school can cost easily over $75,000, or more than $100,000 of pre-tax income). Property taxes in NJ are very high and can be as much as $20,000 for an average house. People live in these NJ communities because many people commute to Manhattan to work and living any closer to Manhattan (say, Riverdale, for example) would be more expensive.

For many reasons, I would love to be in Israel rather than here. And I am trying to educate myself about what the move would entail. And I don't think I fully understand the financial angle, maybe because here our entire focus of our income is to try our best to cover the cost of tuition.

So any information anyone has will be very, very welcome. Also, which communities in Israel are semi-similar to this community here? Elazar? Neve Daniel? Modiin? Chasmonaim? Alon Shvut? Kfar Saba? I have no idea. You tell me.
Back to top

shabbatiscoming




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 12:45 pm
Racheli wrote:
In the Teaneck area (where I live), houses range in cost from approximately $450,000 (very small, very old, usually need a lot of work) to well over a million dollars. So I think a pretty normal house (fine but nothing exciting) now would cost between $550,000 and $750,000, depending on location. Tuition at local day schools and high schools varies from about $10,000 to $26,000, depending on the age and grade (so having 4 children in school can cost easily over $75,000, or more than $100,000 of pre-tax income). Property taxes in NJ are very high and can be as much as $20,000 for an average house. People live in these NJ communities because many people commute to Manhattan to work and living any closer to Manhattan (say, Riverdale, for example) would be more expensive.

For many reasons, I would love to be in Israel rather than here. And I am trying to educate myself about what the move would entail. And I don't think I fully understand the financial angle, maybe because here our entire focus of our income is to try our best to cover the cost of tuition.

So any information anyone has will be very, very welcome. Also, which communities in Israel are semi-similar to this community here? Elazar? Neve Daniel? Modiin? Chasmonaim? Alon Shvut? Kfar Saba? I have no idea. You tell me.
Most of the communities that you mentioned are VERY expensive to buy in and/or dont have anything to buy or even rent right now. I live in one of those yishuvim. Rentals are hard (not impossible, but very hard) to come by and buying a house, well, some of those yishuvim have nothing to buy and others have but very expensive.
I know nothing about kfar saba except that there are mostly apartments.

And ETA: I know someone in teaneck who just sold an old house, but nothing needs to be done to it at all, for under $400,000, so there are some houses that are lower.
Back to top

Marion




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 1:05 pm
Ma'ale Adumim.
Back to top

chanchy123




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 2:11 pm
Check out Efrat.
I'm pretty sure they do have stuff on sale and if you're going to be selling a home for 2 million NIS, you should be able to buy something nice there for less (nice as in Israeli standard).
You have this 5 bdr apartment
http://www.yad2.co.il/Nadlan/s.....eID=1 for roughly 470K USD

or this:
http://www.yad2.co.il/Nadlan/s.....eID=1
Back to top

heidi




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 2:33 pm
All the dati leumi high schools my kids are in cost money. I have paid between 5-15,000 shekel a year. Girls schools generally cost less than boys schools. I am making less than half of my salary in America for the hours I am working. Basics like garbage bags, noodles and yogurts cost significantly more in Israel. luxury items like dry cereal, meat and frozen convenience foods are much more expensive than the same items in America. Clothes from Israeli stores are expensive ****.Buying in American stores in Israel could put you in the poor house. I am familiar with several of the neighborhoods you mentioned. Most are very expensive (think $850,000 for a 350 square meter attached house) and in most of those places a car would seem to be a necessity.
Back to top

RachelEve14




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 2:34 pm
If you want to be in EY, you should think seriously about coming (before your kids are too old), and you can make it work. If you now live in a house worth about 2 million NIS, all of the communities listed are open to you. I agree that Ma'ale Adumim is a good choice, especially if you are willing to live in an apartment or "cottage" type house.

What do you do, how old are you kids, and is your husband onboard?
Back to top

Liba




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 2:39 pm
heidi wrote:
Clothes from Israeli stores are expensive


That is interesting to hear. I always marvel at how inexpensive good children's clothing is here. I gave each of my girls at 300nis budget for clothing for yom tov and they each ended up with at least two nice outfits, one of my teenagers bought herself a spring coat and two outfits (adult sizes), my 10 year old got herself two outfits and five shells (at 10nis each). I just bought my son his whole spring and summer wardrobe at Leader for under 300nis, short sleeve and light weight long sleeve shirts, five each and five pairs of pants and none of it was even on sale.

Clothing for my kids costs me so much less here than it did in the US, and the collars on the polo shirts lay flat, unlike the Gap and Children's Place ones from the states that have to be ironed flat everything time they come out of the drier.
Back to top

etky




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 2:41 pm
chanchy123 wrote:
Check out Efrat.
I'm pretty sure they do have stuff on sale and if you're going to be selling a home for 2 million NIS, you should be able to buy something nice there for less (nice as in Israeli standard).
You have this 5 bdr apartment
http://www.yad2.co.il/Nadlan/s.....eID=1 for roughly 470K USD

or this:
http://www.yad2.co.il/Nadlan/s.....eID=1


There are many new and more veteran olim from Teaneck in Efrat.
Back to top

heidi




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 2:54 pm
Liba, have you washed anything yet? Let me know how that goes for you
Back to top

Sanguine




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 3:20 pm
Racheli wrote:
They tell me that certain things in Israel are very much more expensive than in America and so you don't end up saving money by living in Israel. Is that your experience?


Not sure what you're asking? Do you want to make aliya? For what reasons? To save money? I know people who "took the plunge" because Yeshiva in the States got too expensive and it actually worked out OK. But that was people who always wanted to come on aliya but just kept pushing it off. They knew why they were coming and the cost of tuition just gave them the push to finally do it. Maybe you just worded it wrong. People usually say we want to come and want to make sure we can make it. Not can we save money. Take the bus instead of the car to work to save money. Give up your cleaning lady. Buy generic brand drugs. That's how you save money. If you want to make aliya, you have to really want to live here and expect sacrifices.

If you really want to make aliya, it's OK to ask about costs but also realize that things here are very different. Tell us more about yourselves. How old are your kids? What do you and DH do? Have you looked at all into employment? People earn less here and things cost more. We don't "save money" living here but if you have reasonable jobs, people do OK. It's a different standard of living. Even large houses are smaller than in the States. Apartments are smaller. People spend less. No one goes to sleepaway camp for a month. People don't fly for family vacations. Many things are cheaper but that's cause it's poorer quality but that's what everyone has. If you move to a very American neighborhood like like Chashmonaim, Efrat... A lot of the men keep working in the States and that makes it harder to "keep up". You have to sacrifice a lot of things from the States but it's so worth it. Life is so much richer here. Kids spend a lot of time outdoors. School trips are tiyulim in Eretz Yisrael. School is very different here. A lot more laid back (till the end of HS).

So if you really really want to come on aliya, let us help you see if you'll make it. How much can you and DH earn? How many kids do you have? Do you need a house or an apartment?...
Back to top

Liba




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 3:40 pm
heidi wrote:
Liba, have you washed anything yet? Let me know how that goes for you


Yes, washed it all. This is the third year of buying him Leader clothing and the stuff from two years ago is on its third year of use, third boy, and going strong.

They wash MUCH better and wear MUCH better than the stuff I used to buy from the Gap.
Back to top

Tamiri




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 3:45 pm
Racheli: (1) How much equity do you have in your house? If it's $100k, well... you won't be buying anything here in the near future. If it's $400k, you have a fighting chance. (2) Israel and America CANNOT be compared. You cannot figure on is cheaper than the other. It's 2 different financial ballgames. If you want to find out how many SHEKELS you will need to survive month by month here, we can tell you. But it's not a good idea to think what it's like in the U.S. vs. here. Start your financial thinking anew (3) Good luck. If you believe it's doable, then it's a good idea to set the gears in motion sooner rather than later.
Back to top

Racheli




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 9:40 pm
Tamiri, your email was so smart and so on target.

I guess not having a frame of reference in shekels, I look to dollars. In general, and not to bore everyone with a long saga, I have wanted to make aliya for years. I should have done it before I got married or pushed my husband to do it right away. My husband is generally change averse, and this is a big change. I have several very close friends who have made aliya over the past 15 years, to three different communities. Like everywhere, they have things they are happy about and things they are unhappy about. But overall, they are so glad they are there and not here. I have always longed to join them. My husband could probably do his job remotely from Israel or do something very similar there. I might be able to do my job remotely, or semi-remotely (some travel). Our children are old to make aliya, 2 of them teenagers, but their Hebrew is fantastic, which I know would make those first few months much more comfortable. I feel like I am at a stage in life when I don't want to just give up and not do it. So I decided to really research the issues involved, not to persuade myself (because I've wanted this for so long) but so that I can understand what I'm asking of my family and how I hope/plan to address those issues. I don't know if this makes sense.

As far as the communities go, I only mentioned the ones I mentioned because those are the communities I know. Beyond thinking that it would make sense comfort-wise to move to a place which has some native English speakers, I don't have a bias towards any area in particular. We are modern Orthodox, we have friends both more to the right and to the left of us.

We don't live a lavish lifestyle here. My husband and I both work full-time, we pay tuition, and that's pretty much all we do. We enjoy the outdoors. I love to read. My children all have Israeli names :) and have Israeli friends here in NJ.

I brought my younger son (now 13) to Israel last year for the bar mitzvah of a friend's son (flew on miles, stayed with friends) and my son went to the Israeli school for a day and thought it was "exactly the same as _______ (where he goes to school here)" (which is hilarious because they are not so similar, but I think that speaks to his comfort level there) and he loved how he could walk around with friends without as much supervision as is necessary here.

We do have some equity in our home. In Israel, a down payment is usually a big chunk of the purchase price, right? We could maybe put down close to $200,000 (that's 800,000 shkalim, more or less, I think) if we used whatever we would get for our house.

So that's the situation. I would love to hear all of your thoughts/advice/anything.
Back to top
Page 1 of 2 1  2  Next Recent Topics




Post new topic   Reply to topic    Forum -> Inquiries & Offers -> Israel related Inquiries & Aliyah Questions

Related Topics Replies Last Post
Help me figure out tablecloth solution!
by amother
9 Thu, Mar 21 2024, 2:05 pm View last post
Help me figure out what’s going on
by amother
1 Fri, Mar 15 2024, 12:54 pm View last post
Please help me figure out my “groupme” problem
by Dolly1
8 Sun, Mar 03 2024, 10:48 am View last post
Trying to figure out the name of a book
by amother
2 Sun, Feb 25 2024, 1:51 am View last post
Help Me Figure out a Career
by amother
29 Fri, Feb 23 2024, 3:20 am View last post