Need a community! for sefardi OOT ish type couple! :)

dal613

Tue, May 26 2015, 12:55 am

Hi! I've read through the blogs and you ladies are amazing! Maybe you can help me too!

My husband and I are dreaming of making aliya; we of course need to find the right community. my husband is an assistant rebbi in the mornining and is in kolell for the rest of the day and night. I am a nurse and would go through the nursing israeli transfer process, and most likely try to find additional work with an american company bez H. We have 1x toddler so far. we are both american born, but our fathers are israeli and we both speak hebrew pretty well and get along with the "tough" israeli type people. we both have a lot of family in different parts of israel but we are not close with them and they are not really observant.

-We would like to be near yerushalayim but its not a must.
-Not near arab villages or dangerous areas with high crime/break-ins
-Sefardi kehilla/community that is kind of yeshivish in the american term
-we are also looking for a sefardi kolell if you happen to know/recommend one!
- I'd love to live somewhere that has greenery and is clean not like all buildings and congested and maybe not so clean streets
-we are looking to integrate but at the same time not be amongst 100% israelis, but a healthy mix.
-on the sefardic note, my husband would really love to be near a shul that takes their chazanut very seroiusly- he is training to be a chain/makamist
-hashkaficly its a little confusing because of the israeli strictness, but I am not sure where we would fit in; my husb is in kolell/klei kodesh lifestyle, we don't have a tv (although I would watch shows here and there on my laptop if I had any time at all which I don't), I work with a lot of non jewish people (hospital) and I come from a secular family so I pretty much get along with everyone and I'm out of the box/non- judgmental; (not that I would invite them over for dinner but I'm not overly sheltered ) I usually wear mostly mitpachot, unless for some professional atmosphere/ interview type thing, I have an I phone and use the internet hehe clearly (my husb is not the type to have an iPhone) I like to go to the gym, I would like my children to go to ballet/gymnastics/ sports /piano whatever extracurricular) so although we really value torah lifestyle we don't want to live in the type of community you have to be in the charedi box or else you are shunned or you are considered less from or yirei shamayim

-I would like to live in a community that is shomrei torah and mitzvot, on some level, aka no cars on shabbat and people walking around sleeveless, but I'm ok with different levels of observance (aka mix of modern/ mizrachi/charedi whatever)

-where I live now is a strong sense of community, aka people helping each other, sharing freezers in times of need, meals for sick and kimpeturin, sheva brachot for each other, and of course you can borrow sugar and eggs from anyone type. I would like to have a sense of community

-we are a kola couple so hopefully not too expensive. I haven't figured out my budget; so I can't tell you how much I would be able to afford bc I have no idea, but not towards the lavish side. if you could include estimated rent for 2-3 bedroom apt, that would be great!

I know I won't be able to find everything; but I would love to hear some suggestions to at least have a place to start researching!

Thank you so so so so so much!

Iymnok

Tue, May 26 2015, 12:59 am

Pm me for info on Givat Zeev, Agan Ha'ayalot!

LisaS

Tue, May 26 2015, 3:09 am

Other than the chazanut (which I don't know anything about), Mevo Horon has the things you mentioned: - -

Downsides of Mevo Horon:
limited public transportation. you really need a car
only cheap rentals are caravans

Come visit!

dal613

Tue, May 26 2015, 6:50 pm

Lymnok pmd you! Lisas thanks so much for the info! I am def going to look more into these. Is mevo horon also called binyamin? It seems expensive according to nbn, is it?

dal613

Tue, May 26 2015, 6:51 pm

Also what is a caravan lol excuse my ignorance

LisaS

Tue, May 26 2015, 11:09 pm

Mevo Horon is in the Binyamin regional council. It is in the portion of the tribe of Binyamin.

All of Israel is expensive, especially the center of the country. Mevo Horon is no exception. It is a bit cheaper than RBS.

A caravan is a trailer. It is cheaper than renting a proper apartment, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you are comfortable with spartan living and very motivated to save money. There is also a waiting list to get caravans since they are cheaper than renting an apartment.

Mrs Bissli

Wed, May 27 2015, 1:58 pm

My initial thought--OOT and Sephardi bit--was actually Netivot esp if OP doesn't need typical Anglo infrastructure. Quite affordable and very strong Sephardi kehilla (I think more Moroccan though). I think transportation is now better with extended trains. Having said that, I somehow doubt kollel people there are into sending children to ballets, gym etc. Har Nof has good size Sephardi kehilla though expensive. To be honest, most cities in Israel tend to have Sephardi kehilla.

OP, when you say Sephardi/eidot mizrach, are you looking for something specific? Because Moroccan hazzanut is different from Iraqi which is different from Syrian.

lech lecha08

Thu, May 28 2015, 11:27 am

Iymnok wrote:

Pm me for info on Givat Zeev, Agan Ha'ayalot!

I also live in GZ and think that would break her "not near Arab villages" rule.

Iymnok

Thu, May 28 2015, 11:50 am

lech lecha08 wrote:

I also live in GZ and think that would break her "not near Arab villages" rule.

I forgot about them embarrassed

I see them on the map, but not out the windows. Either way I feel safer here than Jerusalem. They have free range there.

Happydance

Thu, May 28 2015, 12:02 pm

though truthfully, its not realistic to find everything on that list, so as long as GZ has a safe feel and isnt in an area where there are common incidences of crime from arabs, it may be worthwhile to look into

amother

Brunette

Thu, Apr 26 2018, 1:11 am

I realise this is an old thread but...op I could have written practically word for word what u posted.
Where did u end up?!