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Forum -> Inquiries & Offers -> Israel related Inquiries & Aliyah Questions
Making Aliyah: What to bring and what to buy there?
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starrygirl




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Apr 28 2017, 11:56 am
Hi! I'm hopefully making Aliyah in the summer and my big question is what to bring and what to buy there?
Is it worth it for me to bring all my dishes and kids toys or just buy everything there.
I'm not bringing any furniture. But do I bring our mattresses?
Any advice on the matter would be great!! TIA!
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starrygirl




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Apr 28 2017, 12:04 pm
Hi!
I'm making Aliyah in the summer IY"H and I wanted to know what I should bring and what I should buy there.
We're not planning on bringing our furniture but what about mattresses? Or my pots, pans, and dishes?or my kids toys? Is it worth it to get a lift just for those thing or just sell/ give away everything and start fresh?
Any advice in the matter would be greatly appreciated! TIA!!
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amother
Seashell


 

Post Fri, Apr 28 2017, 1:50 pm
If you are taking a lift. I would take the toys because the Israelis buy toys from the USA. Mattresses I would buy new because they have different frame and apartment sizes there. If you have any other questions feel free to ask me.
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amother
Pink


 

Post Fri, Apr 28 2017, 2:32 pm
If you are doing a lift then take matresses and frames. Everyone complains about the beds. My parents took along the beds and are happy they did.
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amother
Seashell


 

Post Fri, Apr 28 2017, 2:41 pm
amother wrote:
If you are doing a lift then take matresses and frames. Everyone complains about the beds. My parents took along the beds and are happy they did.

Agree with pink because the beds are smaller
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starrygirl




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Apr 28 2017, 2:56 pm
Thank you all, what about pots and pans?
I'm pretty torn bc it may not be worth it for us to bring a lift.
Ex: the cost of the lift is more than the stuff in it. Is it more worth it to buy there..
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amother
Hotpink


 

Post Sat, Apr 29 2017, 10:45 am
If you only have a few things, see about sending a couple of boxes in someone else's lift.

Can you wait to get your pots? If not, just buy them here.

We brought beds because we were bringing a houseful of furniture. You do need to know that the standard Israeli twin mattress is narrower than an American one, so if you bring beds, bring extra sheets.

You have three years from aliyah to send a lift, so you can take your time. This helps if you are renting at first. If you buy in two years, then you might want to send appliances and furniture.
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essie14




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Apr 29 2017, 10:56 am
You can buy fabulous beds and mattresses here. It's not like 30 years ago when you couldn't get good beds in Israel. If you have good quality pots and pans I would bring them because it will be expensive here.
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FranticFrummie




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Apr 29 2017, 11:45 am
It depends on the quality of the things you have. In Israel, cheap things are cheap, but you get what you pay for. Quality things cost 10x what they cost in the US.

Solid wood furniture, high end cookware, toys that can be passed down to other kids and grandkids, that kind of stuff will cost a fortune here. If you have any comfort items or family heirlooms, you'll want to bring them, too.

On the other hand, if you are not the sentimental type, and want a fresh start, then there is something liberating about arriving with just your suitcases.

I find American mattresses to be much more comfortable. If you like really firm mattresses, you'll be happy with Israeli ones. Keep in mind that Israeli mattresses, frames, and sheets are different sizes than American! If you bring an American mattress, you'll have to bring the frame and extra sheets too, because you can't buy them here.

If you are a foodie, bring your favorite spices or spice blends. You can get tons of fresh Middle East spices here, but no so much with things like green curry or tikka masala.

I know people who have done it both ways, either with a huge lift, or with practically nothing. Both ways have their pros and cons. You just have to look at your own personality, and what will work best for you.

Your best bet, is to ask your Israeli realtor to keep an eye out for furniture for you. They will know when people are moving and getting rid of stuff for free or cheap, and you can get great stuff that way.
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amother
Denim


 

Post Sat, Apr 29 2017, 11:48 am
In terms of working out whether the cost of the lift is worth it, don't just think about whether it costs more than what yo uare putting in it, but whether it wil lcost more than the cost of replacing all the items you didn't put in it. Many things cost twice as much in Israel as I nthe USA.

I would recommend not bringing beds - the frames here are a little smaller. We have American size beds, but an Israeli size room and we can barely walk around or even open our closet. Those extra few inches make a big difference. We actually had to get rid of the beds and buy new ones. .. .

I would definitely bring the toys. Toys in Israel are crazy expensive and not good quality. Plus, they may be sentimental to your kids, which is also valuable when they are moving away from everything else they know.

If you have good pots and pans, bring them. Also, towels in the USA are generally better quality (and bigger). Sheets and blankets too if they are good. (and your american sheets will fit the beds here, they'll just be a drop big). You can get good quality stuff in Israel of all of these, but it's very expensive.

And definitely bring clothes with you, even clothes that your older kids have outgrown and your younger kids might wear. Kids and baby clothing is very expensive in Israel and also not great quality.

Get appliances in Israel. They fit into the allotted space better, have the right electricity, and generally work very well and are reasonably priced.

As for other furniture, that's up to you. There's plenty of furniture here, but if you have stuff you really like ,you could bring it. We ended up buying mostly Ikea stuff in Israel anyway (couch, bookcases, table & chairs, desk etc.). Good quality bookcases (even just to hold lots of books or sefarim) are not always easy to find here (the ikea ones are good), so if you have, you could bring.
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miriamg




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Apr 29 2017, 11:57 am
If you can figure out a way to get it here, I would suggest bringing dishes, cutlery, pots and pans, kids toys, linens, towels, also baby gear (if you may need it again).

In terms of beds, standard sizes here are 80 or 90 cm, whereas standard American twin beds are 1m. There are also standard 120cm (equivalent to 48") beds but most master bedrooms can't fit two of those. Personally, if I had the room, I would bring the master beds (but if you just bring mattresses, you are unlikely to find a bedframe to fit). For kids, unless you know that your home will be larger, I think it's better to go with the standard Israeli narrower beds because bedrooms are smaller and often double as the kids' playroom.

Finally, a friend who made aliyah recently and sent a small lift told me that she regretted not bringing most of their furniture along. They sold everything for peanuts and then had to rebuy similar furniture (table, chairs, bookcases, beds) when they arrived, and it ended up being more expensive, not to mention inconvenient, than just sending what she already had on her lift.

Hatzlacha!
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Shuly




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Apr 29 2017, 12:07 pm
Before deciding about furniture, you have to know the measurements of your house in Israel.

Washing machines and ovens tend to be tiny in Israel, so you may want to bring American ones if the voltage works and if there is room in your new house.

Good quality pots, pans, dishes, silverware and toys are all expensive here, so it may be worth bringing them.
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SJcookie




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Apr 29 2017, 12:20 pm
Firstly, it should be noted that Israel is not a 3rd world country and just about everything is available here (including many American products).
Secondly, I think taking a lift all depends on how many people in your family are making aliyah.

I made aliyah while 7 mos pregnant with my 1st and our lift was free (we shared with someone whose lift was paid by his work. They had extra room and did a great chessed by letting us add a few suitcases). If our lift was not free, there's no way we would have paid for one. All we really had was cheap furniture and electronics, clothing and things for the baby (stroller, carseat, bed, clothes, etc.), clothes/sheets, and sefarim. But since we had a lift, I bought brand new items we would need - dishes, kitchen accessories, etc. and of course the sefarim (those took up a lot of room) and baby iems. But we bought all our furniture/electronics here. It's good quality and BH has all stayed in great condition for almost 4 years.

That being said, I would recommend a lift only if you have more than 2 kids. In which case, bring your furniture, dishes, sheets, clothing, toys, family albums, etc. (electronics like washer, dryer, oven, fridge, toaster, etc. are probably not worth bringing. Buy the Israeli ones and you'll also have more energy efficient electronics and have warranties on them). and buy comfort items that you do not think you can do without for the first year (for ex, a lot of americans like high quality thick foil or ziploc bags. I really could care less about those things, but this is all subjective -- everyone has materialistic things they feel connected to and it might take a while to get used to life without them. Not to say you won't have them here, but high quality products do tend to cost more than they do in the US. Also, it depends where you are moving to. If you are moving to Jerusalem or Beit Shemesh, you'll find tons of products from the US. If you're moving up north or to southern Israel, it will be more challenging to find these products).
If your hebrew is good, check zap.co.il. It's the Israeli equivalent to amazon (well, not really, but they show you price comparisons of items you're looking for on various Israeli websites, and they deliver these items to your home). It will give you a rough estimate of the price of things and whether it is worth bringing these things on the lift or if it's better to just sell them and buy them in Israel.

Bhatzlacha with your Aliyah. May you have a yishuv tov with much bracha Smile
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Shuly




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Apr 29 2017, 1:14 pm
For the life of me, I can't figure out which part of my previous post was hug-worthy.
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enter




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Apr 29 2017, 3:31 pm
Obviously this is different for every person. So the following is just my opinion Wink)) My very general opinion, is to bring every single thing that you can with you. Whilst you can buy some things here in Israel, it's, as someone mentioned, x10 the price. I love living in Israel, but this is one thing I do miss. Alot! I second the American size washing and drying machine - if you care for a big one. Electronics, appliances and cosmetics are literally x4 the price. Stock up on cosmetics. Come with a full wardrobe (including bras) for the next season, if possible, shopping here is limited (and more expensive). You can buy regular pots and pans here, but if you have particularly good quality, bring it over. It's hard to find the correct size linen for your mattresses - as someone pointed out. Basically, if you can afford a lift, I think it's totally worth it because you find better quality, better prices and more availability in the USA. That's just how I feel, based on my experience of living in Israel, obviously everyone's different.
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starrygirl




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Apr 29 2017, 6:06 pm
I really have nothing worth bringing besides maybe my shabbos dishes and pesach dishes and some kids toys..
Everything else we got for cheap (or free) and is ready for the garbage heap.
Also I have a queen size bed and twin size (for master bedroom) and since we plan on renting I can't imagine that being able to fit.
Thank you all!!
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starrygirl




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Apr 29 2017, 6:11 pm
Thank you all for the insight! I probably will not be bringing a lot because a lot of my stuff is very old and on it's last leg...
Maybe I'll see if someone has space on their lift for my dishes and kids toys and pay for the space..
Thank you all for your help!
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pause




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Apr 29 2017, 7:03 pm
I reported the post so that the two threads should be merged.

[Done, thanks for reporting! -merelyme, as mod]
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amother
Cobalt


 

Post Sat, Apr 29 2017, 8:41 pm
Shuly wrote:
For the life of me, I can't figure out which part of my previous post was hug-worthy.


Oops, that was me. I must have touched the like button as I scrolled down. I fixed it. embarrassed
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amother
Saddlebrown


 

Post Sat, Apr 29 2017, 9:54 pm
We moved in the opposite direction with just our suitcases, and let me say - furnishing a house from scratch is expensive, even in the US. A lift will cost you a few thousand dollars I understand. You can calculate what the cost of replacing the stuff will be. But just getting furniture - beds, couches and living room furniture, dining room table and chairs, can reach the cost of a lift. You can spend a few minutes checking out prices on zap and get a ballpark estimate.

Also you're not really going to get all that much money from selling your stuff. Selling one thing one facebook when you have the time is nice, but managing the sale of all the contents of your house while still attempting to live there is a huge headache, and anything that's left at the end (which is probably a lot) you'll end up giving away just to get it out of the house. And the stuff you do sell, you won't get all that much for it. Most people don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on second hand stuff.

Bottom line - I would take anything I could that isn't literally falling apart, because shipping is cheaper than buying, even if your stuff isn't super high quality.

This is all based on my experience so YMMV obviously.
Good luck!
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