A bunch of questions

ora_43

Mon, Aug 12 2019, 12:35 pm

For the OP, I think people are talking about RBS vs Jerusalem because those are the two places with communities that could be called "yeshivish."

amother

Mon, Aug 12 2019, 12:51 pm

Ignorant question, maybe, but what's the difference between Beit Shemesh, RBS, and all the RBS+letters (aleph, bet, gimmel...)? How many are there? What divides them? How big are those communities and what are they like, meaning, what is the feel of the place? I want to be somewhere warm and welcoming and spiritual, but not the spiritual flavor of Tzfat for example (no offense to Tzfat or anyone who loves it there, it's just not what I'm specifically attracted to in a place to live 24/7). The Old City is still a dream, and I would love to retire there or have a second apartment there (if I could dream REALLY BIG!!!), but the idea of grocery shopping is actually the first thing that makes me think it would be a logistical headache. My kids are very young now, but probably won't be that young by the time we ever figure out how to do this, unless Moshiach comes ASAP (please Gd).

amother

Mon, Aug 12 2019, 12:52 pm

What about Meah Shearim? I'm pretty sure we wouldn't belong there, but I visited once when I was in seminary, and I was very taken with it. What is it like to live there?

ora_43

Mon, Aug 12 2019, 2:51 pm

RBS aleph is the more American/yeshivish area. RBS bet is VERY extreme, you don't want to live there if you're yeshivish.

Ditto Mea Shearim. Go visit, don't stay.

ora_43

Mon, Aug 12 2019, 2:52 pm

No judgment, OP, but are you thinking of places to actually live someday? or just wondering what different communities that you've heard of are like in real life?

Iymnok

Mon, Aug 12 2019, 2:56 pm

In general Jerusalem is too expensive. We bought in Givat Ze’ev due to the community and proximity to J-lem. It is yeshivish but like everywhere you must know some Hebrew. There are no new oleh things here. Most Americans moved from Arzei habitat, Maalot Dafne and Ramat Eshkol areas. That is after living in Israel for five or so years. There are some young couples, though.

amother

Mon, Aug 12 2019, 3:46 pm

ora_43 wrote:

No judgment, OP, but are you thinking of places to actually live someday? or just wondering what different communities that you've heard of are like in real life?

A little bit of both. I’ve dreamed of Aliyah for a long time, but it’s not practical in the foreseeable future. I’m storing up ideas for hopefully someday when I can really go. The couple of communities I asked about that don’t really make sense for me to move but that I’m fascinated by, probably aren’t places I’d actually try to move to, but they have a special place in my heart even from just visiting once or twice.

naturalmom5

Tue, Aug 13 2019, 12:58 am

amother [ Red ] wrote:

Better to vacation in Tzefat than to live there. The Anglo population is small, municipal services are poor, and the job market is scarce.

I understand the spiritual high of Tzfat or the Old City. But living in Israel is not some kind of spiritual Disney World. The beauty and the challenge of living here is that on my commute to work, I pass places mentioned in Tanach. But I still have to deal with being in traffic with the descendants of Avraham Avinu. We pay mortgages, take kids to the dentist, and live ordinary lives. We have the extraordinary privilege to do these things in the land that Hashem promised us. We live the prophecies of the ingathering of the exiles and the rebirth of the land. We live real lives
We're not wide-eyed seminary girls.

Way to burst someone's bubble
Confused

naturalmom5

Tue, Aug 13 2019, 1:01 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

What about Meah Shearim? I'm pretty sure we wouldn't belong there, but I visited once when I was in seminary, and I was very taken with it. What is it like to live there?

amother

Lavender

Tue, Aug 13 2019, 1:23 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

What about Meah Shearim? I'm pretty sure we wouldn't belong there, but I visited once when I was in seminary, and I was very taken with it. What is it like to live there?

Well, you'll probably be one of the only residents with an internet connection... Laugh

amother

Scarlet

Tue, Aug 13 2019, 8:19 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Bet Shemesh is a city. There's a bunch of neighborhoods.
There's many in old Bet Shemesh that are chiloni, modern orthodox and ethiopian.
There's a few neighborhood that are chassidish/super frum yeshivish (Kiryah Chareidit, Cheftzibah, Ramat Bet)

Physically speaking after you pass all that there is Aleph, then Gimmel. (They built Aleph a bit farther from from old bet shemesh then built Bet in between Aleph and the rest)

Aleph and Gimmel are a large mix of all the above, but its mostly dati leumi, yeshivish, chareidi with some chassidish people too.

amother

Red

Tue, Aug 13 2019, 8:47 am

naturalmom5 wrote:

Way to burst someone's bubble
Confused

If the bubble sets you up for disillusionment, then why not?

amother

Lavender

Tue, Aug 13 2019, 8:50 am

amother [ Red ] wrote:

If the bubble sets you up for disillusionment, then why not?

This. I think anyone who sets realistic expectations for aliyah is actually doing them a big favor in the long run.