Ramat Beit Shemesh and Yerushalayim

amother

Blush

Wed, Aug 26 2020, 10:50 pm

We were looking in to moving to Israel at some point in the future too- I had a quick question about privacy. Are there any villas or houses available at all in any of these neighborhoods like RBS aleph, gimmel etc..
How is there any privacy in the appts? Many people in the US are moving from private homes with backyards. Is this at all available in the Frum neighborhoods in Israel?

amother

Saddlebrown

Wed, Aug 26 2020, 10:53 pm

amother [ Blush ] wrote:

RBS has (expensive) private homes with backyards and even some with pools. Definitely exists.
You can also buy land and build your own home with yard. It's called bnei beitcha.
Private villas in RBS A start at about 5 million shekel (about $1.47 million). Gimmel possibly a little lower.

I live in a du-mishpachti (semi detached in English) cottage in RBS. We have what is considered a nice size yard for RBS but it's not exactly private. Our home would sell for over 3 million shekel now. Definitely more private than an apartment but we do have 1 home attached to us on one side, and on the other side there is a wall between the 2 gardens but if our window shades are up we can see straight into each others homes.

Success10

Wed, Aug 26 2020, 10:55 pm

amother [ Blush ] wrote:

There are very nice private homes in RBS A and Gimmel. I think they run around $1 million, maybe more, maybe less. But in that range.

Apartment life does lack privacy, and it's an adjustment. If you scream at your kids, your neighbors might know about it. If your toddler darts into the hallway without underwear, your neighbors might see. If you hang your bras out to dry on your porch, your neighbors might see. I'm used to it, but I get that it's not for everyone.

kalsee

Wed, Aug 26 2020, 11:03 pm

I don't know anything about special ed options.

RBS A , or the newer surrounding small neighborhoods (mishkafayim, m3) sound like a good fit socially.
There are also more school options , that might be a better fit than the regular charedi Israeli schools (Bnos Malka, Magen Avot, Darcei Noam), but that brings up the question of how you'd like to "define" your family in Israel. For that , I think it's best to talk to a friend or mentor or Rav IRL

RBS G1 - depends on the street, but there are good options for you there too. Less school options, but it's only a few minutes away from Aleph.

You can get a picture of prices

https://jsrealtyisrael.com/
https://ramatbeitshemesh.com/
http://www.sweisrealty.com/
https://www.instagram.com/lipsh.yossi/?hl=en

twizzlers1

Thu, Aug 27 2020, 1:21 am

I live in a duplex in RBS. We bought a number of years ago and prices have gone up a crazy amount since then. I have lots of neighbors around and buildings that are part of our project. Definitely not lonely! I actually know more of my neighbors here than when I lived in a building. that could be because almost all of my neighbors are anglos. there are special ed options here but don't know exactly what. you have to have a lot of paperwork and evaluations and do it way in advance if you need those kinds of schools and classes. I have had kids in the special language preschool which is amazing.

amother

Ginger

Thu, Aug 27 2020, 1:39 am

RBS very Anglo, there are American type yeshivish schools but then kids are more American than Israeli. Or you could go to Israeli charadi schools but they are very very charadi with very intense rules.

It's much cheaper than Jerusalem. But Jerusalem have more special Ed options. You can get bussed to a special Ed school.

Another Option to consider is Rechovot, Anglo community but smallish.. Check out chatam website. They have more chilled out charadi school options, there are excellent special Ed services. It's more Israeli so you need more Hebrew than RBS and you won't have all Anglo neighbours but it's a friendly, supportive community. Cheaper than Jerusalem but slightly more expensive than RBS.

Rappel

Thu, Aug 27 2020, 1:43 am

Success10 wrote:

$400K could maybe get you a basic 3 bedroom apartment with a tiny Succah porch. Maybe.

Kiwi, welcome!!!!!!!!!

$400,000 would get you a house and garden in the Shomron/Binyamin region. The question out here is services.

In Ofra, there is a top-notch center for special needs. Really pioneering for Israel. They have everything you need, and are working on a pilot program to create a special needs network in every community in Binyamin, although it's not off the ground yet.

https://www.levbinyamin.org.il.....ces_1

I know there is also a center in either Shavei Shomron, or Karnei Shomron, but I don't know anything more about that one.

tree of life

Thu, Aug 27 2020, 3:27 am

amother [ Blush ] wrote:

GramaNewYork

Thu, Aug 27 2020, 4:59 am

I know many families of all ages and sizes here in Alef who are happy without a car. (We have one, but if we had come to RBS first, we might not have one. We used to live in an out-of-the-way place and felt isolated after a while. Not so here in RBS Alef). My nephew is younger and has a growing family and whenever he feels the need, he rents a car which is not very expensive here and you don't pay for Shabbos while you're not using it. Also, it's handy to know there is a fixed price for taxis within the Rama. When I came here it was 15 sheq but I don't know now. People often get around by bus, but if they do a big shopping, they may hire a taxi to go home with all their groceries. Even though I have a car, there are some places that are even more convenient to get to by bus like Jerusalem city center and Shaarei Tzedek hospital (the Light Rail from the bus station gets you within a block).

GramaNewYork

Thu, Aug 27 2020, 5:12 am

amother [ Blush ] wrote:

If you don't have unlimited funds for a private home (I haven't seen any private--really private--places in RBS), there are still some ways to get a bit of privacy for yourself. We have a nice wall between our mirpesset and the neighbor. In the building on the other side, down below, there is a family with a pool and they are always outside cooking out and enjoying the family. Even though we are above and to the side, they have rigged things up so nobody can see into their pool or yard area. That being said, it feels like we HEAR everything they do. Every dive into the water, every shout of the mother teaching kids how to swim, the music from their speakers, the barking of their kid's dog when he visits and leaves him out all night, etc. I guess the water and location echo all the sounds. You will have a list of all things that are important to you and most likely the ones not at the top of the list may not get met. Hopefully, those are the things you will "adjust" to or "put up" with without going crazy. Personally, I would not recommend buying a place at first but rather renting and give yourselves a year or two to get the feel of things. What I wrote may sound harsh, but really most things work themselves out after a while. I know you are ready for a challenge at first. I have never spoken to anyone in RBS Alef who didn't like it here. I DO know a few people who lived or live in BET that are not happy or were not happy there. I, personally, am fine with going to BET occasionally for shopping, but I would not recommend a mainstream yeshivish family considering that area.

Kiwi13

Thu, Aug 27 2020, 7:15 pm

I've been offline most of the day and just got through all the replies since I last came on. Thank you everyone who responded! I really like the idea of RBS A or Gimmel, but I'm worried about services. I'm guessing Jerusalem is crazy expensive no matter which area we'd look at? I would be happy in a smaller area or bigger area. I don't want to be the lone Anglo though, nor in a place that's extremely different than me religiously. I would be okay in a place more to the right, I don't know how my husband would feel about it. Would we be ACCEPTED there, though? I'm not Chassidish and have basically no experience with anything Chassidish, so I don't have a sense of how different it is from very strict yeshivish communities. I know there are differences and I get the basic gist, I just don't know culturally how it stacks up, like would we be accepted in such a place? I would have a harder time in a predominantly secular environment, I think. Probably my biggest "culture shock" in Israel was Tel Aviv. Smile

Okay, so with Jerusalem, where are some places we can look?