English Speakers in Kochav Yaakov

amother

Thu, Oct 08 2020, 6:52 am

My parents are looking into making aliyah. They are looking for a dati leumi community with a decent amount of English speakers their age (60s). They need good public transportation and access to Jerusalem. And on the cheaper side. We know a bit about Kochav Yaakov, and it seems great. We just don't know if there are enough people their age. Are there a decent amount of English-speaking retirees there, or is everyone really young with young children?

amother

Thu, Oct 08 2020, 7:06 am

shabbatiscoming wrote:

I agree with the above poster. The 60+ community in rbs a is a lovely one. And Im talking about the english speakers one. Many many dati leumi grandparents of families that are also in rbs a.

Oh wow, that does sound perfect for them! I know Kochav Yaakov is not the typical choice for people like them, but they also have a child in Tel Tzion, so if Kochav Yaakov does have some of their "type," it would be more convenient for them.

amother

Lilac

Thu, Oct 08 2020, 2:36 pm

We made aliyah with a few young kids straight to Kochav Yaakov and my mother-in-law also made aliyah to Kochav Yaakov in order to live near us, even though it would not have occurred to her as a first choice. We ended up leaving after a year, and I know several other families in our stage of life who left as well, I think mostly because of schooling and housing issues (housing is not as cheap as you might think, and there aren't a lot of choices). Meanwhile my mother-in-law fell in love with life there.

There is definitely a great, warm, welcoming English-speaking community in Kochav Yaakov, with a solid component of retirees as well as young families, although many events are canceled and a lot of socialising is not happening currently due to corona. In the sense of finding friendly English-speakers we found Kochav Yaakov a great place to land. But I would say it seems to be working out better for the retirees than the families with young kids...

As far as your criteria: We had a car and I would have found it difficult to manage without one, but many families do. Corona caused the buses to be less frequent than they'd normally be, so maybe my perception is skewed, but truthfully, I never really tried. Pre-corona, my mil often took buses to Jerusalem for appointments and such. (One way in which life seems easier there for retirees--not tied to work or school schedules, so more time for time-consuming bus rides and waits.)

Public transport aside, whether or not you would find Jerusalem accessible would depend on what you are comparing it to, I guess. It is not a far drive from Kochav Yaakov to Pisgat Zeev on the northern side of Jerusalem. That's what they mean when they say it is 15 minutes to Jerusalem. But I found that more often than not what I needed in Jerusalem was on the other side of it. It somehow feels more remote than towns a similar distance from Jerusalem in Gush Etzion.

And as I mentioned housing is not that cheap. Cheaper than Jerusalem, but not by as much as we thought it would be.

As far as intermixing between KY and TZ--there is some. And KY is generally an open-minded sort of place with all types living there. We loved that aspect of living there. If your parents have a child living in TZ, KY seems like a very reasonable idea to me.

I would love to answer any more questions you may have!

amother

Fri, Oct 09 2020, 3:36 am

Thank you so much for taking the time to write all that! It's really helpful!!

The thing is my parents know from extended visits that KY would be a convenient place to live. They've done the traveling back and forth between Jerusalem and Tel Tzion enough to know it's doable for them. Also the prices- a private home is becoming more and more of a priority for them as they see and experience issues with neighbors. And that is for sure much more realistic in KY than anywhere in Jerusalem.

So the question is if it will be good for them to live there on a permanent basis. Until now their visits have revolved around children and grandchildren, so staying somewhere with convenient access was their #1 priority. If they live here, they need a separate life as well. Efrat and Maale Adumim are 2 places they're considering. RBS my mom said she wouldn't consider because it's very far. Efrat and Maale Adumim seem to have much more for them in terms of a community and amenities that would be helpful for them. My mom is excited reading about other people her age and events geared for them (in English). But then they'll need to travel to get to anyone. So the question is if KY would be good enough or too isolating for them enough to make the traveling worth it. Any thoughts on that conundrum?

amother

Lilac

Tue, Oct 27 2020, 2:13 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

OP, I'm sorry it took me so long to respond. I've been thinking of you. So in hopes that my thoughts are still helpful: I think there are really two different issues. 1) Is there an English-speaking community of retiree age in KY: YES, absolutely. 2) Is it a city: Definitely not. Maale Adumim for example will have way more in the way of stores, amenities, just stuff available and general feel of a city--like, there are medical clinics and pharmacies in KY/TZ, but they are only open certain hours, certain days. There is a library in KY but it's also open just specific hours every week and it's very much a one-woman operation (she is very sweet though!). It's very hard to hire cleaning help or sometimes other types of workers who will be willing to travel for the job--just some examples of what you might not be able to easily get in KY. So the question is: is it community they need, or general amenities and "feel" of a city?

chanchy123

Tue, Oct 27 2020, 3:11 pm

I don’t know where you and any other siblings live, but maybe Karnei Shomron could be an option for them (Ginot Shomron neighborhood)? There are many many couples in my parents age bracket (my parents are in their mid-60s but their community has lots of couples that range from 50s to early 70s), so a lot of young-ish retirees who speak English. There are private and semi-detached homes for a relatively reasonable price. Great public transportation and lots of local services, medical center, gym, a shopping center, a few places to eat out, a library with a nice English section - and for a better price than Efrat or Beit Shemesh.
Just to clarify, my parents’ community is an English speaking community. They are almost exclusively veteran olim but language-wise very much English speaking.

Last edited by chanchy123 on Tue, Oct 27 2020, 3:15 pm; edited 1 time in total