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I made aliyah with teens AMA
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Reality




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 2:04 pm
In honor of my upcoming first aliyaversary, I thought I'd try to help people considering aliyah or people who are on the fence about moving. Especially people who think they missed the boat because their kids are too old.

Ask away Very Happy
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amother
Leaf


 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 2:19 pm
Wow, kol hakavod! Did you move to RBS, or what community are you in? What prep did your kids do for learning Hebrew, and how did the transition go? Anything you wish you would have known or done differently? A good friend also made aliyah a year ago, but one of her teenage boys wasn't happy and came back to America.
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Reality




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 2:33 pm
amother Leaf wrote:
Wow, kol hakavod! Did you move to RBS, or what community are you in? What prep did your kids do for learning Hebrew, and how did the transition go? Anything you wish you would have known or done differently? A good friend also made aliyah a year ago, but one of her teenage boys wasn't happy and came back to America.


I do live in RBS. I strongly believe that in order to have a successful aliyah with older kids you need to move to a community with many olim that has the services you will need to succeed.

I didn't do too much hebrew prep. During lockdown we did a little bit of ulpan but I'm not sure it helped at all. There is no teacher like immersion!!

My kids are really happy, BH. Transition is hard. Making new friends is hard. But a year later my kids all have busy social lives. Life for kids here is so much better than in NY. There's no comparison. None of them want to live in the US. Visit friends and family, yes. Live? No.

Anything I would have done differently? Definitely not bring gloves and hats! We haven't used them once. I can count on one hand how many times we wore our coats too!
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amother
Clear


 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 2:43 pm
Reality wrote:
I do live in RBS. I strongly believe that in order to have a successful aliyah with older kids you need to move to a community with many olim that has the services you will need to succeed.

I didn't do too much hebrew prep. During lockdown we did a little bit of ulpan but I'm not sure it helped at all. There is no teacher like immersion!!

My kids are really happy, BH. Transition is hard. Making new friends is hard. But a year later my kids all have busy social lives. Life for kids here is so much better than in NY. There's no comparison. None of them want to live in the US. Visit friends and family, yes. Live? No.

Anything I would have done differently? Definitely not bring gloves and hats! We haven't used them once. I can count on one hand how many times we wore our coats too!
Come to the gush. I live in Neve Daniel. Its the highest point in Israel after the hermon. We even get snow. We use hats, scarves, winter coats, gloves, boots. We love the winter here.
And we lived in rbs about 16 years ago. It was boiling, literally beit shemesh, the house of the sun.
Happy aliyanniverasry.
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#BestBubby




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 2:47 pm
Are your kids' friends immigrants or children of immigrants?

Or real sabras?
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Reality




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 2:48 pm
amother Clear wrote:
Come to the gush. I live in Neve Daniel. Its the highest point in Israel after the hermon. We even get snow. We use hats, scarves, winter coats, gloves, boots. We love the winter here.
And we lived in rbs about 16 years ago. It was boiling, literally beit shemesh, the house of the sun.
Happy aliyanniverasry.


I do agree, it is literally beit shemesh!

Maybe one day I'll move out but what's really nice about RBS is that you can fit in even if you are in between chareidi and dating leumi.
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amother
Clear


 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 2:51 pm
Reality wrote:
I do agree, it is literally beit shemesh!

Maybe one day I'll move out but what's really nice about RBS is that you can fit in even if you are in between chareidi and dating leumi.
So thats definitely how it is now. When we were there it was not really like that and many dati leumi families were moving out, but I know over the past 16 years it has changed. Glad you found your spot.
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Reality




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 2:52 pm
#BestBubby wrote:
Are your kids' friends immigrants or children of immigrants?

Or real sabras?


Most of my kids friends are either olim themselves or children of olim. They prefer to speak in English when they are hanging out and they have the most in common. Some have friends that really don't speak English so they speak in hebrew. But their closest friends are English speakers. Not necessarily from the US. My kids are definitely friends with British and South African kids too!
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Reality




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 2:54 pm
amother Clear wrote:
So thats definitely how it is now. When we were there it was not really like that and many dati leumi families were moving out, but I know over the past 16 years it has changed. Glad you found your spot.


Thanks! Some of my kids are in DL schools and some in a more open chareidi school. Both communities are growing!
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amother
Moccasin


 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 2:57 pm
We were told by some rabbanim that moving with teens can sometimes cause teens to become angry and rebellious. They often have a hard time adjusting and might hang out with the wrong crowd. For this reason we are not moving now since our kids are between ages 10-17. I could see it being much easier up to age 7 or 8.
I’m happy this is not your experience.
We were there this summer and met American families who live in givat ze’ev. Their kids are speaking fluent Hebrew with the correct Israeli accent.
They moved when their oldests were toddlers and are teens now. They said rbs and givat ze’ev are good choices for Americans. But in essence we did miss the boat since we wouldn’t risk things now.
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justforfun87




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 3:04 pm
How much money did you take to go there? Are you living off Israeli salaries comfortably?
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amother
Catmint


 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 3:20 pm
No one here touching the financial aspect.
Can someone please elaborate on their financial aspect of Aliya ?
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Kumphort




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 3:22 pm
Was this always a family goal and discussion or was it a “last minute decision “?
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Reality




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 3:33 pm
amother Moccasin wrote:
We were told by some rabbanim that moving with teens can sometimes cause teens to become angry and rebellious. They often have a hard time adjusting and might hang out with the wrong crowd. For this reason we are not moving now since our kids are between ages 10-17. I could see it being much easier up to age 7 or 8.
I’m happy this is not your experience.
We were there this summer and met American families who live in givat ze’ev. Their kids are speaking fluent Hebrew with the correct Israeli accent.
They moved when their oldests were toddlers and are teens now. They said rbs and givat ze’ev are good choices for Americans. But in essence we did miss the boat since we wouldn’t risk things now.


In my opinion, that isn't current advice. You most certainly can have a successful aliyah with kids a lot older than 7 or 8. Past 9th or 10th grade is hard because of the bagrut system but there are work arounds in areas like RBS if someone comes with an 11th or 12th grader.

My children already speak Hebrew with an Israeli accent after one year.
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Reality




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 3:39 pm
justforfun87 wrote:
How much money did you take to go there? Are you living off Israeli salaries comfortably?


We definitely had a cushion for our transition time in the beginning until we 100% sorted out our jobs and life! Also, the Israeli government is definitely very generous and gives sal klita for 6 months. A family with 4 or more kids really gets a nice amount. It covers your rent for the 1st 6 months, possibly more.

We are not living on Israeli salaries. My DH works remotely and I have an Israeli job. I get paid much less than I did in the NY. Our expenses are so much lower, you can't compare.
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amother
Winterberry


 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 3:39 pm
Do you mind sharing about finances.
My husband is Israeli and were living abroad now. Hes nervous to move back to Israel due to finances. We speak hebrew at home our daughter is only learning English now at school.
I dont know if RBS would be the right fit since my dh is israeli, so thanks for mentioning givat zeev. I heard it has more of an Israeli presence
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Reality




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 3:43 pm
amother Catmint wrote:
No one here touching the financial aspect.
Can someone please elaborate on their financial aspect of Aliya ?


I feel like we are doing better financially. Moving to Israel is expensive. Once you are here, if you are happy living smaller (we are), your expenses can be way lower. We haven't bought an apartment yet. That is a major expense. But otherwise our bills are all lower than in the US.
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shabbatiscoming




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 3:46 pm
amother Winterberry wrote:
Do you mind sharing about finances.
My husband is Israeli and were living abroad now. Hes nervous to move back to Israel due to finances. We speak hebrew at home our daughter is only learning English now at school.
I dont know if RBS would be the right fit since my dh is israeli, so thanks for mentioning givat zeev. I heard it has more of an Israeli presence
Contrary to popular belief RBS has a LOOOOT of israelis, not only anglos. You have to find the right area, but there are so so so so many israelis.
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shabbatiscoming




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 3:47 pm
amother Moccasin wrote:
We were told by some rabbanim that moving with teens can sometimes cause teens to become angry and rebellious. They often have a hard time adjusting and might hang out with the wrong crowd. For this reason we are not moving now since our kids are between ages 10-17. I could see it being much easier up to age 7 or 8.
I’m happy this is not your experience.
We were there this summer and met American families who live in givat ze’ev. Their kids are speaking fluent Hebrew with the correct Israeli accent.
They moved when their oldests were toddlers and are teens now. They said rbs and givat ze’ev are good choices for Americans. But in essence we did miss the boat since we wouldn’t risk things now.
Just so you realize there are americans ALL over israel Smile
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Reality




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 07 2022, 3:48 pm
amother Winterberry wrote:
Do you mind sharing about finances.
My husband is Israeli and were living abroad now. Hes nervous to move back to Israel due to finances. We speak hebrew at home our daughter is only learning English now at school.
I dont know if RBS would be the right fit since my dh is israeli, so thanks for mentioning givat zeev. I heard it has more of an Israeli presence


I don't know anything about Givat Zeev. There are plenty of native Hebrew speakers in RBS, especially in the plainer areas where I live.

If you speak Hebrew why are you worried about jobs? I'm limited because of my poor hebrew.
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