How much did it cost you to make aliyah? Lift etc?

amother

Yellow

Tue, Jul 04 2023, 1:29 pm

amother OP wrote:

What is dolphin?
What is the name of the Christian organization?

There are two organizations and we received from both. Both organizations were aware that we applied and received from both. Google their applications, operation exodus and Cyrus foundation. Expect a lot of follow up, we received about $2200.

Dolphin and aliyah lift are the most recommended lift companies I’ve seen for partial lifts.

amother

Holly

Mon, Jul 10 2023, 3:29 am

When we made aliya 14 years ago, so the number we spent is not really relevant. Also you mentioned that you are israeli and have siblings. Are you a Toshav Chozer or a Katin Chozer?
Because if you where not a minor when you left you will owe Bituach Leumi fo all the years you lived out of the country.

We where allowed 3 suitcases per person. We actually brought cardboard boxes filled with the weight limit because we did not have 21 suitcases.

We brought a lift and our furniture which was important as we are a family with kids and we felt it would be even more destabilizing to not bring the furniture the where familiar with, but it was probably a mistake because things did not fit properly, and over the years we replaced ALOT.

It is much cheaper to pay for a few extra suitcases then a lift or a pallet, and then you don't need to deal with the delays in the port that always happen. Think about it - lets say you bring 10 extra suitcases - that's less then $1,000. That would give you a total of 19 suitcases

It is never worth bringing cars - sell and buy new ones

BTW - your income comes out to 14,856.64 nis, which is not an insane amount of money, but very manageable for a couple with a kid if you don't go to a very expensive, big apartment.
I don't know where you are looking to move, but if you go to parts of rbs you can get a nice 2 bedroom for 4,000 nis or less, and that still leaves you 10,000 nis for living, which is not a ton, but should be manageable. I would not add another job for the first couple of months - there are a lot of technical things that will take you a long time in the first few months.

Assume you would need to add money on the new car purchase and you will need to purchase appliances and furniture here, but you can start with a furnished apartment, and move to a non furnished place once your husband builds himself up a bit.

It is almost never worth bringing cars ,and your biggest expense will be the car ( would not purchase two on that income if you are working remote)
What kind of car does dh have and how much can you expect from it? That can help figure out how much you will need to add to purchase a similar car or if it is preferable to ship it ( and deal with now car for the time it takes to get here)

amother

Holly

Mon, Jul 10 2023, 3:32 am

amother OP wrote:

I will ask about the suitcases, good idea.
My husband would need a car, he is in the service industry. But he would need time to build up his business in Israel. We would be depending on my income until he would get busy
I thought it's illegal to share a lift with someone?

We don't have much furniture. Is it better to sell our stuff in America so we have extra cash? On the other hand I tell myself nothing is permanent... We can try Israel out and not lock ourselves in... that's why I am nervous also to schlep stuff there and then what if I hate it and want to come back? (I have anxiety and over think everything)

It doesn't sound like you have that much furniture. I would sell so you have more cash and use it to purchase appliances (rentals don't usually come with appliances here).

Reality

Mon, Jul 10 2023, 4:25 am

The price of a lift has skyrocketed. When we made aliyah two years ago, a 20 foot lift cost $7,500. It was raised from $5,000 a few months before we booked. A few months after it was $10,000. I have no idea if it has gone up in price since then.

You can definitely do a partial lift, which is cheaper overall but more expensive per cubic foot and also usually takes longer to arrive.

You need to know if it makes sense to bring your furniture. If you are a young couple starting out, I'd assume not. The cost of shipping has to be significantly less than the value of replacing your current furniture.

NbN does not help pay for the cost of a lift. There are a few Christian organizations that pay towards the cost.

Sending a car is a separate lift. It costs at least $10,000 and many people had tremendous headaches from it. There was only one lift company that people said did it right but the name slips my mind.

Currently, when you make aliyah you are allowed two fifty pound suitcases free. You can take a third one for a steep discount and a fourth one for a lesser discount. If you book an aliyah flight on elal the baggage fees are cheaper. Some aliyah flights are United. Not only are the extra bags more expensive, you get a voucher for the free second bag. So you need to lay out the money and remember to get your money back. Not a big deal but on top of everything else going on, I wasn't interested in giving myself ANOTHER headache type job!

SG18

Mon, Jul 10 2023, 7:46 am

Reality wrote:

Interesting, when I made Aliyah almost 2 years ago, we flew United through NBN and didn't have to lay out money, the free second bag was included. We didn't have to pay anything.

Reality

Mon, Jul 10 2023, 10:55 am

SG18 wrote:

Interesting, when I made Aliyah almost 2 years ago, we flew United through NBN and didn't have to lay out money, the free second bag was included. We didn't have to pay anything.

I made aliyah on an ElAl flight but I heard firsthand from other people who made aliyah around the same time that they needed to lay out the money for their second bags on United. It could be NbN worked those details out after.

grace413

Mon, Jul 10 2023, 2:45 pm

amother Holly wrote:

This is not necessarily true. The rules change all the time so OP needs to check carefully. I had been an Israeli citizen for many years (adult) and left Israel to get married. I checked before I left and the said if you are getting married you will not need to pay. When I came back 10 years BL did at first attempt to tell me I owed but I went to their office and they said, no you don't owe anything. I also got kupat cholim immediately because I was part of a "mishpachat olim" - DH was oleh chadash and we had kids born in the US.

Another question is will OP be entitled to free kupat cholim or not. These are all questions for NBN/Misrad Haklita