I want to move to EY. But financially cant.

amother

Thu, May 23 2024, 11:32 am

June wrote:

Can I be blunt OP? Lmk if I'm out of line here.

If you're so worried about the finances that you can't even think about aliyah, it say to me that you're not really committed.

You can totally make it in EY if you commit to the process and leave a little room for Hashem to step in. I'm not saying come blindly without a plan, but there is totally what to think about here.

If I were you and I'd get 150k from the sale of the house, I would research the costs of bringing a lift and buying new furniture/appliances in Israel, and earmark a generous allowance for that. I'd put another 30k in savings to help me get through the first year and invest the remaining amount in a long-term investment plan. No need to buy off the bat.

That's just my first thought - but I'm sure there are a million other options that could work.

In terms of jobs, I don't know much about the job market because I'm self-employed and my husband works in a perfect job that fell into his lap with nothing but major hashgacha (see what I'm saying about leaving room for Hashem to step in?) However, if you post what fields you/your husband work in, other people can chime in with info/leads for you.

There are so many amazing things about living in EY. For example, all the public holidays are yours. Chutz la'aretz Jew have no idea what it's like to be part of the dominant religion in a country. It's a different world! There is much less consumption and need for things here. The weather is nicer. Just so many quality of life things that you can't put a price tag on, so if you really, really want to do it, you just need to get into a "this can work" mindset.

Hope this helps!

I appreciate your blunt answer.
Yes I do struggle with bitachon and trusting hashem will take care of us.

Selling our house here without buying one in EY and giving up jobs here feels like financial suicide. But like you said We need to leave room for hashem.
Let me think about this.

Regarding location- we pretty much narrowed it down to rbs. For various reasons. (Yerushalayim would be ideal but obviously not exactly affordable)

amother

Lotus

Thu, May 23 2024, 12:34 pm

amother Milk wrote:

Not exaggerating. In ramat eshkol. its hard bc I dont have a car so if im in store before shabbos and I need something for shab sometimes I gotta just get it, and it was not from a makolet, from a reg supermarket

Wouldn't you have the same issue if it was close to shabbos and you bought groceries at the Grove or seasons or some over prices frum store instead of Aldi or wtvr?

The supermarket there isn't really so cheap.

LovesHashem

Thu, May 23 2024, 12:37 pm

amother DarkMagenta wrote:

2.5-3 million shekel for a 3 bedroom apartment is expensive - that's about $850k. Which is enough for a 3-4 bedroom house in parts many parts of the Tristate area ( and a larger house in somewhere like Jackson.

Good news is there are other, cheaper parts of the country if you are willing to leave the anglo bubble.

What are your careers?

Oh we were talking about buying? I think it's more like 2.5/6 but I thought we were talking about renting.

Buying anywhere except nowheresville is expensive. The good news is if you can get a downpayment you your apartment is a huge investment. I know Israelis buying in RBS still. You have to be good with money, find a good mortgage broker etc

amother

Dill

Thu, May 23 2024, 1:01 pm

June wrote:

If you and your husband really want to come, I don't think finances should hold you back. Tell us what community you most identify with, and we'll give you ideas of less expensive areas.

Do plan on having one parent not work for the first year. You get a grant from the gvmt when you make aliyah, plus NBN has an additional grant you can apply for. You also get a free degree, so you can retrain if need be.

Rent for a nice apartment where I live is under $1700, and tuition for my girls' BY is free. Cheider is about $150/mo and includes hot lunch. Groceries are pretty decent in the big supermarkets - on par with or cheaper than the US. If you don't need a car and live in a bigger town or city, transportation is cheap and reliable. Insurance is cheap, and if your family is healthy, the regular healthcare is good.

Our monthly budget is 15,000 NIS (around $4000), living frugally but not stingily.

Happy to answer additional questions.

P.S. I know a woman who is an expert in helping families like yours choose where to live, where to send to school, etc. PM me if you want her info.

Would you be comfortable saying where you live? Is it an Anglo area?

amother

Taupe

Thu, May 23 2024, 2:00 pm

June wrote:

A grant from the government? How long ago was that?
The free degree is stipulated by a few things, so just check that one out (I think age matters)
Can I ask you how many you are in your family that you are able to live on 15000 a month ok? Id love to hear.

amother

Dill

Thu, May 23 2024, 2:09 pm

amother Milk wrote:

I feel u, I just spent 10 dollars on a tiny bag of craisins in israel. food prices are astronomical.

Prices in USA for kosher food are astronomical too. I don’t think that’s an anomaly to E”Y

I so so badly want to make Aliyah. We have not a penny to our name, but finances is not what’s holding me back. It’s that DH doesn’t want to go. It DH wanted to go I’d go in a heartbeat.

amother

Gladiolus

Fri, May 24 2024, 12:33 am

LovesHashem wrote:

Buying anywhere except nowheresville is expensive.

OP wants RBS so I can't help her, as I understand there is a certain hashkafa that really needs RBS

BUT I'm just writing this in case someone else reads this later who is not needing.

There are very nice places in "Nowheresville". You can get a small town, you can get a small city, all nowhere near Gaza or the Northern border, safe places, for cheap. Don't be scared of "Nowheresville". All the LARGE anglo communities will be expensive but you can find smaller Anglo communities in cheaper places (Karnei Shomron and Yerucham come to mind right away, these are small towns). Don't knock "Nowheresville" before you at least visit for a day, and ideally spend a Shabbat.

amother

DarkMagenta

Fri, May 24 2024, 2:35 am

amother Canary wrote:

Nope. My house in Jackson is worth 1.4 million and it’s not very large (2,800 sq ft)
We bought it for almost a million less. I just told my husband we should sell it and move to Israel!

3 bedroom apartments are 100 sq meters. That's about 1,000 sq ft.

For a house the size of yours in RBS you need 6-7 million nis
https://www.yad2.co.il/realest.....8dd9q

If you can do the downgrade in space then yes you can afford it - there are also houses in between the two extremes....

amother

Fri, May 24 2024, 2:44 am

amother Gladiolus wrote:

I always knew that the cheaper places are near northern or southern border. Or right near arabs over the “green line”

Am I wrong?

amother

Maize

Fri, May 24 2024, 3:12 am

amother OP wrote:

I always knew that the cheaper places are near northern or southern border. Or right near arabs over the “green line”

Am I wrong?

No, I don't think you're wrong. You can look at housing prices on sites like madlan or yad2 and get a feel. Prices are astronomical everywhere in Israel. Years ago you could get in in a community when it was being built, for very cheap. I don't know of any places like that, for many years already.

Reality

Fri, May 24 2024, 3:12 am

June wrote:

How long ago did you make aliyah?

What grant are you talking about? You get sal klita for 6 months depending on your family size. If you have at least 4 children you get an extra bonus on top of it. It covered my rent for longer than 6 months, not sure the full year. It depends on your rent. I rent a normal, Israeli apartment, not a large American style one.

Getting a free degree really depends on how old you are. If you are older than 35 you can only get a free certificate course. The cut off for a masters degree lower and a bachelors degree even lower.

Tuition is a lot lower. I earn less than half of what I made in NY but it makes no difference because almost my whole salary went to tuition.

June

Fri, May 24 2024, 3:22 am

amother Taupe wrote:

We got the grant 10 years ago when he made aliyah with one baby. I have in my head it was around 40k NIS, but I don't remember for sure.

We have 4 kids ka"H. I think the main reason we're able to get away with 15k is because our rent is about 1500 lower than the area we live in (bli ayin hara; let's hope my landlord keep it this way) and I keep my baby home with me. But it does include contributions to my NIS pension fund as well as a small monthly contribution to an index fund in dollars. We live frugally, perhaps more frugally than many Israelis, but all of our needs and some of our wants are covered.

June

Fri, May 24 2024, 3:31 am

Reality wrote:

The grant was part of sal klita. Could be they discontinued it?