I wish I could of brought on my lift.....

amother

Tue, Dec 24 2013, 11:49 am

A cousin of mine who is making aliyah is making a list of the things she wants to take with her on her lift. She doesn't have a huge apartment but I was wondering if there are any things you wish you could of/ would of taken?

Also she wants to go to Costco to stock up on things and was looking for recommendations and ideas of helpful things.

Thanks in advance.....

Meiraleah

Tue, Dec 24 2013, 12:14 pm

1. Bunk beds...they are very expensive here and bedrooms are much smaller than in the states.
2. plastic storage containers. You can utilize them in the lift so they won't take up space and are very useful here.

I regret buying appliances (big and small) in the states and sending them...better to to research and buy european when she gets here.

Mazal tov and hatzlacha!

amother

Tue, Dec 24 2013, 12:24 pm

Meiraleah wrote:

which appliances did you bring and why do you regret it??

shabri

Tue, Dec 24 2013, 12:29 pm

A snow shovel

shabri

Tue, Dec 24 2013, 12:31 pm

All joking aside, I brought a washer/dryer (on Israeli voltage) and very very happy I did.

amother

Tue, Dec 24 2013, 12:59 pm

We just made Aliyah recently.

The items we stocked up on (in costco) to send (in extra space, I refused to pay for space for any of this stuff) were:
coffee, razors, deodorant, band aids, maple syrup, vanilla extract, Clorox toilet wands, scotch brite sponges.

I made sure to bring/ship: Any baby items I had/will need, all my saved baby clothes, toys (for the next age range also), Socks, underwear and undershirts for everyone (in the next size for the kids), a couple pairs of good leather shoes per each adult, shoes for the kids in the next couple sizes, kids clothes in the next couple sizes (I only have little ones, I wouldn't do this with big kids who may not want to wear what I picked out). I shipped pots/pans and knives for Pesach, along with all my old kitchen things that I already had. I also sent a small plastic folding table and some folding chairs, as they are hard to find in Israel and always come in handy. We shipped our couches and our beds, and that's it for furniture.

I purposely did not bring:
My glass wear (wine glasses, etc)--takes up too much room to pack, most of my furniture (everyone said American stuff is much bigger). Appliances (bought with Israeli voltage here and have been very happy)

I regret bringing:
DH's bike. It's different (it's a city riding bike, apparently they think it looks like a racing bike) than what the Israelis have, and is a huge target for theft. We have to keep it in our apartment instead of locked downstairs and I honestly doubt it will last 6 months before it's stolen. We intend to trade it in for a more "normal" looking Israeli bike, or sell it and put the money towards a new bike. We should have just brought the expensive U lock and his helmet.

We didn't want this, but if you want a smartphone, buy or bring what you have (and make sure it takes a SIM and is unlocked). They are crazy expensive here.

We've been very happy with what we have and don't have so far! Smile

iyH, we have visitors coming soon, and I've asked them to bring toys, as I feel we didn't bring enough of those.

Anon because I'm identifiable from this post, I think.

Meiraleah

Tue, Dec 24 2013, 1:19 pm

We brought a washer and dryer because we really wanted large ones and have had so many problems...its basically just easier to deal with the store/seller when they're in your own country. It took 2 months for a part to get located and shipped from the US.
Refrigerator prices are comprable. So are small appliances (microwave, crockpot, hot water pump, sandwich maker,etc.)
israeli ovens are very small but your kitchen may not have the space for a large american one.
I also found there are more options if you buy here.

Also fyi israel now has some costco items at osher ad- paper towels, toilet paper, tissues...so don't waste the lift space.

smss

Tue, Dec 24 2013, 2:27 pm

here are some good things to get at costco:

aluminum pans
PAM
OTC medications
deodorant
pads/tampons
sunscreen
bug spray
q-tips
batteries

Liba

Tue, Dec 24 2013, 3:51 pm

We brought American bunk beds and then ended up selling them and buying Israeli ones. The American bunk beds are a lot bigger, bulkier, and take up too much space in a small Israeli bedroom.

I do wish I had brought many many more storage totes though. They are so expensive here and hard to find good water/weather tight ones and they are more fragile as well.

Smile

We are all wishing we had brought our snow shovels. Even if you only need it once a decade, well, when you need it you need it and there aren't any to be bought. LOL

I personally wish we had brought our fish tank. What we had there was a free hand me down and I can't bring myself to pay what they cost here.

peacemom

Wed, Dec 25 2013, 7:10 am

Can you believe we actually brought 2 snow shovels years ago when we came? We finally got to use them and were able to lend them out to many neighbors.

I wish I would have brought a gas bbq grill on my lift. They do sell them here for a bit more, not that much difference, but if you're already sending a lift...

Toys are definitely cheaper in the USA, furniture, leather couches. If you sew, then sewing machines are cheaper there also.

Bring a CAR! MUCH cheaper than here. (Obviously, you have to send it on another lift.)

amother

Wed, Dec 25 2013, 7:40 am

Meiraleah wrote:

I second all of this. I hate to say it, because it drives some people on here nuts... but bring ziplocs and lots of them. We also brought face soap (we are particular), moisturizer etc because we weren't sure what we could get here. Bring kitchen stuff. Kitchenwares are VERY VERY expensive. This probably the biggest difference I see here. Bring a dish rack....and I can't understand it but they are a fortune here. In the states you can easily buy one for $20-$30. A super fancy simple human one is $70 (less 20% with a BBB coupon). Here I can't seem to find one for under 350 shekel for a crappy one!

With regards to the bunk beds - you want small efficient ones. Maybe ones with drawers. Remember rooms are small here.

One Caveat - A lot of it depends on your needs/wants. Are there things you can't live without? People told us to bring sponges, so we did. I think it was silly, Israeli sponges are just fine. People told us to bring a year of toiletries, other then face stuff we bought it all here and certain things, like shampoo and conditioner, I actually like better in Israel. We still have a lot of stuff in the US because we have an apartment there and I am thinking about what to do with it. We pretty much bought everything here in Israel except for the ziplocs (haha), kitchen stuff and face products (cleanser, moisturizer etc) mainly b/c my husband has sensitive skin and is picky. I find fancy wrinkle creams (la mer, guerlain, and sisley) are basically the same price as they are in the US. If you wear makeup, its also cheaper in the US. Everything else I bought here. It is so incredibly expensive to bring stuff over by container, so we didn't bring one and just put all the kitchen stuff in suitcases and paid overage fees of about $400 on the way. I am still contemplating what to do with all of our stuff in the US - trying to decide if getting a container is worth it or if it is better to sell everything we still have, even though its great quality and just buying what we need here.

FYI We actually bought blankets and linens in Israel and I find them to be cheaper here for good quality. If want linen sets from ikea, bring them from america, they are like half the price in america as compared to israel. We bought our appliances in Israel and again found it to be cheaper and easier. I would avoid bringing things like a bread machine or other appliances. Just buy them here. In some cases they are cheaper here.

Plastic containers and tupperware are good to bring. Also pyrex! its very expensive here.

I can't comment on the car situation. I have no idea the cheapest way to get a car in Israel. I would guess, if its possible, the cheapest solution would be to buy in Dubai and ship it in. But I have no idea if thats even possible.

Sanguine

Wed, Dec 25 2013, 9:02 am

amother wrote:

I hate to say it, because it drives some people on here nuts... but bring ziplocs and lots of them.

Was that aimed at me? Hypnotized

Good thing you posted as amother Banging head

Sherri

Wed, Dec 25 2013, 10:11 am

What's wrong with saying to bring Ziploc? I hear that very often as something people who made aliya wish they'd have brought along on the lift.

amother

Wed, Dec 25 2013, 11:08 am

Sherri wrote:

What's wrong with saying to bring Ziploc? I hear that very often as something people who made aliya wish they'd have brought along on the lift.

I agree with you. I love ziplocs. Some people I know brought things I wouldn't. Ziplocs and facewash were like the 2 things from the US I really like. I also happen to love elite instant cappucino and bring it back to the US with me because I can't get it there. Its ok to like things you can't get in different countries. Although, according to some people its not ok....

But yes that is why I posted as amother. I am so sick of the mother above you banging people over the head for wanting ziploc bags. Rolling Eyes

Liba

Wed, Dec 25 2013, 11:21 am

She is joking. Really.

And of course it is okay to prefer or miss certain things from the place you grew up in.

I love my American dish sponges. Others are happy with the Israeli ones.

I only like granulated onion powder, and don't use the powdered onion powder which is all I can find here.

I also miss my instant cream of wheat. For health reasons I am not supposed to eat oatmeal and the cream of wheat you need to cook isn't always an option in terms of time and koach.

Shuly

Wed, Dec 25 2013, 12:04 pm

Cordless phones (get 2 line cordless phones if you will have a DSL line and an Israeli line.) They are much cheaper in America and you can easily buy Israeli plugs for them in any electronics store here.

A good office chair, if you will need one.

A highchair with wheels (they only sell without wheels here for safety reasons)

Big fisher price toys - kitchen set, cozy coupe - they are triple the price here.

amother

Wed, Dec 25 2013, 12:27 pm

Im just curious about small appliances? She should sell her urn, sandwich maker, immersion blender, croc pot etc? Aren't they more expensive over there?? My croc pot here was 30 bucks and my immersion bender and mini chopper were both 10!!

smss

Wed, Dec 25 2013, 12:29 pm

amother wrote:

no, they aren't so much more expensive here. crock pots are around 100 shekels and immersion blenders are 40-50 shekels. small appliances don't work so well with transformers, I hears.

amother

Wed, Dec 25 2013, 12:54 pm

Sorry for being a grammar pain, but every time I see this thread posted on the recent topic section, I shout at my screen, "It's could have and would have, which could be shortened to could've or would've!"

Ahhh, that feels much better!

At wits end

sara_s

Wed, Dec 25 2013, 1:19 pm

amother wrote:

It was driving me crazy too! Yeshivish grammar..