Moving to Israel with little savings?

amother

Chartreuse

Mon, Sep 17 2018, 10:52 pm

How much money did you have when you moved to Israel?

I have a family so I know we need some sort of money before we move. It is just SOOOO hard to be able to save. It's even harder to think that maybe one day we'll have more money and then we can move but the kids are just going to grow older and I think it will be harder to move.

We do have an advantage, my parents already live in Israel and I know they would help us out for the first year with rent. However, they aren't rich and I know they can't pay for everything.

Also, has anyone moved to Israel while still paying for student loans?? My husband still needs to pay and it will be even more difficult to continue paying for it while we're in Israel! But what else could we do? I don't feel like staying in the US just because we need to pay loans and save money. It is VERY difficult for us to save now that we're paying for yeshiva, bills, loans etc... unfortunately, I don't make much for salary and my husband makes more but we still can't save. What would you do?

Rappel

Mon, Sep 17 2018, 11:06 pm

The cost of living, in general, is lower here. However, salaries are also lower, unless you work in high-tech.

You'll also need to factor in that learning for to navigate a new culture, system, location, language, etc. Is going to take time. It's also emotionally challenging to make aliyah, and you'll definitely go through times where you're feeling discouraged and won't want to look for work.

If I were making Aliyah with a family, I'd want to have enough savings to live off of for a minimum of 6 months... Preferably a year.

notshanarishona

Mon, Sep 17 2018, 11:10 pm

I made aliyah single , came with a few hundred dollars and lived off of working more than full time with minimum wage jobs to gain exposure to Hebrew and with misread haklitah plus in those days nefesh binefesh helped with a few thousand so I can't really advise but... I would not come with a family unless you have jobs and schools worked out first and a planned budget

FranticFrummie

Tue, Sep 18 2018, 12:17 am

Ask your N b'N rep about Go North or Go South programs. If you chose to land in a smaller town you will get some breaks and subsidies. You have to live there for 3 years though, or else you have to pay back all of your benefits, so choose your town wisely.

Teomima

Tue, Sep 18 2018, 12:21 am

At some point you just need to bite the bullet because, as you say, your expenses there will just keep growing, making it harder and harder to save.

If you have jobs and an apartment lined up before you come, I wouldn't hesitate too much, especially since you'd have help with rent at first (just be prepared to downsize, knowing you'll be living somewhere likely smaller than what you're used to, at least while you get on your feet financially). But I know so many people who claim they'll come once they've saved enough and the truth is, nothing is ever enough. So as long as you have jobs waiting, and can hit the ground running, budget-wise, you'll be no worse off than those of us already here, trying to cover our expenses and save for our own futures.

Rappel

Tue, Sep 18 2018, 12:41 am

FranticFrummie wrote:

If you do "go north", I think Kochav Hashahar is on the map. They have amazing klitah for olim, a great community, and are pretty close to Jerusalem.

you can pm me for the contact information of other Anglos in the community.

Edited to make this readable. I havent had my coffee yet. Wink

SacN

Tue, Sep 18 2018, 12:45 am

We made aliyah with one job lined up, two kids, very little savings (enough to supplement the 1 smalish income for a short while.)

We made it work, but really were poor the first couple of years while I learned Hebrew and got my feet on the ground. It was hard- we didn't have air conditioning, we rarely bought meat and we had eggs and beans coming out of our ears. I kept both kids home with me for the full day, because I couldn't afford mishpachton. It was really really hard.

But we knew we had upward mobility, and bH are now solidly middle class Israelis. We can't see leaving.

Don't come with no savings AND no job. Consider your fields and what you can do to earn money right away.

shabbatiscoming

Wed, Sep 19 2018, 6:31 pm

Rappel wrote:

The go north program is MUCH more north than kochav hashachar Smile

I was curious which communities so looked it up: https://www.nbn.org.il/go-nort.....ties/

shabbatiscoming

Wed, Sep 19 2018, 6:33 pm

notshanarishona wrote:

same exact thing. Came single and worked way more than full time for the first few years, with minimum wage salaries but got exposed to hebrew and culture. I came with a few thousand dollars and that was that.
I also would not come, with a family, unless I had a bit of a buffer in terms of any "in case" situations. Also, I would definitely do a pilot trip to see where you would want to live and to look for jobs, for at least one of you, before you came, to see what is out there.

Rappel

Wed, Sep 19 2018, 7:17 pm

shabbatiscoming wrote:

The go north program is MUCH more north than kochav hashachar Smile

I was curious which communities so looked it up: https://www.nbn.org.il/go-nort.....ties/

Well spotted! I think I was remembering a much older version of GN, or else I'm just confused. I remember the NBN rep suggesting it to my mum when I was a pre-teen. She never made aliyah, but I did as a single adult, BH. Also worked my tail off in ways only single people can, and the cultural immersion I got from where I started out really paid off.

chocolatecake

Wed, Sep 19 2018, 8:57 pm

I’ve seen quite a few families go on Aliya with kids over say fifth grade and every family had at least one child who had a very difficult time and ended up going more to the left. If it is something that you really and truly want to do please figure it out or just jump now but do it when the kids are still little.

shabbatiscoming

Wed, Sep 19 2018, 9:46 pm

Rappel wrote:

But Kochav HaShachar is not considered the north :/
ALso, I dont know how old you are, but the go north program started only about 9 years ago Smile

Maybe Im just old.

shabbatiscoming

Wed, Sep 19 2018, 9:47 pm

chocolatecake wrote:

Every family???Im sure that is not accurate. I know that many do have kids go off their derech, but every single family?

Rappel

Wed, Sep 19 2018, 10:01 pm

I've known Aliyah families who have had a kid go off the derech. Also Israeli families. Also Brooklyn families... Also families that wear streimels. Also families that wear suits with only three buttons. Also suburban families. Also city families. Also families with curly hair.

You get the picture.

I know it sounds like a Dr. Seuss book, but really, there's a spiritual epidemic sweeping families across the globe. I don't think any single life choice will affect children's resilience.

Rappel

Wed, Sep 19 2018, 11:22 pm

shabbatiscoming wrote:

But Kochav HaShachar is not considered the north :/
ALso, I dont know how old you are, but the go north program started only about 9 years ago Smile

Maybe Im just old.

Depends whom you talk to Smile

when we lived near there, most people didn't believe how close to Jerusalem we were.

This was when they were kicking off the GN program. That would have made me... Older than a preteen, but not by much! I was an eye-rolling, embarrassed, I'm-never-making-Aliyah teen then, so it's not like I was paying close attention to the discussion either.

And never! Forever young! Sunny

amother

Lawngreen

Thu, Sep 20 2018, 5:54 am

We made aliya with little money and student loans, and found out that poverty can push off the student loans until you get on your feet. In other words, you can get a deferment on the loans. Making aliya was one of the best decisions we made for our kids' sake.

ROFL

Thu, Sep 20 2018, 6:46 am

Did you hear the joke - how do you become a millionaire in israel ? Go on Aliyah with 5 million
Really the important thing is to be realistic about your life style and have a plan for employment opportunities.
Also be ready to change your employment and don’t think that any job is below you. I worked as a cleaning lady for a while to make extra money. It helped me greatly at that point.

ProudMommie

Thu, Sep 20 2018, 7:17 am

ROFL wrote:

I totally agree that you have to have a plan in terms of work... or at least some ideas and a little bit of savings, especially because your parents will likely help as you mentioned. Being in Eretz Yisroel is so important, it really can't wait. You will make it work if you make up your mind to accept solutions that are sometimes out of the box/your comfort zone... Lots of people make it work just fine, even if what they end up doing is different from their original idea... You will also learn to live in a more simple way and will see that many of your expenses that you have now are unnecessary.