Aliya help RBS | Imamother

amother

Mon, Jun 29 2020, 10:39 am

chanchy123 wrote:

Those all exist in Israel, but as a previous poster wrote people are starting to cut back on things like that. Another thing for you to consider, in normal times, would be private sports after school classes. There usually is a market for private music teacher and one man bands but in this climate who knows. Online degrees as degrees don’t help much. It is better to learn a marketable skill.

Thank you. I am open to changing fields. My youngest child is lower elementary age. How do I learn a marketable skill? How do I learn about what is in demand?

SacN

Mon, Jun 29 2020, 11:20 am

Op, I commented in another thread. I have a friend who is a private piano teacher and runs her own recording studio, I'd be happy to put you in touch.

In my opinion, if either of you is the entrepreneurial type, there's a market. My neighborhood has a fair amount of frum (Israeli) workout classes, and people are always hiring personal trainers after birth, before a simcha, etc. A friend of mine who works with kids suffering trauma said she's always looking for yoga/sports for trauma teachers (there's a course online--look up Yoga Ed), so that's something too.

Kids music lessons are a hit too, and chugim are attractive. Personally, music and exercise are the first extracurriculars I'd spend on for my kids, other than English.

But (big but), you will need a comfortable cushion for the time period until you build up a clientele. In my experience, if you can invest in marketing and have great word-of-mouth, any small business is possible, and these are in need. It just takes time. And for time, you need money.

amother

Mon, Jun 29 2020, 11:32 am

SacN wrote:

Exactly! Thank you! But we don't have a big cushion. We don't have savings. We will sell our house and make a few hundred thousand profit, IYH. But we need that money to buy in Israel. We know we won't be able to afford a house in Israel. But with 4 kids, 3 of whom are teens we will need 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. I would love to buy outright but I don't think it's possible, so I'd like to have as much of a down payment as possible. I know we would have to rent first also so money has to be set aside for that as well. So I really think it's important that one of us has a job with a salary.

Rappel

Mon, Jun 29 2020, 11:48 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

In RBS, probably not.

In the Shomron/Binyamin region, houses with gardens are going for 1.1-1.5 million shekels. Divided by 3.5 (exchange rate), that comes out to between $315,000-430,000.

There are Anglo-populated communities going for that price - for example, I just saw today that Kochav Hashahar is putting up another project of 18 houses soon, and they are the best yishuv in the Binyamin region for a soft landing, IMHO.

I know you said you have teens and the you prefer RBS for social reasons, but this is just an FYI.

Though as far as smart choices: if your house is really selling for that much, then I think you should rent, don't buy. Savings and investments that large will give you huge peace of mind while you're getting through the years of working on your Hebrew and establishing yourselves financially. You'll never have to worry about making rent if your job gets rocky, and if you have that in savings, then you'll be able to set up your children very nicely when the time comes for them to kick out into the world, which sounds like it will be pretty soon.

FranticFrummie

Tue, Jun 30 2020, 6:46 am

Start following Beit Shemesh Facebook groups. You'll see a lot of good info there, and you can ask about work.

IME, there are a lot of Anglo parents who want to give their kids music lessons. Piano and guitar are the most popular for both boys and girls. You can also be an English tutor for any grade.

Living in Aleph is expensive, but if you're willing to go out of the Anglo bubble area there is some lovely, very affordable housing. The two bedroom apartment above me is going for less than 3,000 shekels a month, and there is no va'ad habayis or arnona. It's part of a very large house, and has a nice yard. The landlord will even give you space to put in a garden.

If you are clever and resourceful, and know how to live frugally, you can definitely make it here.

amother

Tue, Jun 30 2020, 7:36 am

FranticFrummie wrote:

I'm not a facebook but I will pass the suggestion to my husband who is.

I've read many of your posts about the struggles you had coming with your daughter. I really feel it is in my children's best interest to live in an Anglo area. If my children were younger it could be worth it. But I'd be coming with kids between the ages of 12-17. I need to be realistic about their needs.

amother

Ginger

Tue, Jun 30 2020, 7:36 am

Rappel wrote:

Though as far as smart choices: if your house is really selling for that much, then I think you should rent, don't buy. Savings and investments that large will give you huge peace of mind while you're getting through the years of working on your Hebrew and establishing yourselves financially. You'll never have to worry about making rent if your job gets rocky, and if you have that in savings, then you'll be able to set up your children very nicely when the time comes for them to kick out into the world, which sounds like it will be pretty soon.

I will have to respectfully disagree. If OP gets $200k from selling her house, she should IMMEDIATELY set it aside to buy a house.
IF she puts it away to help out with rent and weddings, then in ten years she will still be renting and be left with NOTHING. She needs to think about a stable future.

Better that she give her kids less when they are setting out, than take the risk of becoming a 65 year old still renting and maybe needing to ask those same kids for help once in a while.

I will go one step further, and say that after she sells her home, she should not leave the money in the bank longer than a few months. She should buy asap, because there is inflation, and cash does not keep its value. Israeli real estate, on the other hand, usually just climbs up and up.

Catcher

Tue, Jun 30 2020, 7:41 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Can you or someone else please elaborate on taking a course in internet marketing. What is seo?

Is this your field and you have first hand info?

Hi I am not the one who suggested online marketing and SEO but this is my field so I have some experience, although not in Israel. I am a freelancer specialising in SEO and I work with clients all over the world.

SEO is search engine optimisation. It is basically using strategies to get websites "seen" by Google and other search engines, without having to pay for advertising. It is one aspect of digital or online marketing. There are several ways you can learn this skill - all online but in my experience you should have some basic knowledge of coding (HTML, CSS and JavaScript) to be good at it. The technical aspects are coding based. Basic coding is very easily learned online also.

If you are interested in learning more, you can take a look at free online courses at Moz Academy and Hubspot Academy. In my experience, certification is helpful but not really a game changer. Its more important to have a portfolio or testimonials from previous clients. If you can build up a name for yourself then it can be quite lucrative. But you have to be quite skilled. Goes without saying that you have to have advanced computer literacy.

If you're good at design also look into UX/UI (user experience/user interface) which is becoming more and more in demand worldwide. Also something you can learn online but the courses may not be free.

On another note, I know quite a few people that have gone to Israel without degrees and they have managed to make a life for themselves. They may not be super rich but they are managing. I think its important to be open-minded about where your parnassoh will come from. Sometimes you have to look in different directions and try different things. Soft skills are transferable and that's what employers really look for in the hiring process.

Hope that helps. Happy to answer any other questions about SEO or digital marketing.

Last edited by Catcher on Tue, Jun 30 2020, 7:49 am; edited 1 time in total

amother

Tue, Jun 30 2020, 7:42 am

So I'm getting really concerned about job opportunities. I feel like my husband has more potential then I do continuing to teach music privately. But even here in the US it isn't the steadiest work with slower seasons. And we really rely on my salary. I work at multiple schools to maximize my earnings.

I just don't think I can be a gym teacher in Israel. I don't have a degree and I don't currently speak hebrew.

I really need to retrain. How do I go about doing that? Do I start while I'm still in the US? Or wait until I'm in Israel?

amother

Tue, Jun 30 2020, 8:18 am

Catcher wrote:

I don't think I have the computer skills for this. I do have great inter-personal skills.

amother

Silver

Tue, Jun 30 2020, 8:50 am

Inter-personal skills are great but when you can't communicate in the local language they're basically useless. I've a friend in the same position (loves working with people, speaks little to no Hebrew) and she works with non-verbal mentally impaired adults. It's no picnic though, she changes diapers of people decades older than her.

Maybe sales? It's a common fallback for English speakers in Israel. Back in the day there was binary and forex but alas that's gone a few years.

amother

Navy

Tue, Jun 30 2020, 3:54 pm

I think you have to be willing to take any job that comes your way, at least at first. To say "I'm a ___, how do I go about getting a job in ___?" is to severely limit yourself.

I came here in 2010 with degrees in history and Jewish studies, figuring I couldn't do much besides teaching. BH I've been employed for most of the last nine years: babysitting/nannying, light cleaning, freelance writing and editing, audio editing (self taught), and now I'm working two jobs, one in data entry and one as a content editor. I've gone from 15-20 shekels an hour to 35-40.

My husband is in carpentry. Before he moved here and met me, he literally built his own house. But over here, either you work construction alongside Arabs for pennies, or you start a business installing cabinets or whatever, and hope you can make a living that way. And he's not an entrepreneur and just wants steady hours and a steady paycheck, so he started working at a restaurant. Since the restaurant shut down thanks to corona, he's taken a job cleaning offices.

Anon because that was a lot of personal details.

amother

Tue, Jun 30 2020, 4:15 pm

amother [ Navy ] wrote:

I appreciate your honesty. And I am willing to do many things but because I already have a family to support (together with my husband) I'm not sure I'd be able to just take anything.

Also, when you got these jobs did you speak hebrew already?

Elfrida

Tue, Jun 30 2020, 4:49 pm

My experience in ulpan was that it was a waste of time. I came with a good level of conversational Hebrew, and I don't feel that ulpan really added much to it. My experience was that it was as much about cultural indoctrination as language learning.

My written hebrew is still weak, and I would have appreciated working on that more.

Professional ulpans are very helpful in giving you the vocabulary you need to work.

An ulpan where the students come from a variety of countries would force you to communicate in Hebrew, and might be more beneficial, but where I went almost everyone spoke English.

The rules have changed a dozen times since I went to ulpan, but I think there was some kind of stipend while you were studying. The classes were only mornings, so anyone who wanted could look for a job in the afternoon.

amother

Yellow

Wed, Jul 01 2020, 1:46 am

Elfrida wrote:

Ulpan in RBS is considered a really good Ulpan. But it’s not really necessary if you speak a good level Hebrew

Rappel

Wed, Jul 01 2020, 2:07 am

amother [ Navy ] wrote:

A good carpenter is very valuable in a construction company, and I know several people whom have avoda Ivrit construction companies, large and small. They never seem to lack for work. Would your husband be interested? PM me, and I'll send you phone numbers and make introductions where I can.

amother

Burgundy

Wed, Jul 01 2020, 5:51 am

Would you consider working in a maon or mishpachton (daycare)?
Sounds like you're active and energetic.
I'm always seeing ads looking for mitaplot. I know there are private maonot/mishpachtonim and ones under the Tamat. Not sure what the salary difference would be.
My understanding is that there's a course you need to take to get a certification.
I wonder how much Hebrew would be necessary (especially if you're working with really little kids) and how much you could learn on the job. Might be a good way to pay the bills while getting exposure to Hebrew from the kids and colleagues.