Which Community | Imamother

amother

Wed, Aug 26 2020, 11:26 pm

We are a family with 4 children looking to live in Israel on a trial basis for 1 year. Which community would:
Be somewhat affordable (does not need to be cheap just not super costly)
Have modern orthodox schools for 3rd grade through 8th grade
Not necessaryy to have a car
Have after school activities for children
English speaking community ( but not too large that Hebrew immersion will be difficult)
Offers Hebrew classes for children to become Hebrew speaking

amother

Yellow

Thu, Aug 27 2020, 1:06 am

If you post a budget, you might get clearer answers. I don't know what you consider expensive.

General thoughts:

If you are in a city, you can get around without a car, but rent will be higher than in a suburb.

If you want your kids to do after school activities, you will probably have to do some driving. You can't rely on a kid who doesn't speak Hebrew to take busses alone.

Although people tell you that your kids will be speaking Hebrew fluently by Chanukah, they neglect to tell you Chanukah of which year. Some kids pick up the language quickly, some don't.

A yishuv with lots of Anglos is your best bet for integrating, for both you and the kids, but those tend to be more expensive that totally Israeli places.

I wouldn't recommend moving to a place with no English speakers, at least not at first. You'll have ample opportunity to speak Hebrew even in a bubble.

essie14

Thu, Aug 27 2020, 1:18 am

Rehovot has a nice DL community, great public transportation, great schools, nice anglo community but not a bubble.

Raanana also has large anglo DL community but I dont know public transportation is there.

And then of course there's always bet shemesh Smile

DrMom

Thu, Aug 27 2020, 1:45 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

You want to get along without a car, so I assume you are looking for at least a small town and not a remote yishuv.

Almost every decent-sized town in Israel (with the exception of Arab towns or haredi enclaves) has mamlachti dati elementary schools and high schools, and every town has after-school activities.

I don't know any olim whose kids took Hebrew classes ín Israel - most just learn in school via immersion. And any Hebrew that they can study before arriving will be a plus.

English-speaking areas tend to be pricey. What's your budget? Any objection to living over the Green Line?

Some options:

Jerusalem, Modiin, Givat Shmuel, Rehovot, Chasmonaim, Beit Shemesh, Raanana, Efrat and the Gush in general.

Smaller numbers of olim exist in others cities as well.

essie14

Thu, Aug 27 2020, 1:50 am

DrMom wrote:

Just to clarify the bolded, all olim chadashim children get special ulpan through the school the first year. (not pre school but elementary and higher)

DrMom

Thu, Aug 27 2020, 1:56 am

essie14 wrote:

Just to clarify the bolded, all olim chadashim children get special ulpan through the school the first year. (not pre school but elementary and higher)

I don't know anyone who found the extra support for olim in the schools to be very good. Perhaps it varies by city. Our local schools seem totally ill-equipped to give immigrant children the help they need. Sad

essie14

Thu, Aug 27 2020, 1:59 am

DrMom wrote:

I believe it does vary by city. Immersion is definitely the way to go, but I just wanted OP to know that there is special support for olim children. The schools (at least DL (chemed), that's the only system I know) will not leave your children floundering.

amother

Lilac

Thu, Aug 27 2020, 2:10 am

essie14 wrote:

My first thought was also Rehovot. Totally Israeli so you get a true Israeli experience, but enough Anglos that you can find English speaking friends and not feel totally isolated.

amother

Thu, Aug 27 2020, 11:05 pm

Thank you for all the replies. I have been looking into hashmonaim, tel mond, and rechovot. If anyone has specific info on these I'd appreciate it.
Also, where does one go about finding a rental home /apartment?

essie14

Fri, Aug 28 2020, 12:39 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Start with the NBN contacts for these cities.

https://www.nbn.org.il/aliyahp.....sing/

jerusalem90

Fri, Aug 28 2020, 12:55 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Yad2.co.il it's in Hebrew but you can use Google translate. I've literally found every single apartment I've rented in the last 10 years from that website. I know people also like Facebook marketplace for finding apartments, I haven't used it because it's so new.

amother

Gold

Fri, Aug 28 2020, 2:04 am

essie14 wrote:

Any shule for Anglo DL in Rehovot besides Berman's?

amother

Pearl

Fri, Aug 28 2020, 2:21 am

In Chashmonaim you definitely need a car.
Modiin has a lot of buses. Every 15 minutes or so to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, plus a train station. It's much more expensive than Chashmonaim but will fit you.

essie14

Fri, Aug 28 2020, 2:26 am

amother [ Gold ] wrote:

Any shule for Anglo DL in Rehovot besides Berman's?

You will probably get responses if you create your own post specifically with Rehovot questions. I posted what I know. My friends all go to Berman.