Any affordable frum communities in Israel?

amother

Wed, Apr 28 2021, 12:30 am

amother [ Copper ] wrote:

Ok, good you know where you want to be. Your idea of who lives in the shtachim is a stereotype.

No need to give a snappy answer. Yes, we know that there are some communities there that are chareidi, but it is certainly not the default and we would like to hear about other places first.

amother

Wed, Apr 28 2021, 12:35 am

salt wrote:

Ashdod.

We have been to Ashdod before, beach area and also downtown and frankly speaking, we had trouble finding kosher food and also any other religious people, let alone chareidim. All we ran into was a strikingly high number of small secular Russian babushki with small dogs. Charming, for sure, but not where we would permanently want to live. Smile

If there is a chareidi community it is certainly not where we were...

DrMom

Wed, Apr 28 2021, 12:40 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Husband is a computer scientist, I have some liberal arts degree that is worthless there but also worked as secretary.

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Our budget would of course depend on how much someone could make with a programmers salary and possibly only one reliable income.

Wait, is your DH a computer scientist or a programmer? The former can command a very good salary in Israel.

DrMom

Wed, Apr 28 2021, 12:43 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

If there is a chareidi community it is certainly not where we were...

I don't know where or for how long you visited, but there is a sizeable charedi community in Ashdod.

Elfrida

Wed, Apr 28 2021, 12:52 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

If there is a chareidi community it is certainly not where we were...

The regular beach or the seperate beach? The chareidi community would not go to the mixed beaches.

There is a good sized chareidi community, with shuls, yeshivas, kosher food, mikvaot, modest dressing and everything else you could ask for religiously. And a separate beach, fully screened off.

I agree that you do seem rather ready to stereotype places. Israel is a complex society and you need to take time to get to know all the layers. There are areas of Jerusalem where you would barely see a chareidi person, either.

Last edited by Elfrida on Wed, Apr 28 2021, 1:48 am; edited 2 times in total

amother

Copper

Wed, Apr 28 2021, 12:55 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

No need to give a snappy answer. Yes, we know that there are some communities there that are chareidi, but it is certainly not the default and we would like to hear about other places first.

I wasn't trying to be snappy, sorry you took it that way. I was trying to let you know that your options are broader than you might think.

cmother

Wed, Apr 28 2021, 1:53 am

Hi,
You mentioned Tzfas, try looking at K'naan area which is the outskirts, upper hilly area of Tzfas, new, spacy and quiet. Modern orthodox and DL mixed, most are English speaking, modern (single) houses, awesome views and fresh cool air/climate. Above all, very reasonable prices.
Sounds suitable for you, check it out.

Bnei Berak 10

Wed, Apr 28 2021, 2:02 am

How about Emanuel? Its over the green line and wasn't popular until recent ( to the best of my knowledge) because of cheap housing, young chareidi couples are looking into Emanuel since modiin elit has become too expensive to buy.
Emanuel isn't Anglo.
In asdod there is the rova zayn but again I don't think it's Anglo.
Bet shemesh seems to be a good option.
Where ever you decide to settle I strongly recommend you to start learn Hebrew ASAP. It will open up so many doors and options as well as getting a deeper understanding of the israeli society.

amother

Wed, Apr 28 2021, 2:07 am

Elfrida wrote:

I am not stereotyping, I have been living in Israel for two years (sem). We went to the seperate beach (sea poem or so).

amother

Wed, Apr 28 2021, 2:17 am

DrMom wrote:

Wait, is your DH a computer scientist or a programmer? The former can command a very good salary in Israel.

He does not have a degree in CS (he has a MA in international business) but has been working as a fulltime developer for the last 5 years in the same sizeable IT company. He does all sorts of tasks, mainly backend. He started out as an IOS developer but now does mostly other tasks for the company, a lot is Java based what he is doing now. He has a very broad portfolio and work experience in many different programming languages and platforms (I know he is proficient in Java, the various C's, Python and many more). He has also started getting into some AI things and loves to tinker at home with Raspberry Pi and Arduino things.
So that may give more of an idea.
If someone needs a "scientist" to write academic research papers, its not him. But he is a very solid, versatile and capable developer. He also does testing, if needed.

amother

Sapphire

Wed, Apr 28 2021, 2:18 am

Sem does not exactly give you a full picture of Israeli life.

You'll find living here as an independent married lady and a mother very different to living in a dorm and going out on tiyulim and Shabbos placements.

I'm surprised that at a seperate beach, which is on the edge of the chareidi neighbourhood, all you saw was charming Russian ladies walking their dogs. A five minute walk would have had you in the chareidi neighbourhoods.

I agree with the above posters. You need to come here and explore communities as an adult person, not a seminary student. Don't go by stereotypes and first impressions. Keep an open mind, and you'll discover a much wider range than you think you have. Start learning Hebrew, and you'll feel much more competent at living here.

amother

Firebrick

Wed, Apr 28 2021, 2:34 am

I think you should get started in Hadera. You could rent a nice 2 bedroom apartment with a balcony for way under your budget thus saving money and saving stressing about money. DH could get a tech job in Yokneam Illit. You'd have good public transportation, kosher delivery.

The charedi community there is not Anlgo and is more Israeli than what you're looking for, but either you'd find out you like it, or you could look for another community while being in Israel, your toddler would be learning Hebrew at this critical stage, and you'd be learning more and more what is important to you.

I can't emphasize enough the advantages of starting out under budget. I recommend it for every new oleh.

Elfrida

Wed, Apr 28 2021, 3:05 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Maybe a wild guess, around 4000 shek a month maximum in rent is what we could do. We have a toddler and likely no more kids, so a 2 bedroom would be fine. A balcony/porch is non negotiable for succahs sake, anything else can be compromised on.

Just to go back to this for a moment. No one would deny the convenience of having a sukkah mirpesset. But if you don't have one it's very accepted to build your sukkah in the buildings parking lot, or on the street. You'll see this all over the frum neighbourhoods.

FranticFrummie

Wed, Apr 28 2021, 3:16 am

Basically, the further you get from Jerusalem, either north or south, the cheaper rent will be.

Ma'alot in the north. The weather is gorgeous there. You are a 40 minute bus ride to the beach in Nahariya, and also on the bus line to Tzfat. From Nahariya you can take the train to anywhere you want to go.

Ma'alot has excellent schools, and a tight knit Anglo community. It's a relatively smallish town, but there are lots of houses, and rent is affordable. There is a FB page for the community if you want to check it out.

Nahariya has a great community for young families and retired people, but nothing in between. The only Ashkenazi shul that is Anglo is Chabad. You'd have to look into prices of rentals that are walking distance.

A friend of mine moved to Carmiel last year, and she couldn't be happier. She has a ground level apartment with a private yard, and she can afford it on her retirement income. House rentals are a bit more expensive though.

Tzfat is not all that cheap though, and each community has a very distinct flavor. The newer Anglo community is extremely expensive. In the area south of the old city, the houses are falling apart, and it's mostly Russian.

I don't know much about cities south of Beit Shemesh. Maybe others can chime in. Just keep in mind that you are near the Gaza border if you are worried about the random rocket here and there. (Of course, if you go north you get Lebanon, so take your pick.)

amother

Brown

Wed, Apr 28 2021, 3:25 am

To the poster who suggested the Cana'an neighbourhood in Tzfat as nice and modern. Cana'an is very old and run-down. There is a sizeable charedi population there (mainly chabad I think) but nice and modern it is not. You may have been thinking of Ramat Razim? It's also not that modern last I looked. Lots of private houses and nice apartments, but they are all about 25-30 years old I think.

To the poster who suggested Hadera- it's a great city, but few anglos, and they are not charedi for the most part. The charedim are very Israeli. There are 2 bedroom apartments for way under 4000, but I think they are probably all older. The nicer places are 3 bedrooms minimum. Very few 2 bedrooms being built these days. I guess they would cost around 4000 minimum, not sure, check out yad 2.

Jewishmom8

Wed, Apr 28 2021, 3:34 am

amother [ Sapphire ] wrote:

Yes I totally agree.

amother

Royalblue

Wed, Apr 28 2021, 3:44 am

How about Harish? You can rent a beautiful apartment for under 3500 shekel. There are hi-tech employment opportunities in Haifa and Yokneam. There is a large diverse dati community ranging from super chareidi to dati-lite. The only problem I see is that it would be difficult without a car.

amother

Coral

Wed, Apr 28 2021, 4:18 am

Karmiel - definitely could get a garden apartment in your budget. Work would probaly include travel either to Tefen, Haifa (1/2 by train), Yokneam(30 min car no traffic) or TLV for higher salaries(1 1/2 hours by train)

Schools: 1 bais yaakov for elementry + bais yaakov high school with bagruot, for boys one classic charedi cheder and one with secular education that many anglo's send to. For boys HS people who want bagruyot usually send out because the HS with bagruyot is very lower socio- economic israeli boys with issues that come with that demographic (revacha families ect.)

There is a growing anglo community but it is mainly israeli. Big range frum super bnei- braki charedi to very dati lite.