Not another "Help with Communities in the North" post

amother

Wed, Jan 18 2023, 7:50 am

BS"D

Hi Ladies,

We recently made aliyah to JLM. Although we've been mostly happy here, neither my husband nor I are really city people and we're itching to move on within the next few years.

A little about us:

I'm more Torani, my husband is more Chardal. (I think that some (appropriate) secular books and music are fine or even positive for my kids' development, he would really prefer that they had only Jewish media). We don't have a TV, we don't plan to buy smartphones for our kids. We are VERY tzioni, and it's very important to my husband that we live in a community that has similar ideals. If there's not a photo of Rav Kook in the school, he's not interested in sending there. We have two girls who are both in mamad ganim right now and will probably attend the local mamad school BzH. (There is private Chardal school in the neighborhood that is a possibility.) Our daughters have integrated well with the language (not fluent yet, but can play and learn in Hebrew), so I don't think they'll need support services in English, especially not by the time we leave JLM. We live in a pretty Israeli area right now so my Hebrew has also improved substantially, but I have a long way to go. (I'm planning on going to ulpan in the next couple of months, I would really like to be fluent one day.) My husband is a native Russian speaker, and he also speaks English fluently and some Hebrew. He works remotely in high tech and I'm a SAHM. I get along well with our Israeli neighbors here and the "Israeli" culture is a lot closer to what my husband is used to from Russia, but I also like that there are a few anglos in the neighborhood that I can hang out with without the language barrier. We don't have a car right now because we don't need one where we live, but we plan to buy one before moving.

Our wish list:

1) Schools that are warm and have a strong Torani character--I.e. that the families who send there are Dati (preferably mostly Torani), where the kodesh learning is engaging but the chul learning is also "positive." (Maybe there's a science fair or a math club?) Where we won't be the only family with a daughter who dresses tzanua outside of school and who doesn't have a smartphone. Separate youth groups. At the same time, I wouldn't feel comfortable in a chardal community where I'm the only one not wearing tights or reading secular fiction books, and I do want my kids to have a decent secular education. (Enough that they can go to college if they want.) I don't mind driving 15-20m to school if that's what ends up happening, but I also know that realistically it will be better for my kids to live near their friends.

2) I have promised my mother (perhaps foolishly) that we won't live over the green line. Yes, I know, this severely limits our options.

3) I would like to be able to have a house or a "Duplex"/"Rowhouse" with a garden. Our budget is probably between 2 and 2.5m NIS. (Feel free to tell me that this isn't enough and I'm dreaming Laugh

) We would also like to rent a house or an apartment for a couple of years before buying, so ideally a community that has some rental options. We would definitely consider buying on paper.

4) A few anglo families that are friendly and would come over if I invited them for Shabbat/YT. I don't need it to be the type of community where everyone invites, though that would be nice! I like hosting.

5) Nice playgrounds and some greenery would be ideal. I would rather live somewhere that doesn't have constant construction, though I realize pretty much everywhere in Israel is "under construction" at the moment.

6) Ideally, a big supermarket and clothing stores etc within a 20-30m drive. Would also prefer a big city within 40m-an hour (Haifa or Tiveria).

7) Would prefer cooler climates, but I'm flexible.

People have suggested: Yavniel, Charish, Maalot, Karmiel, Pardes Chana, Moreshet. If you live in one of those places and you think it would/wouldn't be a match for us, feel free to reply! Also very interested in hearing other ideas. Thanks very much in advance!