Do you live /lived in Israel? We are considering Aliya

raspberry tea

Mon, Nov 10 2008, 1:56 am

We were exclusively looking into strong Chabad communitys. I did not look into the communitys you mentioned. I don't know if they have large Chabad communitys or not, those places were never recommended to us as such a place. The poster was looking for Chabad community info...no???

Maybe it's the fact that we are a very large family. Knowing that there are many large frum families in EY I was expecting to find decent size living quarters. Especially since what I was use to here. (being really squished and on top of each other as it is.) But, what we found was much smaller than we expected. Even though we were warned that this is what it's like there. I still didn't expect it to be so small. I understand you can find bigger on a yishuv, but you won't find a frum chabad community there will you? Maybe a chabad shliach, but like we were told this is not the place to raise a family(Chabad one that is).

Marion

Mon, Nov 10 2008, 2:21 am

yuki wrote:

We for sure have a Chabad in Ma'ale Adumim. And in Israel you don't have Chabad shlichim without Chabad communities; the role is completely different.

Most Israeli families (frum or not, but especially the frum ones) have one room for the boys, one for the girls, and one for the parents. Then there's the kitchen & salon (living/dining room). If you're "rich" (or house poor), you have a spare bedroom for guests, otherwise you just displace a couple of kids when you host overnight for Shabbat.

Of course, on the yishuvim you'll find houses, but even then a lot of them don't have so many bedrooms. They just have larger communal spaces.

raspberry tea

Mon, Nov 10 2008, 10:13 am

"Chabad in Ma'ale Adumim"

So were do the chabadnikim children from Ma'ale Adumim go to school?? Do they have all the Chabad schools there? I'm really surprised out of all the chabadnikim we networked with no one suggested it as a option for us. My kids are baby to highschool age.

When a chabadnik is looking for a community, the schools are going to be an important factor. We needed a community that catered to every age, boy and girl Chabad schools.

From what I understand a lot of the shluchim will bus there children in to the nearest chabad community for schools. Which could take an hour there and back for an example. They don't just send them to the local frum school.

Chabad is everywhere...this I understand. That doesn't mean that where there is a chabad shul will be the right place for a chabad family. Unless you don't mind sending your kids to a school of a different hashkafa. But, I believe for the most part a Chabad family will want to send their kids to Chabad schools.

Take for example Ra'anna and Chashmoniam, two places where we have friends. These two communities you could find Chabad and houses....but not the schools. We were told this is not the place for a chabad family, you need to be in a "chabad" community(like rechovot, beitar, tsfas, kfar) There was a couple of other places we checked into, but they are so popular w/the chabadnikim you can't find rentals.). (this is what we were advised by a Rav in EY)

Tamiri

Mon, Nov 10 2008, 10:46 am

yuki wrote:

As Marion wrote, large families can live in 2 or 3 br apartments and be raised beautifully. I don't know how they do it, but it's a fact.
As an aside, if you have such a range of kids over grade 3 or 4 or even 5, I would seriously reconsider moving at this time. It's not easy on a good day but for kids hitting the pre-teen years, it's worse.

mugsisme

Mon, Nov 10 2008, 11:15 am

Yuki, there is another thread called Where do I start or something like that. I asked a few questions a week or so ago. Someone posted a whole list of communities from Neshei.

That said, we are looking into:
Har Nof
Elad
Betar
Kiryat Moshe
Givat Shaul
Ramat Beit Shemes Alef

(Not in any order.)

We will take 5 kids with us. My DD will probably go to Bais Rivkah in Kfar Chabad. (We applying for Naala Elite academy just in case it doesn't pan out that we go.) So then I only have elementary age kids at home. We are looking for a English speaking area that also has Chabad. How is that for limiting?

Tamiri

Mon, Nov 10 2008, 11:20 am

mugsisme wrote:

Are these the places with Chabad elementary schools? Har Nof/Kiryat Moshe/Givat Shaul are all in the same general area in Jerusalem. The 2nd two are expensive as far as housing. I don't know about Har Nof, but it's very American there.
Elad - I humbly suggest you skip it. Too many problems in that town and I doubt there is a significant Anglo community, if there is one at all. Houseing is probably cheap.
Why didn't Petach Tikva come up?

mugsisme

Mon, Nov 10 2008, 7:17 pm

I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna. It will be paid for in April. I see on the Nefesh b'Nefesh site that they discourage you from bringing a car in. Why is that? Is it hard to get it serviced? It needs the tires rotated and new brakes. I need to do this soon, so basically all it would need is an oil change before we come. (Maybe a general service if we wait until June.)

Why is it better to buy new in Israel vs bringing my car/van in?

Marion

Mon, Nov 10 2008, 7:54 pm

The tax on an imported car (even a used one) makes it not very worth it to bring it over. Better to sell it and use the money towards something else in Israel.

The U.S. and Israel have a tax treaty, so your husband would not be double taxed on his income. However he could still be taxed on capital gains or on non-employement income in areas where the laws in Israel might be different than those in the U.S.

mugsisme

Mon, Nov 10 2008, 9:40 pm

My husband said if we buy a new car, and it cost $30K, we would have to pay $25K in taxes. Does that make sense? Is that right? That is why I was thinking since the car is already paid for, it might be worth it to bring and pay taxes rather than leave behind, and buy new.

Also, when others made aliyah, what did you do with all your "stuff". Things you kept in case you need it, but don't know if you will or won't. I am going through all my teaching supplies. (16+ years worth of material.) I am loathe to just toss it, but I can't see teaching keeta alef in EY, ykwim? I would use different material, as here I taught kids how to read, where is as there I would probably want to teach English. But Parsha stuff, etc. I taught for many years in a Hebrew school, but if we are down sizing, and not having a attic, where would I put it? and what if I drag it around and never end up needing it?

raspberry tea

Mon, Nov 10 2008, 11:16 pm

me again

I think your husband is right about the taxes, at least according to the nbn site. The issue with bringing your car over is not the service issues. That can be worked out. First you have the shipping charge, then you have to get approval from a garage their that will agree to service it, then you will have to pay a crazy carzy high tax on it. Our van here is paid off. But, we would be buying it over and paying a lot more than we originally purchased it for... if we took it. It's mind boggling how they do that. Even though our van is paid for I think we guessed and did the math that it would cost us about 15-20k in taxes, if we are lucky. My husband still thinks that's the way to go for us. You can pay 10k for a beater there.

"The rate of taxation of 128% or 144% remains fixed. The reduction for a used vehicle effects the value of the car for tax calculation purposes and not the tax rate. The value of the vehicle will be determined by a Customs valuator on the day of releasing the vehicle." They will NOT tell you ahead of time what your vehicle will roughly appraise at. Even though NbN told me they will give you an idea. You can try for yourself by contacting them.

http://www.mof.gov.il/customs/.....e.htm

I really think you will do your self good to ask your questions here:

http://listserv.shamash.org/cg.....CHLIS

You will get loads of advice and plenty of answers to all your questions.

Tamiri

Mon, Nov 10 2008, 11:39 pm

mugsisme wrote:

Get rid of everything you can, and keep your tooth brush. Hashem please forgive me if I am wrong, but you are not going to need limudai kodesh material from chu"l, in Israel. It's a whole 'nother ball-game here.
Apartments/homes 99% of the time come with absolutely no cupboards/closets. You get some cabinetry in the kitchen and if you are phenomenally lucky, a small "walk in" closet in the master BR (very rare and only in newer homes). There are no cabinets in the bathroom/s or bedrooms. No basement, no attic. There is a mamad in newer homes, a safe-room which has thick concrete walls. Some people use this as a closet if it has no outside windows and is small (I do) but in most homes it's just another bedroom. There is NOWHERE to store anything. If you are lucky and live in a house on a sliver of land, you can set up shed/s in the yard. Apartment dwellers generally don't have that option.
So, save your money shipping things you "may" need. Just get rid of whatever you can and as I said, bring your tooth brush.
Regarding the used car coming over: there are very strict laws about bringing a used car over and the shippers generally advise against it.
Also, figure out in advance if you can even afford to run a small car here, let alone a Sienna. What if it costs you $150 to fill the tank, will you still want it?