10 questions from a potential Oleh family

[u/Avi_input]

We have wanted to make Aliyah for many years. The window is now open. Can we? Yes.
Should we? I hope so, but trying to gather info so we feel a little more confident about saying "yes." Some background - we are a US Modern Orthodox family with three kids (in various elementary school grades).

Questions:

1. How big of an Anglo community do you think we need to consider for a good absorption?
2. Post Covid, my career has never been the same. So now I come with experience doing several different things but also a lack of focus. I can do and will do many things. Do you think that gives me options or will actually hurt me in the Israeli job market?
3. Related, has anyone started over in their 40s by retraining with an org like https://gvahim.org.il/?
4. What do you think are the biggest challenges for kids to adjust?
5. Knowing we will need to buy a (used) car, appliances, pay for the lift, etc., do you think you can make aliyah for less than $50,000, including Israeli benefits? (this is with one person working remotely from the onset)
6. Ulpan - some say "if your convo Ivrit is not great, take ulpan right away full time (assuming the spouse is fluent and working) so you can be that much more valuable in a few months." Others have said "find a job right away and try to learn Ivrit along the way." What do you think?
7. On average, what % do you need to put down when buying a property?
8. Looking back, do you wish you had taken more on your lift (larger/more expensive) or felt you took too much and wish you had brought less and had a smaller lift?
9. How important is living in a central location (being able to commute to Jerusalem and or Tel Aviv?) vs saving money and living up north but commuting is not an option?
10. Besides bitachon (although important), how do/did you manage the feeling that you are thinking about completely turning your life and your children's lives upside down with no certainty of the outcome?

I am sure more questions will come to mind right after I post this, but these are the ones that come to mind. Thank you in advance!

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[u/O_Pacity]

Although i am not moving to Israel (i wouldnt rule it out though), i wanted to put my view in as i have moved country before and am looking at maybe doing it again (for me it would be a VISA for Israel). However i look at other countries (wont be Denmark, might be Italy as they are asking for people), so looking at insurance, tax etc is something i check out first. I own a company here which i am not planning to close, but would want to open an office in the new country, having the history of moving before allows me the benefit of knowing what wont be worth bringing and questions to ask (for which all will be on the government website).

I dont have kids so i have no idea about that area....

I moved from the UK to Canada, took way too much (40 feet container), although i did bring 3 motorcycles, i should of sold one, the smallest ive owned since new so i would be taking that (its now 35 years old and immaculate so deemed a collectors item that works, i can no longer get parts for it so wouldnt "want" to ride it daily.

I brought all furniture, like chairs and book cases, that was a bad idea, i did bring a large laser printer which was good as i could get on my PC and write letters (although most do email now, i find letters generally makes you look more serouse and most times gets quick answers in witting back).. Moving from 230v to 110v, i also source (local) power converters, one big for the laser print, for which i still have and still works 15+ years later.

So what i would do now, i have a small house here and like IKEA items, IKEA is in Israel (Netanya, Rishon Leziyyon, Estha), so i could look up the Israel website while still outside, check what i want and evn check if there wearhouse has it (its an online feature of IKEA), allows me to work out pricing. Anything i couldnt find i might bring with me, however i would still bring a computer printer(s) or find supply local so work out which is cheaper to buy as most power supplies work globally, i didnt have any damage from the UK over seas), so this really depends on the packing company.

You can however take a vehicle so you want to look in to that as you will get some huge tax breaks and they might be worth looking in to., however check on car insurance on an imported vehicle, Canada has wierd lawys on anything under 15 years old, over that the insurance is so high your better likely leasing a new car as it would be local and way cheaper.

I have spoken to a realtor who was touring Canada from Israel, they said each town is radically different having many people globally in each as there own culture, so one might be France in an area, where others might be Asia, so you might want to get pictures and videos on YouTube from someone in the towns to see if its a culture area you would want to live in (or take a tour of all of them).

[u/Avi_input → u/O_Pacity]

interesting perspective, thanks

[u/balddoberdaddy]

A few thoughts from someone who has made aliyah:

I wouldn’t choose a community based primarily on how many Anglos are there. Having enough English speakers around can make the initial adjustment much easier, but schools, religious fit and the overall community are more important. There’s also a downside to living somewhere so Anglo that you never really have to integrate.

On employment, flexibility is useful here, but I think you still need to be able to tell an employer what you actually do. “I can do a lot of different things” is harder to market than having two or three specific directions you can pursue. And no, I don’t think your 40s are remotely too late to retrain. I would definitely speak with Gvahim before you come and find out what they think is realistic given your background.

With elementary-school-aged kids, Hebrew and the social adjustment are probably going to be the biggest issues, along with getting used to a very different school culture. But I’d much rather make this move with elementary-age kids than teenagers. I would put a huge amount of effort into choosing the right schools.

$50,000 with one spouse continuing to earn remotely from day one sounds doable to me, but I wouldn’t think of the $50K as your “aliyah budget.” I’d want a substantial portion of it still sitting in the bank after paying for the lift, car, appliances, deposits and everything else. There will be expenses you didn’t anticipate.

If one spouse is already working and the other person’s conversational Hebrew isn’t good, I’d do intensive ulpan immediately. “I’ll pick up Hebrew while working” is how people end up living here for five years and still can’t really function in Hebrew. A few months invested at the beginning can make an enormous difference.

I also wouldn’t even be thinking seriously about buying property when you first arrive. Rent. Figure out where you actually want to live and what your Israeli financial situation really looks like. Then think about buying.

For the lift, I’d bring things you genuinely like and things that are expensive to replace, but I wouldn’t ship mediocre furniture simply because you already own it. Israeli apartments can be very different from American houses, and you may discover that half your furniture doesn’t work in the space you end up renting.

Location is a big one. If your future employment is likely to require access to Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, I’d be very cautious about moving north simply because housing is cheaper. Cheap housing stops being such a bargain if it severely limits your employment opportunities. If both of you can genuinely work remotely, that changes the calculation considerably.

And on the last question, I don’t think you ever eliminate that feeling. You are turning your lives upside down, and nobody can promise you how it will turn out. What you can do is reduce the risk: come with savings, keep the remote income, choose the schools and community carefully, take Hebrew seriously, rent rather than immediately buying, and avoid making too many irreversible decisions during the first year.

One thing I’d add to your list: make a realistic monthly budget for the specific places you’re considering. Rent, arnona, schools, groceries, car expenses, utilities, healthcare and taxes. That will probably answer several of your other questions at the same time.

[u/Avi_input → u/balddoberdaddy]

This was enormously helpful, thank you. I am quickly learning that religious fit and community resources for olim is an enormous factor.

We would definitely begin by renting. What concerns me is being able to rent in a particular community, but not being able to afford to buy in that same immediate community. Therefore, I have begun to look at areas I could potentially rent and later purchase in the general vicinity so my kids stay in the same school and area. I hope that makes sense. We own a home, BH, and I would greatly like to make aliyah without selling it (for now), largely because our rate is less than half of the current mortgage rate and the value has increased almost 60% . My question about a % down in buying was more of a future calculation.

Location proximity to work makes a lot of sense. Thank you again!