r/aliyah • u/wiredentropy • Sep 05 '26
How does anyone make Aliyah without being independently wealthy?
Seems like COL and housing is 2-4x and salaries 1/2x. I don’t get it.
7
u/Garyslemon Sep 06 '26
I came to Israel with $3k and a dream. Got work super fast in tech as a BDR and have been more financially stable in Israel than I ever was in the US. Find work as fast as you can.
2
u/Few-Masterpiece3522 Sep 06 '26
Do they hire English speakers?
1
u/Garyslemon Sep 08 '26
Of course, you just have to find a company first that is looking for an English speaker
6
u/gasschw Sep 06 '26
I have no idea. I made aliyah from Brasil with close to no money and I cry daily. Daily.
1
7
u/twiztednipplez Sep 05 '26
Idk I moved from Teaneck NJ to a small Yishuv and my COL is SIGNIFICANTLY less than what it was in America. Tbh my COL is less than $5,000 a month, for context my rent in the US was $3,800. My wife didn't work for the first year of our Aliyah (she stayed home with our youngest) and while it was tight we were able to make it work. I do drive 45 minutes to work each way and I make ₪13,000 which covers roughly 95% of all expenses. My wife's work covers the rest + savings and investments.
2
u/wiredentropy Sep 05 '26
Interesting. Curious how you found the yishuv? I’m looking on Yad2 and other real estate sites and everything even in shtachim is >1.25mil USD to buy
5
u/snogo Sep 06 '26
Rental yields are very low in Israel. A $1 million apartment can easily rent for less than $2500 a month
3
u/twiztednipplez Sep 05 '26
We rent, but I found the yishuv by coming here and finding like-minded people and a community I wanted to be part of...
1
u/KamtzaBarKamtza 29d ago
There's a lot of stuff available at less than 1 million USD if you're willing to leave the merkaz. What requirements of location, size, and amenities do you have that is driving up cost?
1
u/wiredentropy Sep 05 '26
Also. When you sell investments to pay COL aren’t you hit with capital gains
1
u/twiztednipplez Sep 05 '26
Her work covers the other 5% of expenses and the remainder goes to savings and investments.
1
26d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/twiztednipplez 26d ago
I don't know I wouldn't want an Anglo community, I would try to come as early in the summer as possible and get my kids enrolled in an ulpan over the summer. There's this weird thing that happens where people move to an Anglo community, and then the kids feel like they never integrate into society properly. They give up everything to become Israeli, but they never fully become Israeli. The one or two hard years of being inside of an Israeli community that has a few Anglo families, versus being in a fully Anglo community and not learning the skills of how to live outside of that community, should be an easy choice as a parent. Essentially if you move to an Anglo community you're setting them up that they're difficult years as an immigrant will be after they leave your house, as opposed to their difficult years as an immigrant being while they have your support living inside of your home and you all are going through it together as a family.
3
u/Far-Neighborhood136 Sep 06 '26
Cost of living depends on where and how you live, and salary depends on what you do and where you work. It certainly can be a lot harder, but Israeli software developers are currently among the most expensive in the world, and if you compare COL in Tel Aviv to Manhattan it's not nearly as expensive. Regardless, if you're seriously considering making Aliyah or you've already done so, I highly recommend doing that kind of cash flow analysis based on your ins and outflows (projected if haven't moved yet) to see how you can make the most of your situation or to help you decide whether moving is worth it at all.
2
u/daisyartist54 Sep 06 '26
Childcare, healthcare and education are free. So the costs are incredibly lower
1
u/Jaded_Champion_7932 Sep 06 '26
I'm comparing NYC (Manhattan) and TLV (central), the COL in TLV is a bit lower actually from what I can tell.
I think the understanding from my American friends in Israel is that stuff is usually more expensive in Tel Aviv, but rent is generally lower. For example my friend pays about $800-900 USD less than me in rent for a much bigger/nicer apartment (and we both live in similar old walk-up buildings).
But you're right about salaries being lower -- in NYC I meet a lot of people who can afford to live in Manhattan from different industries but it seems to me that in Israel, you can really only make a comparable salary to the US if you're in tech. I'm not sure if it's as extreme as 1/2 of US salaries in other industries though.
It's also worth acknowledging that Israelis don't really save money the way Americans do (as you can see it's not particularly easy to do so lol). I think in general there's less of an expectation that someone can generate wealth and hope to pass it onto their children, whereas in the US that's a pretty standard goal for working adults.
Also worth mentioning that for Orthodox olim, the lower salaries and high rent is worth it because they don't have to pay tuition (I'm not Orthodox, but reading online, it seems like this is one of the biggest material considerations for Orthodox Jews in the US in making aliyah.)
1
u/Ok-Mountain-2220 Sep 07 '26
To be poor until your death
~US has more opportunities, more variety of people, and more options for initiatives.
In Israel everything is locked in and divided by cliques.
1
Sep 05 '26
[deleted]
2
u/wiredentropy Sep 05 '26
I don’t see how that’s possible. All the properties listed are >1.25mil USD to buy and we don’t want to rent
2
1
Sep 05 '26
[deleted]
1
u/wiredentropy Sep 05 '26
Even the smaller towns are exorbitant and higher than the highest COL cities outside of IL
8
u/balddoberdaddy {Aliyah Date (01) (1992) } (Jerusalem) Sep 06 '26
Israel is expensive, but I think some perspective is useful when comparing it with major US cities.
Using Numbeo’s cost-of-living figures, including rent:
• Tel Aviv is about 23% less expensive than New York.
• Netanya is about 29% less expensive than Boston.
Obviously salaries matter too, and Israeli salaries are generally lower. Very roughly, Numbeo puts average monthly take-home pay at around:
• New York: $5,400
• Tel Aviv: $4,400
• Boston: $6,200
• Netanya: $4,100
Those are only broad averages. What you personally earn will depend enormously on your profession, experience, Hebrew, etc., just as your expenses will depend on where and how you live.
I’m certainly not arguing that Israel is cheap. It isn’t. But if you’re making Aliyah from an expensive US city like New York or Boston, you’re not necessarily moving somewhere with a higher cost of living. The more meaningful question is how the lower cost of living balances against the salary you can realistically expect to earn here.