Reflections on One Week as Israeli Citizens
Husband here. First of all, I must say that I am struggling with the proper way to identify my nationality. Am I Israeli? Aren't all Jews, "Israeli", on some level, being descendants of Jacob? "Israeli Citizen" works, but makes it very clear we are foreigners, which we also aren't. I'll keep working on it.
Anyway, things are going about as smoothly as one could imagine and/or hope for from my perspective. There is A LOT of administrative stuff that has to happen, and even though we rented a car for two weeks, it seems like the various places we need to visit to establish ourselves here will stretch a bit beyond that. Things we haven't even started are getting our driver's licenses converted, changing our water bill (this can only be done at the "other" mall, for some reason), and probably a few other things that aren't critical or time sensitive.
What are some of the things that have gone right so far? Top of the list is the bank we chose to sign up with. Though they are in the next town over (Ramat Beit Shemesh) they were kind and even stayed open for us past closing (1:30 PM!!!) in order to get us an account. The account manager there spoke both Hebrew and English which made it even more pleasant (though it still took an hour and a half to open an account).
Also very smooth has been our interactions with the city administration. We were able to get our discount on our arnona, property tax, without difficulty, and once we were able to be at the office at the same time as the woman who does kindergarten registration, registering our daughter was as simple as saying we wanted to sign her up and giving our phone numbers.
There also needs to be a big shout out for Tamarim Concierge. She and her team helped get our home set up in advance of our arrival. There was obviously an associated cost with this, and I think in the end it was worth it. If you have the means to do use a concierge (there are a few out there) I recommend doing so. Expect to spend $1000-2000 for the concierge, depending on what you ask them to do. Also, I recommend having them focus only on getting your home set up, and working with whichever other agencies you are in touch with to go about your administrative appointments. Friends of ours who have used concierges for administrative tasks (e.g. bank accounts) have had trouble getting assistance from other organizations when questions come up due to their use of a concierge.
Things that haven't gone so smoothly? The air conditioning on the first floor of our home has not been working since we moved in. They came once to fix it, but the guy didn't have his own ladder (real head-scratcher there). Fortunately, our upstairs unit has been able to keep up enough that the first floor is comfortable. Also, my wife's phone was built in a way that makes it incompatible with networks outside of North America, so we have to get her a new phone, even though her phone has been unlocked.
Then perhaps the biggest surprise has been the cost involved with getting an alarm system for our home. This is a requirement as part of our rental contract. In the end of the day it will be about 5600 NIS (approx $1600) to have it set up and installed. I never had an alarm system back in the states, so I have nothing to compare it to, but it does seem costly to me. It is the another 100 NIS a month for the monitoring service. Fortunately we can take it with us when we leave so this won't be a recurring cost each time we move.
As you have read in other posts, we have had a little bit of time for touring and relaxing. We took a quick trip into Yerushalayim to see the Kotel and a few friends on erev Shabbat. It was really nice. The city is going through a lot of changes, and a lot of changes have happened in the 14 yeers since I was last in the city. Hopefully my work schedule will allow for frequent trips to the area. We also visited the stalactite cave, which is nearby to Beit Shemesh. It was definitely cool, but might be slightly overpriced.
Socially, we are slowly acclimating. The neighbors on the block have been warm and friendly, and one of the shuls nearby has basically welcomed us with open arms. The kids had their first playdates yesterday, which went ok. I may have also found a beer buddy, who actually happens to be a friend of my beer buddy back in Sharon. We will be spending our first Shabbat in Beit Shemesh this week, so we are looking forward to meeting more families and making friends.
Anyway, things are going about as smoothly as one could imagine and/or hope for from my perspective. There is A LOT of administrative stuff that has to happen, and even though we rented a car for two weeks, it seems like the various places we need to visit to establish ourselves here will stretch a bit beyond that. Things we haven't even started are getting our driver's licenses converted, changing our water bill (this can only be done at the "other" mall, for some reason), and probably a few other things that aren't critical or time sensitive.
What are some of the things that have gone right so far? Top of the list is the bank we chose to sign up with. Though they are in the next town over (Ramat Beit Shemesh) they were kind and even stayed open for us past closing (1:30 PM!!!) in order to get us an account. The account manager there spoke both Hebrew and English which made it even more pleasant (though it still took an hour and a half to open an account).
Also very smooth has been our interactions with the city administration. We were able to get our discount on our arnona, property tax, without difficulty, and once we were able to be at the office at the same time as the woman who does kindergarten registration, registering our daughter was as simple as saying we wanted to sign her up and giving our phone numbers.
There also needs to be a big shout out for Tamarim Concierge. She and her team helped get our home set up in advance of our arrival. There was obviously an associated cost with this, and I think in the end it was worth it. If you have the means to do use a concierge (there are a few out there) I recommend doing so. Expect to spend $1000-2000 for the concierge, depending on what you ask them to do. Also, I recommend having them focus only on getting your home set up, and working with whichever other agencies you are in touch with to go about your administrative appointments. Friends of ours who have used concierges for administrative tasks (e.g. bank accounts) have had trouble getting assistance from other organizations when questions come up due to their use of a concierge.
Things that haven't gone so smoothly? The air conditioning on the first floor of our home has not been working since we moved in. They came once to fix it, but the guy didn't have his own ladder (real head-scratcher there). Fortunately, our upstairs unit has been able to keep up enough that the first floor is comfortable. Also, my wife's phone was built in a way that makes it incompatible with networks outside of North America, so we have to get her a new phone, even though her phone has been unlocked.
Then perhaps the biggest surprise has been the cost involved with getting an alarm system for our home. This is a requirement as part of our rental contract. In the end of the day it will be about 5600 NIS (approx $1600) to have it set up and installed. I never had an alarm system back in the states, so I have nothing to compare it to, but it does seem costly to me. It is the another 100 NIS a month for the monitoring service. Fortunately we can take it with us when we leave so this won't be a recurring cost each time we move.
As you have read in other posts, we have had a little bit of time for touring and relaxing. We took a quick trip into Yerushalayim to see the Kotel and a few friends on erev Shabbat. It was really nice. The city is going through a lot of changes, and a lot of changes have happened in the 14 yeers since I was last in the city. Hopefully my work schedule will allow for frequent trips to the area. We also visited the stalactite cave, which is nearby to Beit Shemesh. It was definitely cool, but might be slightly overpriced.
Socially, we are slowly acclimating. The neighbors on the block have been warm and friendly, and one of the shuls nearby has basically welcomed us with open arms. The kids had their first playdates yesterday, which went ok. I may have also found a beer buddy, who actually happens to be a friend of my beer buddy back in Sharon. We will be spending our first Shabbat in Beit Shemesh this week, so we are looking forward to meeting more families and making friends.
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