Cost Of Living

It is difficult to answer whether $900 is enough without knowing what that is supposed to cover. If it needs to cover a hotel or an apartment rental for a month--it is not enough. If you have living arrangements made and this is food and incidentals--it is tight, but can be done. Come back with more specifics and we can help.

OK. Some more info about my plans:

I am a 48 year old Jew who cares passionately about Israel and Judaism and I have a dream to live in Israel. That is, to make Aliyah.

The difficulty is that I am on a very limited income. I contacted the organization responsible for helping people make Aliyah and they said that I needed to have a real specific game plan in terms of where do I want to live in Israel and what do I want to do there in terms of work or school or whatever. So in order to answer those questions I need to actually go to Israel and figure out what kind of a life I want to have and can afford to have.

So I have looked into this and the cheapest ticket to Israel is $530 from NYC to Tel Aviv. That is if I leave in January. I am in California now and so my plan is to buy the ticket for NYC to Tel Aviv in a few weeks when I get m social security. That gives me a few months to organize my trip and it also gives me some time to get another plane ticket to NYC.

I hope that gives you a bit more info. If you have further questions please let me know. I appreciate the dialogue.

Israel in general and Jerusalem specifically are not low budget destinations. How far would 900 bucks a month get you in CA? Expense wise living in Jerusalem and living in LA probably aren't that much different.

Good luck.

Try looking for a volunteer organization that will provide you with accommodation for a few months. For example, Sarel:
http://www.sar-el.org/
Israel Volunteer Center:
http://www.destinationisrael.com/israel-volunteer-center/

I am going to be blunt. The fact that you are 48 years old AND on Social Security tells me there is some sort of disability. This may prevent you from volunteering in Sar-El, Also, the Sar-El program will not give you time to explore Israel.

Who are you flying that you have a $ 530 ticket to Israel. That doesn't sound right. ( unless you caught El Al's snafu last month) You gave us background but you still haven't explained what you expect the $900 to cover. laketraveller was very very accurate in post # 3. While I can appreciate your wanting to visit Israel--I just don't know if you can afford it. I also think that before you consider aliyah--you need to know what the country is like. It is most likely not going to have a reality that matches your dreams.

Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are both insanely expensive, but there are many other cities and communities in Israel where the cost of living is cheaper.

If you're thinking of doing Aliyah, I'd definitely encourage you to come and spend, if possible, a few months in the country to get an idea of what it's really like. It's also important to talk to Americans who made Aliyah a couple of years ago, as they can provide useful tips and will give you a more accurate picture than the rosy one painted by Israeli associations supporting Aliyah. One thing I often heard Olim talk about is how difficult it was to transition from the first year during which you get lots of subsidies and suppport, and the subsequent period when you're on your own and the need to make a living or to find affordable housing. Some people end up moving back to the USA because they had not planned for this. It's important to talk to people to know what are the traps and how to avoid them. It's also important to talk to people who have more or less the same profile as you and the same kind of income, to see how they manage.

You will find loads of Internet websites dealing with the cost of living in Israel:

http://anglo-list.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45&Itemid=110
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/08/16/3088998/just-how-expensive-is-it-to-live-in-israel

If you're religious, try to find housing through the community while you visit the country.

So people moved back to the US when they discovered that they actually had to work for a living. Did the "associations" imply otherwise ? LOL

So Olim get subsidies and support - tsk tsk - you implied something positive ! What other country provides that ?

Insanely expensive ? Even compared to AsAEurope ?

Many Olim have difficulties finding jobs because they don't speak good Hebrew, and because, unlike people who've been living in Israel for many years, they have not been able to build the informal networks that help finding a good job.

Many Olim have also difficulties getting used to the level of salaries, which is lower than in the USA. Some travel back to the US because they know they can get a job paid twice as much as in Israel.

The problem I've often seen is that some Americans travel to Tel Aviv on holidays and enjoy their time there because they can afford to enjoy this great city on their US salaries. Some of them don't realize that once living in Israel on an Israeli salary, they may not been able to afford living in Tel Aviv and will end up living in Modiin or Beer Sheba, which are usually less popular with US or European Olim. It happened to two friends of mine; one of them left Israel, the other decided to stay.

That's why it's so important to travel first to Israel and discuss with Olim with more or less the same profile as you. They can tell you what to expect, so you can make an informed decision.

The same people would have the same difficulty finding jobs in Sweden if they didn't speak Swedish. Why would they expect anything different in Israel ? Everybody knows that Israel has a lower standard-of-living than the US. Why would anyone be surprised that Israeli salaries and prices do not allow them to live at the same standard ? So your friends ended up in Modi'in and Beersheba ! Does everyone who moves to NY lives in Manhattan ?

My experience is that many Americans come with the idea that Israel has to adapt to them because they are superior beings who know the best way to do everything - the American way. They go back when they discover that they are the ones that have to adapt.

I agree 100% with your last paragraph.