What is it like for new immigrants to live in Israel - impressions after six months
Honestly, this post was given to me with great difficulty. There are too many mixed impressions about which it is too early to draw definitive conclusions. But 5 months have already passed since the time of moving to Israel (repatriation) and it would be necessary to share intermediate impressions. Why intermediate? Because after 1-2 years it is necessary to return to this topic again. Usually, my impressions have 3 stages: the very first and brightest in the first month after arriving in a new country, the second after six months, and the third after 1-2 years.
O pluses and cons, which are noticeable immediately upon arrival, I already wrote. I will not repeat myself. Let this post be not informational-systematic, but narrative, about life. And maybe I will repeat myself in something.
The content of the article
How we live
Initially, I started writing this post for Instagram, but the format of this social network does not imply long longreads, so here I will have the full version.
You ask why I do not often write about Israel? It's simple, every day is similar to the previous one and nothing special happens. Although in an ordinary day it is quite possible to find pleasant activities for yourself, for example, playing sports or the same job. But this is not travel, when every day there are new places and new impressions, so that a straight hand reaches out to write and tell something. It’s good that I was let go for a long time and I did run over, now I don’t want round-the-clock travel (around the world), as I once did. Although, still, I would not be ready to go somewhere only on vacation for a couple of weeks a year. It takes 3-4 months a year, at least :)
Every day is the same, the same sunset
A very important point is the background of the repatriates in the country of origin. It's one thing to move from quite favorable conditions with resources, it's another to leave «naked». Still, when you move to another country with some kind of money (savings), and the country also helps (I already wrote about the shopping cart), then it's not so difficult. Yes, of course, it is difficult to live on just one absorption basket, in any scenario you need to adapt to new realities and overcome various obstacles, but if you stretch these difficulties in time, it becomes much easier.
In my case, there is no need to look for an urgent job either, since I have it, and, I hope, there will be a couple of more years, at least. You can consider this as another ode to remote work, it provides quite a lot of opportunities for moving and emigrating. That is, in the future, you need to come up with something, after all, the tie on the ruble is not ice, when you live in an expensive currency country, but there is still time. I just read other stories of moving online, when people move without a livelihood at all, without remote work, relying essentially only on the basket, then yes, you have to fight for life every day.
The main thing that is happening with us now is the movement with the doctors and the registration of disability for his son Yegor. There is a lot of bureaucracy, you can wait quietly for 3-4 months to make an appointment with a doctor, and at the same time some specialists have a very narrow specialization, and it would seem that on one issue, you need to visit as many as three at once. But on the whole, everything is successful, one commission has already been passed, and soon it will be necessary to pass another one. As the locals say, everything can be achieved here, the main thing is to have persistence.
It's a pleasure to visit doctors, combine with a cafe
Once a month we go to a picnic with barbecue, 10 minutes from home
Useful for new immigrants
I highlighted it in a separate paragraph, as this may be important for those who are going to repatriate soon.
This 2017 is a great year for returnees! First, they began to issue a full-fledged passport (darkon) instead of a temporary one (lesse-pass). Before, after all, as it was, until you live a year, you can't see the darkon, and the lesse-pass is not very convenient, and it often needs to be changed. And now the darkon will be issued after 3 months of residence, the validity period is 5 years. I already ordered myself.
And also just a month ago they made it possible to exchange their Russian driver's licenses for local Israeli ones without passing an exam. Let me remind you that earlier you had to take a driving test in the city, and this is an extra cost for an instructor's lessons, a queue for delivery. Hooray! The main thing is that Russian rights must be at least 5 years old. Mine is about 17 years old, so I passed this criterion without any problems.
Impressions on the list
Climate, sea and Haifa
The adaptation to the heat was quite calm. Surprisingly, for some reason it is easier to carry over than in Thailand, although we were told that it will be more difficult. They say that the humidity in Israel is higher, which should impair heat tolerance. It turned out that we can quite calmly sit for half a day without kondeya, and when we turn it on, we keep the temperature in the room ~ 27 degrees, now it feels the most comfortable. Well, and economy of the type, otherwise the electricity costs here like kerosene for a Boeing.
A separate topic is what it is like to live near the sea. I don’t know, maybe those who have lived around him all their lives will not understand, but I am very happy. Firstly, running along the sea along the embankment, even in stuffy weather (26-27 degrees), is very cool compared to a treadmill in the hall. When the air filled with the smell of the sea blows over you, that's something! And secondly, it is very cool to look at the sea from the window. No, I do not deliberately stare at him for hours sitting on the balcony, but every time I walk past the window in the living room, my gaze rests on one big blue nowhere.
The idiot's dream has come true - to live in a small town instead of a metropolis (Haifa vs Moscow). The shop or the medical center is now so close. There are traffic jams in Haifa, yes, but if you live inside the city, then almost any place can be reached in 10-30 minutes. This is so cool! In Moscow, it used to go for 1.5 hours only in one direction. And the metropolis, in principle, is still relatively close, it takes 1-1.5 hours to get to Tel Aviv.
Haifa - a city by the sea
Not a view from our window, but it turned out very atmospheric
Our daily morning coffee with Egor
It's great to live by the sea
The sea is pleasant even in the evening and at night
Car
We bought a car - Hyundai i30 sw, of course, supported. Ta-da-dam, for 1 lam! Lam, Karl! We got a ushatanny three-year-old with 70 thousand mileage and a bunch of scratches for this money. Prices are tin, 2 times higher. It still does not fit in my head, because in Moscow it was possible to take for the same money, either the same new car, or a class higher. And the local Israeli obligatory OSAGO is about the same as Casco in Russia. That is, car ownership (taking into account gasoline prices) turns into a separate weighty item of expenses..
But life with a car is just a fairy tale! Now you can go to the supermarket just once a week and load the trunk for the most tomatoes. And to the doctors not by buses (buses go here, as if they are late for the next world), but with comfort and without an extra dose of adrenaline. In addition, some doctors are located in other cities (the country is small), by car many times faster than by public transport.
Private parking near the house and the first trip by car to Tel Aviv
There is such a cool wall next to Haifa
Medicine and kindergartens
We really hope that Yegor will go to kindergarten and then Daria will be able to go to learn the language, and then to work. They promised the best kindergarten for such children, almost with a special health worker assigned to Yegor. Actually, the kindergarten is one of the main reasons for moving, so we really hope that it will suit Yegor. But time will tell, for there are doubts on this score, since «Israeli PR» nobody canceled.
By the way, doctors here are very surprised that children cannot be in intensive care in Russia (this is another reason for moving), in Israel, on the contrary, you almost sign a paper that you pledge to be. But I hope it won't come to resuscitation soon. And separately about medicine. The doctors' qualifications have not yet been verified, the diagnosis is worth it, we have not learned and will not learn anything new, but the hospitals look, mmm ... How to put it mildly, not very visually. Honestly, I would like the appearance not to correlate with professionalism and medical care. But then again, only time will tell.
Prices and living standards
Retreat first. When someone stutters about prices in Israel, they are immediately told about high salaries in the country. Yes, they are higher than, for example, in Russia, I do not argue. But! When you are a new repatriate, it will take a lot of time and effort to find a normal job with a decent salary, starting with the fact that you must first learn the language, ending with the fact that you may have to master a new profession. And do not forget the moment that not everyone manages to eventually get a normal income. That is, whatever one may say, it is very easy to get a decrease in the standard of living when moving. This means that you will still compare with the prices in the country of origin (in my case, in Russia), and compare with your standard of living before moving, where life was already settled. This is again to the question of what conditions you come from. And it is not for nothing that there is an opinion that moving is a zeroing and lowering of the standard of living in any scenario. And, if in the country of origin it was possible to make a good financial situation, then perhaps it is not even worth moving, it is not a fact that it will be possible to create everything the same in the new country.
Therefore, I personally compare and continue to compare prices with Russian ones. Moreover, the world is now such that the borders are generally open, and you can always choose a country to live in, not only in terms of salaries, but also in terms of prices. It's great to live where wages and prices are high, isn't it? :) Therefore, it is not surprising that people leave Israel for the States or Canada, where prices are lower and salaries are higher.
In short, I still can't get used to the local prices. Any trip to the supermarket is at least 300-400 shekels (5-7 thousand rubles). And if you pack it for a week, then about 10-15 thousand rubles can easily come out. Something too much. And the communal apartment is also unusually expensive. Approximate prices - electricity 7000 rubles / month, gas 1100 rubles / month, water 2000 rubles / month.
Well, it also annoys me, you know what? For each trip to Moscow, I make up a whole list of purchases: equipment, clothes, shoes, etc. Maybe this is normal, since I still fly there (no one canceled cost optimization), but it’s still strange for me. For example, I am thinking of buying a smart watch, apparently I will order it on occasion from Russia when someone comes to visit us..
In the supermarket, everyone has their own fetish: I have olives, Yegor has a cart
People
On the one hand, the Israeli «I am the navel of the earth», which is manifested, for example, in the fact that no one ever steps aside on the bus, standing in the aisle to let you in with a stroller. On the other hand, I began to realize that this was not evil. It is so accepted here. The position is simple, it will be necessary, tell me and I will leave, or even move me yourself. Therefore, it is normal to literally move someone to the side or his bags in order to pass. Perhaps this position teaches you to be more relaxed, less soared about trifles. Well, really, what to predict, who you can prevent, they will tell you if that. But this is very unusual for me and I do not know how to make a row at all.
In general, there is relaxation in people here and it is noticeable. It's hard to say what it is. Don't be in too much of a hurry somehow. On the road, they usually don’t honk if you’re dull for a couple of seconds, or they don’t shout in the store at the checkout, if you detained the cashier with stupid questions (sometimes it’s difficult without Hebrew). Yes, there are loud family quarrels with waving hands somewhere on a picnic, but this is not about slowness, but rather about emotionality.
On one of the holidays, people just burn a fire in the yard.
Travels
I recently learned that from Israel you can buy very cheap tickets to Cyprus, Crete and elsewhere in the direction of Europe. Imagine 50-100 euros for a round trip! Life just sparkled with new colors. Remember I'm in last post wrote about Sochi that I would like to travel to other countries, where I have never been. Here, just! Moreover, such a price and short-term flights make it possible to fly away for only 3-4 days, so to speak, on weekends without interrupting the rest of life..
But to fly to Tai is expensive, you will probably have to combine it with trips to Moscow. Soon it's winter again and it will be necessary to fly to collect information. Plans again for a new epic trip. Only this time I really want to go north. It may not be a very popular destination, but it is so beautiful there..
Traveling in Israel is not yet attractive. With the car, of course, in this regard, everything has become much easier, but I'm not sure that I will massively explore the country. This spring I have already traveled to the north - I went on one-day trekking with a friend. This tradition, we will continue as the heat subsides. The nature here is already rather scarce, but now in the summer everything is burned out..
By the way, do you know what trekking is in Israel? I see it like this: «Guys, here we have a square kilometer, it would be necessary to muddy up the route here for the whole day. OK! Since there is not enough space, we will make a few extra ascents and descents on this circular route to make people tired. And it would be necessary to come up with some historical legends about these stones, so that it makes sense to wind circles around the mountain.» In total, we have a 10-kilometer route on a small patch. Something like this :) Below are a few photos from my trekking.
Climbing the dry channel canyon
Cave city ruins
At 28 degrees it was very difficult to climb here
Another viewpoint
A small oasis in the scorched hills
We wind circles for mileage
In the distance Lake Kinneret
Sometimes a little more greenery
Attraction in Haifa - funicular