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Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Hurray!

Congratulations to my dear sister Verv, brother-in-law BIL, and their four amazing kids on their forthcoming aliyah this summer!

So - who's got tips and advice (and money!) for them? :)

9 comments:

  1. No money to offer, sorry, but here's some free advice:
    When the euphoria wears off and the culture shock kicks in, don't despair! You WILL get used to the insane bureaucracy, the sweltering summers, the school system (sigh) and the Hebrew idioms. Just hang in there, keep a "y'heye b'seder" attitude, and one day you will wake up and realize that you are very happy in Israel and that you couldn't imagine living anywhere else!
    Much Hatzlacha!

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  2. so someone in your family has enough follow-through to actually move....

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  3. We, the Israeli cousins, are very happy to hear that EZ's sister and family are, IY"H, making Aliya. (Why does he say Verv, I wanted to write her name, as I do not know why he doesn't write it)

    Welcome (my first cousin and family). We are all cheering for you!

    We hope, perhaps EZ and family will follow, but if not, hope to be seeing more of the extended coming to visit.

    Good Luck and Yishuv Kal

    EZ's Israeli cousins

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  4. "No money to offer, sorry, but here's some free advice:
    When the euphoria wears off and the culture shock kicks in, don't despair! You WILL get used to the insane bureaucracy, the sweltering summers, the school system (sigh) and the Hebrew idioms. Just hang in there, keep a "y'heye b'seder" attitude, and one day you will wake up and realize that you are very happy in Israel and that you couldn't imagine living anywhere else!
    Much Hatzlacha!"

    aside from this the best thing i did for my aliyah was to not move to the yerushalayim area i kive in tel aviv and it is so sweet,but i am a single guy so i dont know just enjoy it and roll with the punches!!

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  5. Be flexible. Not everything will turn out the way you hope, but if you look at the big picture it will all be worth it!

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  6. My advice: Bring as little with you as possible. Get rid of as much stuff as you can NOW.

    Do NOT replace any of it.

    This is more difficult than it sounds - new olim immediately, reflexively, start clinging to all aspects of their current lives.

    Don't do this. Start SHEDDING the peripheral accessories of your current life.

    Do NOT buy 220 volt appliances and ship them.

    Do NOT buy years and years worth of children's clothing.

    Three reasons:

    1) Israel is no longer a backwater. You can get almost everything you can get in the States - often (as in the case of 220v appliances) items that are more suitable, just as reliable, and cheaper.

    And what you can't buy here can be easily purchased through the internet, and shipped or carried over by friends AS NEEDED. And it's never been easier to assemble a lift by remote control from Israel.

    2) You don't know what you will need, or how long this stuff will sit in storage. When we finally had our "lift" delivered - we'd forgotten that we even had most of the stuff we sent. Except for a few sentimental items, a lot of this stuff went straight from the warehouse to our attic.

    Because our lives had changed. We had changed.

    So why bother?

    3) Moving to Israel involves rethinking your priorities. Attempts to recreate the life you had are doomed to fail - unless you've got lotsa cash and can just drop yourselves into an expensive Anglo neighborhood.

    Such attempts also miss the point - and benefit - of the experience.

    Absorption center, subsidized rentals - prepare to live simply as a "wandering Jew" for a few years.

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