Not Kedai for most people--Moving to the secular state of israel (SSOI)

These are the top 14 most expensive cities to live in the world, 2026: 1. Zurich, Switzerland 2. Geneva, Switzerland 3. Basel, Switzerland 4. Lausanne, Switzerland 5. Lugano, Switzerland 6. Bern, Switzerland 7. New York City, United States 8. Reykjavik, Iceland 9. Honolulu, United States 10. San Francisco, United States 11. Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel 12. Seattle, United States 13. Oslo, Norway 14. Singapore, Singapore Yearly median household income in USD Switzerland $95,500 U.S. $83,730 Iceland $63,300 Norway $70,000 Singapore $111,000 Israel $45,000 You see the problem? Israel is expensive but salaries are low compared to other places that are expensive.

Best Cities for Art & Culture 1. London 2. Paris 3. New York City 4. Berlin 5. Cape Town 6. Melbourne 7. São Paulo 8. Madrid 9. Florence 10. Kraków 11. Taipei 12. Marrakech 13. Copenhagen 14. Guadalajara 15. Athens 16. Cairo 17. Beijing 18. Jaipur 19. Chiang Mai 20. Lisbon   Source: Time Out.  

The Cost So let's say that even though you didn't come to Israel with a  million dollars and even though you earn only 9,000 NIS ($3,000) a month, which is the median worker income and much more than most "olim" earn, you manage to scrape together 20,000 NIS to buy a 16 year old car that would have been 1/2 that price in North America. Now comes insurance. Since you have no driving history in Israel, they hit you with the highest rates even though you may not have had a ticket in 30 years in America. That's 7,000 NIS a year. In three years, you have paid in insurance more than the price of the car. Then comes gas which is twice the price of gas in the USA. If you used a dealer for the car, that's another 2,000 NIS. 3 year cost? Around 50,000 NIS, which is 16,666 NIS, $5555.33 a year. Plus repairs.  Your salary is 9,000 a month if you are lucky.  Your rent is 7,000.   Your  car is  1,500 a month with repairs. Your health care is 500 NIS a month. So that...

 $ 300  in store in israel $70 in america

You were told that Israel is full of charity organizations. Here is the new building of one of them: Impressive no? Well, don't be deceived by appearances. This is from a Modern Orthodox organization that perpetually fund raises, which would be fine if they actually gave out some aid. What they do is help you with your resume. I sent to them a family that was living in a storage locker, literally. Not even a $100 loan was offered.  Now you know how they have the money to build fancy offices.  Don't assume that you will be bailed out here either by the government or Orthodox tzedukah groups. Don't assume that you'll land a job either, but that's another subject. 

Beit Shemesh, 6,500 NIS for a 3 bedroom apt. That means 3 small bedrooms and a small all purpose room with enough space for a small dining room table. That's 2,226.94 United States Dollars a month's rent. In my observation, the typical oleh earns around 5,000 NIS a month. I had two different jobs that paid 5,000 a month. That's less than the rent. I know numerous olim who can't even find steady work at that salary.  The data says that the median income in Israel for Hebrew speaking Israelis is  ₪10,000 a month. ( https://wage.is/israel/). "The traditional guideline for rent as a percentage of income is 30% of your gross (pre-tax) monthly income. This is often referred to as the "30% rule" and has been a long-standing standard in personal finance and housing affordability calculations."  So even if you can land a job at the median Israeli income you will be spending 65% of your salary on rent.  In Oak Park, MI you can get a 3 bedroom house for $1,375/...