The Search Is On

The time has come to buy an apartment. Enough of throwing our money away on rent and time to start putting it towards a mortgage.

Tel Aviv is a great city to live in. It is small enough to manage on foot or by bike and full of cute cafes to sit in and fun things to do. Unfortunately it is also extremely expensive to rent here and almost impossible to buy if you are a young couple with lets say a baby.

So where do we live?

As the good olah who doesn't have a lot of experience or perspective when it comes to buying real estate, I have asked many people what they think and where they would live if they were in my position. The responses could not be more varied.

Some say to suck it up and get a smaller place in Tel Aviv because "is there really any other option?" Others say "just go to Ramat Gan. It is pretty much the same place but just more affordable." Some vote for the north, others for kibbutzim in the south and of course the inevitable family pull towards Jerusalem.

And then there is Netanya. This city, which lays up the coast about 20 minutes from Tel Aviv, has given me the most visceral reactions depending on who I ask. When I bring up the possibility to native Israelis they give me a face of disgust and say "No, not Netanya. Why would you ever consider living there?" To them, Netanya is known for the Russian Mafia and arsim (think of an Israeli version of the Puerto Rican stereotype). Foreigners have a totally different take on this city: "Netanya is a lovely place, right on the water with lots to offer." Of course, they are referring to other neighborhoods that are mostly English or French speaking. Having never been to Netanya myself I will wait to pass judgment.

At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what location we end up in as long as we have good neighbors. In an ideal world I would convince 10 good friends of mine to pick up and start a community and then I wouldn't care what physical location I was in. However, in the meantime, I will continue my search and find the place that is right for me and my family, with all comments from the peanut gallery aside.