OlehGirl.com
North or East, hmmm
So I’m still looking for a solution to finding a couple of spots of land/houses, or a single spot which would hold two caravilla homes –those prefab boxes–for under a maximum of $275,000 U.S. combined (and including the caravillas if there are no existing houses on the lot). Nefesh b’ Nefesh has a “go north” project that might be able to help if I and my Ema would qualify. Going north, the two best options seem to be to settle in either Akko (Acre), which has the advantage of train service albeit not a very frequent one, or in the misgav region in one of the secular or mixed communities there. The disadvantages of going north are that I would face a total of about 6+ hours, 3 there and 3 back, daily commute to work (9 hours on the days to BGU if I continue teaching there –and I’ll definitely need to either do that or waitress or clean people’s houses or something to bring in needed income).
The other option is going east and this is seeming a better option. If I could find places for us in a secular community like Oranit my commute would be only about 3 hours a day and plots of land start there about 100k. Or perhaps go for an already built house for me somewhere like Rimonim or Ofra and a spot for my Ema in a place like Modi’in -I think she would like Modi’in better as a place to live and I’d have about a 4 hour total commute for the day to both the IDC and to Beer Sheva. Gah, why can’t we have affordable housing in the center of this country!
Does anyone know the best company for caravilla homes?
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(Photo by Dani Machlis)
about 1 year ago
Acco has a good bus service to Haifa, but I think you would find the commute appalling after a while. Is a Caravilla going to “last” for your life in Israel? Sorry, but I’m not sure what they are or how well built they are. Just concerned.
about 1 year ago
Noa — unfortunately, I’m going to face a relatively appalling commute any way I cut it.’ I’m pretty much down to looking for ‘least appalling.’ Caravillas are your basic prefabricated house. They definitely won’t last “for life” but I’m figuring that in say 12-15 years I’d have enough saved and paid enough on the land mortgage to get together enough money to build a real house/houses. My problem currently is with the “upfront” money to get a mortgage on land or “land with house” –you have to put down a minimum here (especially now with the credit crunch) of 30%. And I’ve got to be able to put down and get financing for two.
about 1 year ago
The long commute does not seem sensible or desirable. The fact is that Israel is an expensive place to live. Few places equal the US in terms of being relatively easy to be well-settled. Apartments are fine unless one rescues animals
about 1 year ago
Well Ema, I’m looking to buy two places in the place of the one in Austin –if I were tryng to do the same working in Austin I’d have to live pretty darn far afield –way out in the boonies, as well, with a long commute in.
about 1 year ago
What about the kitties? Seriously though, we’re hearing rumors in the US that hamas is getting longer range rockets, so I’d like to hear that you’re a little further away from Gaza.
about 1 year ago
Hm, a word of advice: don’t underestimate the drag of commuting. When you are young, idependent, fit, it seems bearable. But I can tell you, even the youngest, fittest and most independent people will tire of it. And then regret not having put down the extra money and bought nearer to the center of their life.
When I worked in Manhattan I could have had a bigger and nicer place somewhere out on Long Island or in the Northern or Western burbs than the one I finally settled for on the Upper East Side, but boy, it surely paid off. Where others spent hours and hours in buses, trains, cars, day in day out, I was home in 10 minutes. I was able to walk everywhere. I could live when others were still stuck in their trains. And whenever I wanted to spend a day out in the “country” I always would go against the flow, leaving the city in the morning, returning at night, wondering what all these people in their cars on the highway on the other lane were doing from going insane.
Time is your most precious asset. Wasting 6 hours a day commuting is not good use of that asset.
about 1 year ago
John is right, and please do not romantize a situation, you are thinking about an immense investment in a place you might have to stick for the rest of your life.
These production firms in your country do have a monopoly position, there is no government organisation like in the EC to break this system.
Have a look at for example http://www.smallhousestyle.com , think about importing a prefab, combine a vacation with a look at a potential prducer in Europe.
IF you want to do it the way like you write above, or different, think first, it is your money we are talking about.
about 1 year ago
I live on a kibbutz just north of Akko and the train service to Tel Aviv is very good. It takes only an hour and forty minutes and there are trains every hour.
My daughter is studying at Beer Sheva University and she has a three hour train trip without changing trains.
By schoosing Akko, you also have the added challenge of coexistence by living in a Jewish-Arab city.
Good luck on your choice wherever it is.
about 1 year ago
(From a long time lurker) I completely agree with Sir John: a long commute is not worth it. My husband now needs ten minutes by bike instead of an hour by car, and it is such a change. More sleep, more energy, you name it.
about 1 year ago
I cannot understand why you do not try to find something near Ben Gurion University, say on the coast, for both of you and where it is not too expensive.
You might not be fully aware of all the offers that are currently available on the market. After all, you seem bent on doing a career with them. Israel being so small (!!!!), you might be able to find something on the coast and yet not too far by transport from BGU.
Try to find something long-term because a caravan is not for the faint of heart!! It is simply wasting more money short-term for something that, sooner or later, you will still have to scrap and plan for something long-term.
All the best to you and your mom. I hope your mom is currently working hard on her Hebrew skills before moving to Israel because she will dearly need Hebrew skills to ensure a successful experience.
All the best to both of you.
Oh, the land of Israel, I do miss you. Lucky you, Yael, to be on the ancestral land of the Jewish people and speak the language of the Jewish people, Hebrew.
Take care.
about 1 year ago
Yael, please send me an email with your phone #, so you can be invited to an interesting party next Sat. evening.
about 1 year ago
Wipe Out, thank you for your kind wishes! I know that I need to start my Hebrew classes, and I think that I will be able to fully commit to that this summer when school is out.
What is a caravan?
Part of the problem that Yael and I will face in getting settled, is that we want to essentially establish a sanctuary for animals that are unwanted. Even with our present numbers, that means land and space for appropriate shelter for them. And, actually, that means money—probably quite a lot of it.
St. John, you are correct. A long commute is not desirable. I used to commute on a highway without traffic a distance of 50 miles to a small town where I taught. I enjoyed it but it only took about an hour and during that time I could “decompress”, enjoy listening to music, think about problems at school and come up with solutions, so by the time I got home, I was relaxed. So, it depends on the distance, the mode of travel, the route, etc. but in any case, a commute of longer than one hour is not advisable.
about 1 year ago
I used to have to commute about 750 miles to get to work. I know people who commute 4000 miles to get to work.
Can any one guess what I do?;-)
about 1 year ago
I’m thinking you need to live in Beer Sheva. That or Ashkelon or Ashdod. Ashkelon is lovely and on the train. just one little teeny tiny problem – but maybe they will have longer range rockets which will go over Ashkelon?
about 1 year ago
Tiger Mike: maybe on an oil rig?
about 1 year ago
Tiger Mike, are you a pilot?
about 1 year ago
Tiger Mike is an angel.
about 1 year ago
Mikey — well north has issues with Hizbullah and its rockets. Central (very central) Israel, like Tel Aviv/Petakh Tikva area is the only region of the country currently that can’t be reached by rockets from either Hamas or Hizbullah.
Sir John — very definitely. I also consider quality of life to include a grocery store, cafe, and everything else you need to be in short walking distance with no need for a car to get anywhere! That is actually more important to me than the waste of time and the hassle of commuting to work. But having a million cats means you really can’t have quality of life, heh. Oh yeah, and well, having not much money to get settled!
Mongrel — huge thanks for the link. I’d not thought of importing a pre-fab before!
about 1 year ago
Amichai — Akko is appealing because of the mixed community to be sure! I’ve a colleague who commutes in from that area but by car and it takes her a minimum of 3 hours because of traffic. It would still take me about that time by train because I have a 45 minute walk from the train station to the campus once I arrive to the station. There is a bus but it only goes once an hour and is not coordinated with the train arrival, at least the train from TA, and you get to campus sooner by walking. The bus stops running as well before I get off work on the days I have night courses. Can you tell anything about the things you like (and don’t like) about living in that area?
TigerMike — 750 miles! Yikes you have to fly to work everyday and back?! I can’t imagine what you do. I’ll go with Waterkant and say work on an oil rig.
Katherine– I thought about Ashdod before the rockets. It was actually pretty high on my list before the rockets.
about 1 year ago
Yeah, I think you’re heading in the wrong direction. You need to choose someplace between Herzliya and Be’er Sheva (your two work sites, right?).
Be’er Yaakov is on the train route. So is Lod, which has some nice moshavim nearby.
Kiryat Gat is also on the train route, and housing is cheap there. I’m sure there are houses with land in town that could keep your cats.
I mean, it hasn’t got the style of Tel Aviv, but its cheap, its got a train station, and its a real town.
About your 45 minute walk from the train station: why not have a bike at the station and ride the bike to work? I have a “katnoa” or Vespa, and I use it to commute to the train station.
About commuting; I live in Herzliya and have commuted to Rehovot everyday for the past 12 years (1 hour, 20 min each way). I am REALLY sick of it.
about 1 year ago
Tiger Mike, we still do not know what your job is!!!