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Wednesday, June 13, 2007
A confluence of interests
As any long-time treppenwitz reader can attest, I am not in the habit of pandering to any of the advertisers who appear over there on the right hand margin of my page.
Don't get me wrong... while I'm fairly selective about the ads I accept, and certainly enjoy the revenue they generate... I usually draw the line at pointing at them and making a fuss. I figure you guys can read... otherwise you wouldn't be here... so if an ad catches your attention, you'll probably click on it.
However, occasionally the interests of an advertiser coincide with my own (and no, I'm not talking about my interest in making $), and I feel like I should step up and say a little something extra.
Such is the case with one of the ads currently in rotation over there on the top right. It is an ad for 'Bayit B'Yisrael' (home in Israel). It seems they are going to be running housing fairs next week in Brooklyn, New Jersey and the Five Towns in order to provide people with valuable information about building or buying a home in Israel.
For a few, this might mean acquiring an investment property as a way of strengthening a portfolio (and Israel at the same time). But for most, this kind of housing fair will be more about looking into buying either a vacation/retirement home in Israel or laying the groundwork for making aliyah at some future date.
I know from experience that getting people to want to move to Israel is not really a problem. I personally know plenty of people who would get on the next plane if it were only about wanting to be here. But some of the biggest obstacles to moving to Israel are financial, and most people simply don't have the tools to figure out if these obstacles are surmountable or not.
Let's face it... while most would agree that the 'intangibles' such as quality of life and education are certainly on the 'plus' side of the 'should I move my family to Israel?' equation... the 'tangibles' such as how the heck can I afford a house and car on an Israeli salary?!, are more than a little daunting to the average person.
One of the reasons one might want to attend this Bayit B'Yisrael fair is to remove some of the unknowns about buying a home in Israel. Just as an example, it makes a lot of sense to deal with things like the down-payment and initial mortgage payments on a home before you make aliyah (i.e. while still earning an American or European salary!).
Anyway, in addition to having experts on hand who can talk to you about Israeli construction and real estate norms (such as they are)... there will also be bankers and financial experts there who can help de-mystify the whole process.
Full disclosure: Unlike many of my wide-eyed oleh friends, I don't feel that aliyah is for everyone.
[short pause while all my Zionist friends throw things at me]
Moving to a new culture... adapting to a new language... tossing your kids into a new school environment... are but a few of the obstacles that might keep someone from seriously contemplating aliyah. But in fairness, they might also keep someone from moving to San Francisco! :-)
[short pause while all my Bay Area friends throw things at me]
But seriously, aside from the cultural stuff, there are also financial considerations. While making aliyah may allow a family to leave behind crushing day-school tuition bills and health insurance payments... it is psychologically very difficult to contemplate having your earning capacity reduced to a quarter, or even a fifth, of its current level.
And while we're being brutily honest with one another, I have seen more than a few families move to Israel in hopes that this wonderful place will provide a magical cure for all their problems, and that is a very dangerous assumption. In fact, the opposite is usually the case. Rather than magically making shaky marriages more solid and turning marginal students into Rhodes Scholars... the inevitable pressures of integrating into a totally new life in Israel usually puts marital, familial and educational problems under a microscope. I'm just saying...
[is anyone getting a sense yet why I don't sell cars?!]
Anyhoo... getting back to my original point, while aliyah probably isn't for everyone, it is often kept out of reach of people who genuinely belong here for no other reason than that they simply don't have the tools to make an informed decision/commitment. And that, IMHO is the real value of this kind of housing fair.
So if you or someone you know has ever considered having a second home in Israel or laying the groundwork for some future plans to move here... you really shouldn't miss out on this important event.
You can click on the ad over there on the right, or simply follow this link.
Oh, and for those of you who live outside the metro-NY area, you should definitely be in touch with this organization to find out about getting them to plan a similar event in your area.
And as Forrest Gump would say, that's all I have to say about that.
Posted by David Bogner on June 13, 2007 | Permalink
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What about those of us who are both Zionist and from San Francisco?
Posted by: Dave (Balashon) | Jun 13, 2007 1:01:19 PM
There are some who I wouldn't advise to make aliya, but are time-related. Meaning, at a later point in time, under different circumstances, I would encourage them to move here.
On the other hand, I'd be more than happy for people like Avrum Burg to leave Israel and move to France.
Posted by: Jameel at the Muqata | Jun 13, 2007 1:01:33 PM
Dave... you crack me up (not selling cars, indeed!)
Posted by: val | Jun 13, 2007 1:58:45 PM
Very good post: And I concur that Aliyah absolutely isn't for everyone. (Sorry, Jameel)
Posted by: PP | Jun 13, 2007 4:44:52 PM
Full disclosure: Unlike many of my wide-eyed oleh friends, I don't feel that aliyah is for everyone.
[short pause while all my Zionist friends throw things at me]
Sorry, Trep, I wasn't aiming at you. You see, I had these tomatoes that I needed to throw out, and you were in front of the dumpster, and well......
Posted by: dfb1968 | Jun 13, 2007 5:15:42 PM
Thanks for the honesty, David. While I certainly rank among those people you know personally that would get on the next plane, the financial obstacles are really the only thing holding me back.
Well, that and one more year of grad school.
It's refreshing to hear an oleh discuss those financial obstacles and still come across as positive about aliyah. Too many people hit the extremes: either they are so gung-ho that everyone should make aliyah ("If you really wanted to, you'd find a way...") or they are pessimistic and only talk about how irrational it is.
So, thanks. If you know of other organizations that help guide potential olim through the financial obstacle course, you know where to send the info...
Posted by: Cara | Jun 13, 2007 5:41:48 PM
I agree that Aliyah is not for everyone.
However, those from abroad who love Israel and want to invest here should consider, in their constellation of factors, that buying a vacation apartment in Jerusalem can contribute to HURTING the Israeli economy.
There are neighborhoods in Jerusalem that are literally "going dark," as developers sell all the apartments in entire complexes to foreign tourists. Twice a year, there are lights on in those buildings: Sukkot and Pesach. The rest of the year, it's a dead area.
The cost for Israel is the loss of income for the grocery stores, day-care centers, dry cleaners, hardware stores, cafes etc etc that would normally spring up in an active area. Businesses in certain Jerusalem neighborhoods have shut down because there were no longer people in the neighborhood year-round to pay for the services.
Buying a vacation home in Jerusalem also raises the demand here for real estate, pricing out young families, who mostly move out to suburbs because they can't afford to stay here.
And, it decreases the percentage of the city which is Jewish.
Just something to think about. It's fantastic that so many people from abroad love Israel so much that they want to own part of it, but I urge them to consider the ways their decisions impact those of us who live here year-round.
At the very least, when buying an apartment in the city, ask the developer/ real estate agent what percentage of the building is lived in year-round. Please consider avoiding buildings that are in use only twice a year.
Or, buy an apartment as an investment and then rent it out to a family with children!
Posted by: Sarah | Jun 13, 2007 6:01:02 PM
As a rabid Zionist having made aliyah from the Bay Area, I'm throwing double the normal amount of things at the computer screen.
JK. Good job putting up the info, I'm sure many will find it very helpful.
Posted by: Evan | Jun 13, 2007 6:09:27 PM
Sarah- I agree, as a Jerusalemite, that foreign buyers can create problems for us "townies". But I think you're being a bit dramatic about it.
I can think of exactly one neighborhood that's really a ghost town (David's Village).
The flip side is that it reduces crowding in certain buildings. And many people rent out their apartments long or short term.
I think a bigger problem is how foreigners drive up the prices of real estate. That's becoming a major issue for young Israeli families who can't afford the higher prices that foreigners can pay.
Posted by: Abbi | Jun 13, 2007 8:06:15 PM
Yes, aliyah is super hard. You have to be dead set to make it work. But my life did sort of become much more magical and happy and so on since being here. It was NOT EASY, but I do consider it miraculous.
Posted by: sara | Jun 13, 2007 8:16:50 PM
I have so much in my head to respond to this that I don't think it'll come out right, so I'll cut it short.
David - good for you, for providing honest, straightforward advice, while still maintaining idealism. When I talk to my friends about aliyah I always do the same: emphasize how very difficult it is, and how much it was worth it.
And about "Unlike many of my wide-eyed oleh friends, I don't feel that aliyah is for everyone." - I agree. This was something I thought about a lot, when "aliyah-or-bust" was being fervently preached at me. I finally came to the conclusion that while aliyah is not a viable option for everyone, it should be an option that people explore before rejecting. I fear that too many (at least in the communities I'm familiar with in the U.S.) reject it out of hand, or worse, it doesn't even cross their minds. It's often simply not an issue on the family's agenda.
But I'm an optimist, and I think these tides are changing.
Posted by: ilan | Jun 13, 2007 10:02:19 PM
Not throwing anything. Not a darn thing. San Francisco is too crowded already.
Sayyyyy, how many TzanFrantziskaners are reading this blog anyhow?
Posted by: Back of the Hill | Jun 14, 2007 12:21:55 AM
Dave (Balashon)... Well, as Zionists you'd probably want to throw something, but as Bay Area denizens you're too pacifist to do so. :-)
Jameel at the Muqata... He's already there in everything but physical presence.
val... That's me... a card.
PP... Thanks. Oh, and I don't think that Jameel was saying that everyone should make aliyah. I think his point was more along the lines of 'people who aren't cut out for aliyah right this minute might be at some future time.
dfb1968... No problem, my salad was all cucumbers and not enough tomatoes anyway. :-)
Cara... I triad to tell you to do grad school here and not take all those student loans, but did you listen? Noooooooo! :-)
Sarah... How do you really feel? Seriously, do you really think that the problems you described are the largest that Israel is facing? I would rather have an entire neighborhood owned by part-time residents who have the ability to vote and pay taxes than not have a Jewish majority in Jerusalem. I'm just saying...
Evan... See my comment to Dave. I'm surprised you would actually throw. :-)
Abbi... Again, even if the foreign buyers are driving up the property values and pricing out the young Israeli families, they are more than making up for it in the larger share of municipal taxes they pay (and don't enjoy for most of the year) that young families in other neighborhoods reap the benefit of.
sara... It's like marriage. If you go into it thinking that you'll just give it a try and if it doesn't work out you can always bail... well your chances of success are going to be pretty low.
ilan... Good point. Many people reject aliyah but would relocate elsewhere in the world if the right job opportunity came up. SO why not here???
Back of the Hill... Apparently a bunch! :-)
Posted by: treppenwitz | Jun 14, 2007 1:55:45 PM
Point taken, David. You did try.
So I'll graduate, make aliyah, and move in with you guys, since I won't be able to afford my own place.
I bet Ari would love the idea. :-)
Posted by: Cara | Jun 14, 2007 4:40:20 PM
David-
A problem does not have to be "the biggest Israel is facing" in order to be real or important. It was YOUR post that brought up housing. Do you really think that buying an apartment that stays empty most of the year is the best way to help Israel? No. I can think of many better ways to invest $200,000 into the Israeli economy. But you brought it up as a suggestion. And I'm suggesting that Jerusalem is not a good place to do it.
Part time residents can only vote if they become citizens. Buying a vacation home does not a voter make.
And I'm not an expert on tax law, but I can't imagine that someone who lives and works in Englewood and owns a vacation home in Jerusalem is actually paying much in taxes to Israel.
Meanwhile, rising housing costs drive young people out of the city. Perhaps you don't realize what is going on here . . . because you yourself live in the suburbs and have 3 times the house for 1/2 the cost.
Think about it this way: Unless they marry one of these foreigners who happen to already own a home here, chances are slim (not zero, just small) that Ariella or Gilad or Yonah will ever be able to afford to buy real estate in Jerusalem. Rent, yes, but buy, probably not. Maybe, but chances are small. Meanwhile there are three new buildings going up in my immediate neighborhood (within a three-block radius) that are being marketed specifically to foreign tourists. How do you feel about that?
Sarah
Posted by: Sarah | Jun 14, 2007 4:46:49 PM
Actually, there are a number of new, affordable, projects going up in Jerusalem all the time, whether it be Har Homa, Givat Hamatos, Pisgat Ze'ev, the Pinui Binui project going on near Kiryat Moshe, to name a few.
These are plenty of properties that are desirable and affordable to young couples looking to live full time in Jerusalem.
Foreigners won't buy them because they aren't leaning up against the Western Wall, but for real people they are looking for real neighborhoods with makolets, shuls, and bus stops - they exist.
Jerusalem isn't inaccessable to the average Israeli who can already afford an apartment.
It's only if you lock yourself into the Western Wall triangle will you find yourself locked out of Jerusalem.
(and by the way, it's projects like these that will also be at the Real Estate fair)
Posted by: JoeSettler | Jun 14, 2007 9:56:06 PM
Sarah and I count for two former SF-ers; can't say for sure how many more are reading out there.....
David has said it, and I have seen it on NBN, on Tachlis, on blogs everywhere: ALIYAH DOES NOT CURE YOUR LIFE. Seriously. Whatever issues you had before you came on aliyah will still be here, plus the pressure of learning a new language and adapting to Israel. Aliyah has the effect of magnifying whatever problems you may be towing along.
Don't "try" Israel. Visit, visit, visit, explore and question and research and don't come unless you plan to stay. If your mind-set is that you will 'try it out' you're already half-way back to where you came from.
Despite the above caveat, I can truly say that I wouldn't live anywhere else.
Posted by: aliyah06 | Jun 17, 2007 8:59:12 PM
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