ḤeshbonCenter on Data and Jewish Life Sources Where to start

Ḥeshbon → Where to start

You are weighing a move to Israel

A move resets every line of the household budget at once, and the guides tend to quote the lines that flatter the move. Start with what changes, then read the individual bills.

Read these six first

Short, and each one answers a question you already have.

The Aliyah Ledger, a Jerusalem street photographed on a weekday afternoon Aliyah

The Aliyah Ledger: fifteen essays, one street

The whole season on a single page, anchored to one Jerusalem afternoon. Every line item in the series is somewhere in that photograph, and each essay says whether the thing is cheaper or more expensive, and by how much.

15essays, grouped four ways in the order a family meets them A dot chart of nineteen spending categories against the developed world average Aliyah · 9 min read

Which bills go up when you move to Israel, and which go down?

Nineteen categories of household spending, each set against the developed world average and read three years running. Every price that stands out has a licence, a quota or a standard behind it.

164Israeli meat, where the developed world average is 100 Two floor plans drawn to true relative area, an American house against an Israeli apartment Housing · 8 min read

How much apartment does the same money buy in Israel?

Israeli listings count rooms rather than bedrooms, and they measure floor area out to the middle of the stairwell. Both sides rebuilt from the official definitions, then drawn at true relative area.

2.33×the American house against the same family’s Israeli flat A receipt comparing thirty two matched grocery lines in two countries Groceries · 7 min read

What does one week of groceries cost in Beit Shemesh, and in Teaneck?

Israeli law makes every chain publish every price, in every branch, every morning. One morning of those files, priced against a Teaneck grocery on thirty two matched lines.

$215.72one week for a family of six, against $299.73 in Teaneck Stacked columns of one family’s annual health costs in America and in Israel Health care · 8 min read

What does a family pay for health care, before and after aliyah?

The Israeli figure is not a flat percentage of income, it stops at a ceiling, and it takes no account of how many children are in the house. One family of six, itemised on both sides.

$5,549a year of cover in Israel, against $26,993 in America A dot plot of what typical residents earn in the towns Anglo olim choose Salary · 8 min read

What would you actually earn in Israel, and how would that compare to now?

Israel publishes several official average wages and they disagree with each other by as much as half. The median drawn from employer filings is the number to plan with.

₪10,586median monthly wage, against the ₪15,098 average in the guides

Then the rest of it

Longer, more technical, and worth it once the shape is familiar.

Not quite you?

We’re newly married and planning ahead We’re a family looking for a more affordable community I sit on a school board, or fund one We’re deciding where to give