Anyone live / work in Israel?
Discussion
Hi all,
I'm off to Israel in a couple of months, will be working there for about 18 months to 2 years. I will either being doing a month / month rotation, or i will live there.
Now, i'm quite worldly travelled and know all the usual do's and dont's of most places but i've never been to Israel. I have the obligatory 2nd passport and am genuinly looking forward to it!
So, if anyone has any real life accounts (1st, 2nd, 3rd hand..), or any info other than the usual 'don't go to Gaza' type stuff, it would be much appreciated.
Thanks
I'm off to Israel in a couple of months, will be working there for about 18 months to 2 years. I will either being doing a month / month rotation, or i will live there.
Now, i'm quite worldly travelled and know all the usual do's and dont's of most places but i've never been to Israel. I have the obligatory 2nd passport and am genuinly looking forward to it!
So, if anyone has any real life accounts (1st, 2nd, 3rd hand..), or any info other than the usual 'don't go to Gaza' type stuff, it would be much appreciated.
Thanks
i've only ever been on holiday, so take this with that in mind:
it's not a pretty country. i take it that working rotation means you are in the oil/energy industry? in that case i would imagine you are used to scrubland, desert and half built cities by now
tel aviv was great, i could easily spend a year or so there. a city next to the beach is always a winner. being foreign meant you could queue jump into most bars [though that might've been due my exceptional good looks] and israelis and arabs alike were v. friendly. great food could be had for peanuts from ethnic places [lots of african food - yum] but from the reaction we got i think most foreigners and rich israelis don't frequent them very often. I didn't think the nightlife was as amazing as it's made out to be, and £5 a pint is fairly standard. we found to best spots to hang out were the off licences with tables outside.
jerusalem is worth a visit but none of the holy sites stirred any religious sentiment inside me. the politics of israel are also very visible in that region, guns, walls & segregation. not fun.
there is feck all to see really unless you love jesus like he was your homeboy, and even then most of the sites are just a bit of hill or an old stone well. however, you can drive to egypt, jordan etc. should the mood take you. we planned on driving to petra but were too tired. the dead sea is great fun.
most people were friendly and eager to make our aquaintence. orthodox jews were the opposite, and we were verbally abused and shot at with bb guns in one poor palestinian area. we were also seemingly ripped off at every juncture, and not just taxis and shops like you'd expect. i guess if you're staying in one place you would escape a lot of this [and also the politics]. my dad spent 3mths working in haifa and really enjoyed it.
one last thing - driving in israel is great fun. buy a snotter as they use your car as a parking guide, but on the road it's like playing gta - people overtaking on every lane including the hard shoulder and the police have their lights on just to cuise about so you can see them miles away when pressing on. i'm not sure my passengers enjoyed it quite as much as i did
ps - at the other side of my monitor is a middle aged israeli. he could probably answer any question you might have, but he's a complete nobber so i am not going to ask.
it's not a pretty country. i take it that working rotation means you are in the oil/energy industry? in that case i would imagine you are used to scrubland, desert and half built cities by now
tel aviv was great, i could easily spend a year or so there. a city next to the beach is always a winner. being foreign meant you could queue jump into most bars [though that might've been due my exceptional good looks] and israelis and arabs alike were v. friendly. great food could be had for peanuts from ethnic places [lots of african food - yum] but from the reaction we got i think most foreigners and rich israelis don't frequent them very often. I didn't think the nightlife was as amazing as it's made out to be, and £5 a pint is fairly standard. we found to best spots to hang out were the off licences with tables outside.
jerusalem is worth a visit but none of the holy sites stirred any religious sentiment inside me. the politics of israel are also very visible in that region, guns, walls & segregation. not fun.
there is feck all to see really unless you love jesus like he was your homeboy, and even then most of the sites are just a bit of hill or an old stone well. however, you can drive to egypt, jordan etc. should the mood take you. we planned on driving to petra but were too tired. the dead sea is great fun.
most people were friendly and eager to make our aquaintence. orthodox jews were the opposite, and we were verbally abused and shot at with bb guns in one poor palestinian area. we were also seemingly ripped off at every juncture, and not just taxis and shops like you'd expect. i guess if you're staying in one place you would escape a lot of this [and also the politics]. my dad spent 3mths working in haifa and really enjoyed it.
one last thing - driving in israel is great fun. buy a snotter as they use your car as a parking guide, but on the road it's like playing gta - people overtaking on every lane including the hard shoulder and the police have their lights on just to cuise about so you can see them miles away when pressing on. i'm not sure my passengers enjoyed it quite as much as i did
ps - at the other side of my monitor is a middle aged israeli. he could probably answer any question you might have, but he's a complete nobber so i am not going to ask.
Thanks shirt,
Yes i am in the Oil industry so more than used to staying in war torn s**tholes.
As i said i'll be staying in Herzliya which is between Tel-Aviv and Haifa. I'm sure i'll head into Jerusalem at some point just to say i've been there, but it's really not high on my priority list.
Definately looking forward to the food, hoping for a mixture of Arabic / meze / schwarma (sp), type stuff with lots of spices.
Yes i've heard driving can be 'fun', not sure i'll need my own car though as we will be using an agent to cover all transport.
What currency did you take? Did you use shekels or USD, Euro's?
Thanks
Yes i am in the Oil industry so more than used to staying in war torn s**tholes.
As i said i'll be staying in Herzliya which is between Tel-Aviv and Haifa. I'm sure i'll head into Jerusalem at some point just to say i've been there, but it's really not high on my priority list.
Definately looking forward to the food, hoping for a mixture of Arabic / meze / schwarma (sp), type stuff with lots of spices.
Yes i've heard driving can be 'fun', not sure i'll need my own car though as we will be using an agent to cover all transport.
What currency did you take? Did you use shekels or USD, Euro's?
Thanks
I took Shekels. A few others took some USD but there really was no need to and if they were changed at anything other than a bank you were liable to 'special' tourist rates.
I also expected a great deal of arabic cuisine, but was disappointed. meze's and shwarma were plentiful though, and falafels in pitta are very good and about £1-1.50 a throw.
If you want a great meal in Tel Aviv, try the Manta Ray. It's expensive for the city, but perfectly reasonable at that - around £50/head for a meal and drinks. Serves fantastic seafood fresh off the boats at Jaffa.
One thing - if you have any technical equipment to take with you, it may be less hassle to have it shipped. My dad went with a case of calibration tools and it took him 4hrs to clear customs, though they were on a high alert at the time. We went through fine, even my mate's Iranian visa wasn't questioned.
Also, despite the troubles, I felt very safe on the streets and was often out at 3-4am in the main bar and tourist areas with no issues at all. Every bar/reastaurant has security which may explain a lot of that.
I also expected a great deal of arabic cuisine, but was disappointed. meze's and shwarma were plentiful though, and falafels in pitta are very good and about £1-1.50 a throw.
If you want a great meal in Tel Aviv, try the Manta Ray. It's expensive for the city, but perfectly reasonable at that - around £50/head for a meal and drinks. Serves fantastic seafood fresh off the boats at Jaffa.
One thing - if you have any technical equipment to take with you, it may be less hassle to have it shipped. My dad went with a case of calibration tools and it took him 4hrs to clear customs, though they were on a high alert at the time. We went through fine, even my mate's Iranian visa wasn't questioned.
Also, despite the troubles, I felt very safe on the streets and was often out at 3-4am in the main bar and tourist areas with no issues at all. Every bar/reastaurant has security which may explain a lot of that.
A mate of mine worked in Israel for a couple of years in the Aerospece industry. He had a great time, some fit girlfriends (and I mean REALLY fit!) and enjoyed the good food, good places to visit, lovely beaches, etc.
Insurance. You can never be under-insured to work in some places.
Hey, if you get bored in the O&G business, I think Gaza needs a new smuggling tunnel built to Egypt?
Insurance. You can never be under-insured to work in some places.
Hey, if you get bored in the O&G business, I think Gaza needs a new smuggling tunnel built to Egypt?
Been a few times on business and my parents lived there (in Herzleya Pitua (sp??) actually) for a couple of years.
We had a thread a wee while ago about Isreal which may be of interest..here..
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Lots of ideas on there about where to go and Isreal in general.
Herzleya is very nice, where most ex-pats and the diplo community live, right beside the sea. Fond memories!
JFDI.
We had a thread a wee while ago about Isreal which may be of interest..here..
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Lots of ideas on there about where to go and Isreal in general.
Herzleya is very nice, where most ex-pats and the diplo community live, right beside the sea. Fond memories!
JFDI.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 17th September 12:20
had ham said:
Herzleya Pitua
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Yep, that's the place, looks good from what pics i've seen too! I'll have a read of that thread.http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Edited by had ham on Friday 17th September 12:20
Thanks for all the info peeps!
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