Why live in Israel?

This is a question I often ask when I see people who emigrate here from the US or the UK.



Yesterday, I talked to one such person. I didn't bring up the issue, though. He was a locksmith who came to fix a door lock in my house. (Incidentally, I had a very interesting conversation with another locksmith from the same company a month ago). Anyway, they sent a different guy this time. I said I didn't understand why someone would build a house as nice and fancy as ours and not be careful to install the doors and locks properly. He said, "There's a lot one can't understand about Israel. The key is don't even try." I see. That's it. No, things don't make sense here. And.....that's it. Period. Don't try to understand why or why not this or that.



The gentleman said that he was born here, but his parents moved to the US and he lived there for 15 years. But, he decided to return to live in Israel. He said it's his country, and there are lots of good things about Israel. For example, it's very safe here. The occasional war and intifada aside, it is very safe. Personal crime is very unusual. Generally speaking, women can walk around at night in the dark alone without a problem. In general, you're not likely to be robbed or mugged, etc. In fact, once we accidentally left our garage door open while away for several hours and when we returned, everything was still there (and there were some eye-catching, valuable objects inside that would have tempted a would-be robber).



The locksmith was quick to mention the downsides of life here. Like how expensive it is to live here. He said young people who want to buy a home either get help from the parents or buy a "dump" somewhere undesirable (I think this is the same in MANY countries these days). Likewise, salaries are extremely low here (I think some Israeli's working full-time at the embassy only take home $1,000 - $2,000 per month), but prices are high. For example, a box of Wheatabix costs the equivalent of $8. (Why anyone would want to pay ANYTHING for something that tastes like cardboard with milk on it is beyond me, but anyway).

On the upside, the locksmith said that Tel Aviv is always alive, straight into the morning. There are always restaurants and bars open and people milling about.

Personally, I think you have to be Jewish to connect with this country enough to want to settle down here. I'm sure there are non-Jews who are exceptions out there, but I think they must be very few and far between.