Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

A-Plus: 1 Week, 5 Days

 

Since I decided to make aliyah, I've been carefully planning every last aspect of my big move to maximize my chances of success.  I'm single and I speak English.  After diligently researching the topic, I eventually came to the understanding that unattached Orthodox Anglophones live in the Baka or Emek Refaim areas of south-central Jerusalem.  My plan had been to find a place there so I could meet people my age, have a social life, go to expensive cafes, and do all the things that the kids on Beverly Hills 90210 used to do.

 

Yesterday, I spent the day hauling my brand new backpack (which I bought for only 138 shekels in Ben Yehuda) through South-Central Jerusalem looking at apartments.   The first apartment was a studio in Talbieh (very close to Emek Refaim) in a very wealthy neighborhood.  On the way there, I passed through a roadblocked checkpoint and walked by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's house.   You can't miss it, it's the one with the huge riveted iron walls tipped with spikes, surrounded by angry looking men with machine guns.  I wanted to take a picture, but thought better of it, given that I would rather avoid meeting some of the more unpleasant elements of the Israeli security apparatus.   The studio apartment I was walking to was owned by a fellow American oleh who had come in December 2005.  He was a great guy, and you can't do better than $300 for a studio in that neighborhood, but as the conversation went on, I came to the under the impression that they wanted me to do various housekeeping tasks in exchange for rent reduction.   The final straw was that, "We will have to enter the apartment from time to time to do laundry, as our drier is in your closet."

 

Next, I headed to a new place on Naomi Street.  The map showed it right next to the "Peace Forest" with a long promenade where I could go jogging, and the price was only $400 per month.  Sounded great!  But before I would view the apartment, I decided to go for a little walk to check out the neighborhood.  As I walked down Naomi Street, I noticed that there were no longer any cars parked in the street.  They were parked in garages, secured with King Kong shackle-thickness chains.  Walking further down the street I realized that, while there were plenty of people on the streets, I was the only one who was Jewish.  I had just walked into Israel's demographic front line with Arab East Jerusalem.  Not wanting to be a martyr for the cause, I turned around before even reaching the place.

 

The more hiking I'm doing, the more I realize that South Jerusalem may not be the place for me.  The fact is, I've already got plenty of friends, and I'm no social butterfly to begin with.   Also, the fact that I'm a religious single means that I don't just go up to women and ask them for dates.  Most dating is done through arrangements and set-ups.   While the area is visually appealing, I don't feel at home there, as I have no relatives there.

 

On the other hand, I've been taking a closer look right here at Pisgat Ze'ev.  I have loads of family here to help me get a place set up and getting myself acclimated.  Also, the cost of living difference means that what I'll pay for a studio in Emek Refaim or Baka will get me a two or three-bedroom apartment here, and I'd like to have some breathing room, especially considering I'll be working from home.  The neighborhood has every type of shul you could imagine, wide streets, and it quiets down at around 9:30 PM so I can get some sleep.  If I were to find a place here, I could live like a human being.  I've been living like a student/animal for the last 10 years, so it would be nice to see what it's like to live decently.  The only disadvantage, aside from the lack of a singles scene, is that it's a bit far from the city, but really it's only a 25 minute bus ride, and people are always hitching rides into town.  If I do end up finding a place here I may have to make a greater effort to have a social life, but I think that on the balance, it's worth at least looking into staying right here where I am.