After lots of deliberation and soul searching, we’ve decided to move our family closer to Jerusalem.
This has been a decision that has taken a long time to come to. I feel that God was trying to show me again and again that this isn’t the place for us but I was so intent on looking for the positives that I kept ignoring the messages. It wasn’t until ds4 and I were hit by a car in the beginning of October that I started to tune in.
It was hard to even consider moving – my mind kept moving away from it. I just didn’t want to think of having to start over. We’ve had so much upheaval in our lives and things were finally beginning to stabilize; the last thing I wanted was to shake things up by moving somewhere new. Bit by bit, my mind started touching around the edges of the idea and gradually accepting that it was not only necessary but could be very positive for our family in many ways. To be willing to move, I had to be honest about what was missing for us and also to trust that life could be better than it currently is – and after so many challenges that left me feeling emotionally steamrolled, trusting that things can be good is something I consciously and constantly work on.
Intellectually, it makes perfect sense to move. Ds20 and dd17 are both in Jerusalem; dd17 will be able to live at home and ds20 will be able to come home for Shabbos much more frequently. Ds14 is near Bnei Brak and his travel home each week will be much shorter. Dd19 will want to be near Jerusalem when she comes back. Yirmiyahu will have better access to medical care and services. There are more boys’ high schools so we hopefully won’t have to send any of our other boys to a dorm when they reach high school age. There’s more homeschooling support in the center of the country, there’s more support for Anglos in the center of the country, there’s potentially more work for my husband in the center of the country. There’s more everything in the center of the country!
We moved here with a large family that included older teens. Making aliyah at this stage of life is unusual but we did it because we wanted to continue to preserve our family togetherness even as our children got older, moved out and got married. Ironically, it was this goal of family closeness that has been most challenged by our location in the north. Our family has enjoyed many things about living here and I’m glad we moved to Karmiel, but it’s also clear that to stay here will compromise our highest values.
When are we moving? We don’t know yet! This isn’t the season in which homes usually come on to the market but I’m hopeful that one will become available very soon in the community that we’ve decided to move to. We made this decision quite some time ago but weren’t mentally ready to consider moving so soon until a couple of weeks ago, and now my husband’s job ended last week. This wasn’t part of our plan but it was timing from Above! So it’s the perfect time for him to search in the Jerusalem area close to where we’ll be living. (He’s a technical writer – if you have suggestions or leads, please let me know!)
We will really miss Karmiel – our friends, our home and so many wonderful things about it. But at this time what we most need isn’t here for us.
Avivah
wishing you much hatzlocha on your decision.
Avivah,
I have a friend who just moved from Petach Tikvah to Yerushalayim who worked as a technical writer. I will be happy to send you her name and email address, if you like. She might have some suggestions.
All the best,
Rena
Thank you, Rena, I would appreciate that! Warm regards to your husband from mine.
Wow what a big announcement ! Never a dull moment on this blog. Hatzlachah with the job search and all the other plans!
Wow! That’s big news. Hatzlacha with the move – with the job search, with finding the right place, and with everything else.
One of my best friends just made Aliyah to Maale Adumim. She’s an acupuncturist and doctor of Chinese medicine. If you’d like her contact info, email me at
Rivkasmom AT gmail DOT com
I’m sure she’d love to help you out.
Wow that is such a big move. I’m so inspired that you moved to keep the family together as your older children moved on, and that you will move again to accomplish this!
If you need any help, I lived in many different places in Israel – Ramat Eshkol, Sanhedria, Neve Yaakov, Ramat Beit Shemesh, and I have contacts in Beit Shemesh, Bayit VaGan, and Moshav Yesodot, if that helps. I wish you tremendous Hatzlacha in finding the right place for your family!
Wow! That’s big news! You are SO right on those reasons! Funny, but as a homeschooler in the Jerusalem area I feel like the concentration of frum homeschoolers is in the north, but I guess just with your family moving the balance will shift! Does your husband do translating as well? If I can be of any help please don’t hesitate to ask!!! I hope I’ll get to meet you in person soon!
b’hatzlocha!
Shoshana
I truly hope your family finds the right place. And I do believe that being close to Jerusalem is the best solution for an American family. Personally we left Jerusalem area years ago for financial and other reasons and I regret it almost everyday. Although I have a sweet apartment I miss having friends with similar backgrounds and all the services Jerusalem area offers and feel very isolated.
Hope your husband finds a great job near where you want to live. Behatzlachah in all your endeavors and Shabbat Shalom.
Susan, thanks for the validation. I hope you can find a place where you have all the things that are important for you.
what you said about “trusting that things can be good is something I consciously and constantly work on”, it really resonated with me. May your practice be rewarded… – lots of luck…
Thank you, Judy, and welcome!
Wishing you lots of hatzlacha and clarity and ease in getting settled in a good place for you. I get so much chizuk from your blog and wish you lots of strength right now as you struggle to make good and hard decisions for your family. It sounds like you have so so much on your plate at this second, I’m davening for good things for you!!
Thank you, Soroh and welcome!
Hi Avivah, I’m a technical writer in Boston, MA with relevant LinkedIn connections in Israel. May I suggest that your husband create a profile on LinkedIn? (He’s welcome to connect with me.) Also, contact STC Israel and contract documentation agencies in Israel; WritePoint is now based in Jerusalem. Consider learning how to use Madcap Flare V9, which supports right-to-left languages and appears to be a specialty of WritePoint. Also, look for remote bridge or supplemental employment on web sites like elance.com. Hope this helps!
Thank you, Iris, I’ll pass your suggestions along to him!