Moving After Aliyah

Short answer: we help new olim and new residents with moves inside Israel, for example from an absorption centre, a relative's flat or a first rental to your next home. You write to us in English on WhatsApp, we ask for the details of both addresses, and we come back with one closed price. We coordinate the move, and an independent moving company does the carrying. What we do not do matters just as much: we do not ship from abroad, we do not collect or clear a lift at the port, and we do not handle customs. Those stay with your shipping agent and customs broker.

Many new immigrants move twice in the first stretch. The first home is often chosen fast, sometimes from abroad or after a stay at an absorption centre. The second is chosen once you know the city, the commute and the school. The two moves are very different in size. The first may be a few suitcases and some boxes. The second, if your lift has arrived, is a whole household. Tell us which one you are planning, and we price the one you actually have. A handful of boxes is a small move and is priced as one.

If the second move is into a home you have bought, the date often depends on a handover from the seller or the developer, and handover dates can slip. Give us the range, not the hope: we plan around the key date you have confirmed in writing. New buildings add their own rules, such as booked elevator slots and many families moving in the same week, and our guide to moving into a new building explains them.

Furnishing a flat from scratch creates its own pattern. Many rentals come with a fitted kitchen and built-in wardrobes but not necessarily a fridge, a washing machine or light fittings, so the first weeks fill up with deliveries from stores and with second-hand items bought from private sellers across town. If you have several pickups to collect and bring home, send us the list of addresses and tell us the dates, and we tell you whether it can be done as one job. Flat-pack furniture is common, and our furniture assembly service covers putting it together.

If your belongings are crossing the sea in a container, the port, the customs process and the delivery to your door belong to your shipping agent. Agree the delivery date and address with the agent in writing. Make sure the lift is delivered to the home you will be living in on that day, not the one you are about to leave, and ask the agent about waiting or storage charges at the port before you commit to a date. Our part starts once the goods are in your hands: moving between homes later, assembling furniture, and packing for the next move. One practical point on appliances: Israel's mains supply is 230 volts, so check with the manufacturer whether a device built for another voltage is worth bringing, before you spend money moving it.

You do not need Hebrew to book. The conversation with us is in English, and we pass the job details to the moving company in Hebrew, so nothing depends on anyone's English on the day. The people carrying your boxes may speak little English, so keep your phone and the WhatsApp thread close. Your building will also have its own Hebrew world: a building committee, moving-hours rules, an elevator that may need to be booked, and notices on the entrance wall. Our checklist for the first move after aliyah walks through those, and our moving-day parking guide covers the truck.

Timing is worth planning around the Israeli calendar. Summer is the busiest season, because arrivals and new leases peak together. The autumn holidays and Pesach remove many working days, and moves tend to bunch at the start and end of the month, when leases change. Most moving companies do not work on Shabbat, and Friday is a short day. Book as soon as your lease dates are fixed. If your old lease ends before the new one begins, tell us the dates, and we tell you honestly what can be arranged. Please do not assume a gap can be bridged.

A word about entitlements. Some new immigrants are entitled to state help with certain costs. We cannot tell you what you qualify for or how much, and nothing on this page is advice about benefits. The Ministry of Aliyah and Integration is the place to ask.

What to send us: the date you land or the date your lease starts; both addresses, even if one is approximate; floor and elevator at each end; photos of what you are moving; whether the lift has arrived; and what extra help you want, such as packing, assembly or unpacking. With that, a closed price on WhatsApp is usually a short conversation.