What is the best living city in israel? Kfar Saba and Tel Aviv are two major cities that have the most satisfied residents, and in Jerusalem, on the other hand, most of the city’s natives stay. This is according to the data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics from the 2018 Social Survey. The reason for this, according to local residents, is spacious and green planning, being close to employment hubs, and the local authority’s investment in public cleaning.
The social survey is an ongoing annual survey about the living conditions and welfare in Israel. This survey was conducted last year and included about 7,450 people aged 20 and over that were interviewed and represent (statistically) about 6.5 million people. Among the topics the survey dealt with was moving between cities, commuting (i.e. habits of getting to and from work) and satisfaction levels from the major cities in the country.
Among the cities with 100,000 residents or more, the leading cities in the rate of satisfaction from the area of residence are Kfar Saba (96%) and Tel Aviv-Yafo (91%). The lowest percentages of satisfied residents were in Jerusalem (73% – 87% of Jews and 49% of Arabs) and in Bat Yam (79%).
What Makes a City the Best Living City in Israel?
In an era where planners often talk about “urbanity” and “density”, and the government plans to build more and more in open spaces, the general public seem to give a large importance to green spaces. 58% are satisfied with the amount of green space and public parks in the area where they live. The leading cities in the rate of satisfaction in this regard are Kfar Saba (84%) and Ramat Gan (77%). Low percentages of satisfaction were found in Jerusalem (37%).
Additionally, cleanliness is a very important parameter in determining a resident’s position regarding the city in which he lives, and here it turns out that the public have some real criticism of local authorities. Only 56% of the residents are satisfied with the cleanliness in their area of living, and the leading cities in satisfaction of the cleanliness are Kfar Saba (77%) and Rishon Lezion (65%). In Jerusalem, only 37% are satisfied with cleanliness (46% of Jews and 21% of Arabs).
Moving Between Cities in Israel
The survey shows that two-thirds of those aged 20 and over do not live in their hometowns, but there is a very large gap between the Jewish population, 76% of whom moved to another city, and the Arab population, where only 20% left their hometown.
There seems to be a positive correlation between the city’s identity as a religious or poor city, and the lack of immigration from it among its natives. Thus, 63% of all residents of Jerusalem and 46% of all Jews living in the city are natives, and 38% of those aged 20 and over in Bnei Brak are natives of the city. The following cities in the list are Be’er Sheva (32% of all residents there are natives), Ashkelon (28%) and Haifa (27%).
And what about the cities that absorb immigration? About a quarter of those aged 20 and over have lived in their city for 10 years or more. It turns out that Ramat Gan is the best of them, with 40% of the adult population living there for at least 10 years. It is followed by Beit Shemesh (36%) and Tel Aviv (34%).
83% of those aged 20 and over intend to stay in their current place of residence for the next 5 years, 11% intend to leave and 6% did not know. Of the 16 large cities, the rates of those intending to stay in the city are particularly high in Netanya (89%), Jerusalem (88%) and Kfar Saba (87%).
When the surveyors asked the immigrants why they had moved to another place of residence, 36% of them answered that it was a family reason such as marriage and the birth of children, 24% said they did so to improve their standard of living, 10% of all survey participants justified their move by wanting to live in their own apartment, 8% justified the move by changing the employment of one of the household members, 4% due to social reasons, 3% due to studies, 2% due to the deterioration in the economic situation and more.
Employment Options
It is not always about the best living city in israel. The choice of place of residence is related to the place of work, and this is reflected in the fact that 42% of the employed, work in the local city where they live. In this respect, Jerusalem stands out, with 86% of the city’s employed being locals – and it makes sense as the city is quite far from any other major cities.
61% of the employed go to work by driving a private or commercial vehicle, including a motorcycle, 16% by bus or taxi, 7% by organized transportation from the workplace, 8% on foot or by bicycle and 3% by train.
The time of arrival for work of 32% of the employed is less than a quarter of an hour, of 26% of the employed – a quarter of an hour to half an hour, and of 37% – half an hour or more.
A high proportion of employed people whose time of arrival at work is half an hour or more is found among the residents of Rehovot, Ashkelon and Jerusalem. The highest rate of employed persons whose time of arrival at work is half an hour or more is found among the Jewish residents of Jerusalem (56%).
More than a third of the employed are bothered by the length of time it takes for them to get to work. The percentage is particularly high (48%) among those who arrive by public transport.
Rented vs. Owned Apartment
And finally: in an age where more more and more people live in rented apartments, the CBS signals that there is still a lot to do in the field. Although in general 88% of people aged 20 and over are satisfied with the apartment they live in (39% are very satisfied and 49% are satisfied), those who live in the apartment they own are more satisfied than those who live in rented accommodation (93% compared to 79%, respectively) – which is probably explained by the difficult rental conditions in which the tenants live.
This means that the best living city in Israel is also one where you can afford to own your own place. if this is something that is interesting to you, check out our post on Cheapest Real Estate in Israel.