Wondering what it’s like living in Tel Aviv? We have asked several Tel-Aviv residents – long timers and new, foriegn and local – to give us their best take on this subject.
The answers below are based on our collection of social media posts (whenever we can, we link back to the original source), conversations with friends and co-workers we have transcribed and our own input as well.
See their answers below.
Nightlife
Tel Aviv is known as “the city that never sleeps” and a “party capital” due to its thriving nightlife and famous young atmosphere. Eighteen of Israel’s 35 major centers for the performing arts are located in the city, and it was recently named “the best gay city in the world” by American Airlines, and it is one of the most popular destinations for LGBT tourists internationally, with a large LGBT community living in the city.
The atmosphere is great in the main streets (like Rotchild, Even Gvirol, Dizingoff, King George) in the days and especially in the nights. People love to go out every night, not only on the weekend (Bars in Dizengoff, for example, probably will be full on Mondays and Tuesdays).
Dvir, Lives in Tel Aviv (posted on quora)
Tel Aviv is where you have favorite bars in every neighborhood, and too many exes that live in the same area.
Miri, Lives in Tel Aviv (posted on quora)
There’s a huge amount of diversity here. There are just as many places to get sushi as there are shawarma shops. There are always people out and about. There is a huge international business environment so people are working all hours of the day to service various parts of the world, and as a result there are always people in cafes and the beach and involved in social activities.
Jacob, Lived in Israel (2007–2017)
Culture & People
What is it like living in Tel Aviv? Tel Aviv welcomes everybody, and when I say everybody – it’s literally EVERYBODY. It doesn’t matter where you came from, your religion, sexual preference, color, or anything else, you will be welcomed and embraced here. Never seen in my life, even in NYC or Berlin, such a phenomenon. Israel at it’s finest.
Tal, Lives in Tel Aviv (Posted on Quora)
Some people see Israelis as rude. They really aren’t, just indifferent to the lives of others, there is no intentional rudeness, as once you let them know you are to be taken seriously, they do it. If you don’t stand up for yourself, people will assume you like being walked all over and will do it. So confidence is a big key to surviving here.
Jacob again
People are super friendly and helpful, whether you are a tourist or not, it’s just easy to get help around here.
Tal again
Tel Aviv is a beautiful city. It is culture rich and diverse, embodying Jews, Christians, Muslims and all religions alike. It has an incredible night life, food scene and the beaches are just amazing. The architectural build of the city is truly fascinating. From skyscrapers to crowded and rundown areas the city is bursting with secrets to tell.
Alex, Posted on Quora
Lots of cafes. It’s a laid back kind of lifestyle. You’ll always see people at cafes hanging out for hours. Also happens to be one of the most gay friendly cities in the world. In general a totally liberal place. All of the non-Orthodox religious streams have synagogues here.
Judy, Posted on Quora
Transportation
Everybody drives electric bikes or scooters. If you are planning to live or work in the city center, forget about a car – there is almost no parking (or very expensive one), and the traffic into the city is very high.
Shahar, Lives in Tel Aviv for 4 years.
Tel Aviv has terrible transportation (A light rail is now in process of construction, The first line is planned to open in 2022).
Netta, Lives in Ramat Gan (close to Tel-Aviv)
If you plan to live in Tel Aviv – Get a good bike that looks like crap with an amazingly strong lock… or two.
Jacob again
Public transportation here leaves much to be desired. The city is lacking a subway system and public transportation doesn’t run from late afternoon Friday until the early evening on Saturday.
Michal
Related: Where Can You Buy a Rav Kav in Tel Aviv (And Load It)
Weather
Tel Aviv is located on the coastline of the Mediterranean sea, and therefore very hot and humid, especially in the summer.
Weather in the summer is horrible, very humid, stuffy in the city though ok at the beach – I spend most of the summer ducking from one air conditioner to another. And summer is about three months long – at least.
Judy (Posted on Quora)
Cost of Living
Tel Aviv has become a major world high tech hub. It has more than 1,000 startup companies and research and development centers, and was ranked the second-most innovative city in the world and again came second on a list of top places to found a high tech startup company, just behind Silicon Valley.
Tel Aviv is essentially the business and (secular) cultural center of Israel. Real estate and cost of living levels simply reflect Israel’s incredibly fast economic growth and the people’s future outlook. If you think the cost of living is high, it probably means you have not taken the economic potential of the city at full value. Simply put, very few people living here, and able to own a nice apartment, complain about the cost of living.
Ami (Posted on Quora)
Of course this varies tremendously based on which standard of living you are used to. I’d say, as a youngster you can reasonably get by with about NIS 7,000, especially if you share a flat, do not own a car and keep your entertainment expenses to a minimum.
In order to feel “comfortable” for a middle class life as a single person, I would say you need north of 20K NIS per month. 30K+ would put you in the top 5% of Israeli population and would allow you to enjoy life and save a bit as well.
Gabriel
What is it like living in Tel Aviv
There is a great short clip on YouTube that really summarises all of the above quite well and conveys the vibe of the city and what is it like living in Tel Aviv. a recommended watch (around 3 min).
