Jerusalem - Post Report Question and Answers

What do you wish you had known about this particular city/country before moving there?

Just how difficult living and working here would be. In other places we've been, we were seen as apart from the conflicts that were happening in the country. Here, it's inescapable and seems to permeate everything that you do -- the clothes you wear, the water you drink, what you chose to do on Thursday night, all are making political statements. Living here is exhausting and vivid and challenging all the time and you need to be prepared for that. - Oct 2019


I wish I had known how expensive it would be. - Aug 2018


The antipathy here is not subtle. People you have just met will tell you how glad they are that no Arabs/ Jews live where they live and how much they don't like each other. - Apr 2018


The need for a small car. We brought a large one and sold it after about 6 months to purchase a smaller one. - Aug 2015


There is a lot of history here - you'd be foolish to come here for a tour and not do some background reading beforehand. People who are shy or very polite need to be prepared for a culture where people are very direct, and do not say thank you. Many people are wonderful and helpful, but you often have to get through a prickly exterior. - Aug 2015


I wish I had known how few American brands there are here. Jordan is more westernized than Israel. I wish I had studied up on more Hebrew to be able to read store signs - Mar 2014


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