Our House is a Very, Very, Very Fine House

With 12 cats in the yard, life used to be so hard, now everything is easy ‘cause of you.

Lately, I’ve realized just how much appreciate where I live. No, I don’t mean Israel. I mean the suburbs. Now, those of you who have heard me talk about Ramat Hasharon know that it hasn’t always been my favorite place in the world. Back when Nadav and I were dating—ahhh, the good ‘ole days—it took me longer to get to Ramat Hasharon on a bus from Jerusalem, a mere 47 miles away, than to Haifa, 100 miles away.

Then, of course, there was Nadav’s bachelor pad, home of 3 single men, 5 computers, a cat-scratched (and probably sprayed) couch, and not a bottle of Mr.Clean to be found. Tuna and tomato paste was the cuisine, and therefore, I kept my distance.

A few months before we got married, though, last year. Ramat Hasharon turned out to be a good choice for us. Nadav worked nearby, and since I was going to be looking for a new job as I had finished most of my master’s degree classes at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, it seemed the affordable, close-enough-to-Tel Aviv choice.

Ramat Hasharon is known throughout Israel as being one of the new places for the affluent, starting-their-families Tel Avivians to move after they’ve had enough of big city life. While the house prices in Ramat Hasharon are way beyond our budget as a young couple, renting here is much more affordable than in Tel Aviv itself. Luckily, we found a half-basement apartment (we have light and air!) in a private home. It was spacious, renovated, and came with really wonderful landlords.

Despite all that, it was hard—very hard. The neighborhood we live in is a mix of a bit more established, secular Israelis and very traditional Yemenite Israelis. We didn’t find ourselves religiously or socially falling into either circle. I was moving from the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem, a place known for its young, religious-but-open-minded crowd to a home next to the Shas headquarters.

In addition, I was looking for a job for a large part of the time we’ve been here. While I job-searched, I worked on my thesis and ran a home business in editing and translation, but I’m a people person—and it was difficult having to leave most of my friends in Jerusalem, despite having my best friend here with me, and spend a lot of time on my own.

Luckily, I recently started working in Tel Aviv. Getting out of the house on a regular basis has been good for my heart, soul, and outlook on life.

With these new rose-colored glasses, I’ve been able to appreciate a lot of the things around me:

A few weeks ago, a mother cat brought her litter of kittens to hang out in our front yard for a while. Seeing these little guys play and bounce and experience things in life for the first time brought Nadav and me so much happiness! Unfortunately, our landlord was not such a fan and exiled them to another yard.

On the animal front, I have to mention another star in our neighborhood cast of characters: Jongo the Dog. Jongo is a jolly ole' dog, a black Labrador-looking (but probably not being) dog, who is missing a foot. Before we knew Jongo's name, we used to call him "Happy Dog" because this dog simply gushes joy. Jongo is the happiest being I've ever witnessed. His existence as a "Trumpel-dog" (maybe only the Israeli history buffs will understand this nickname) in no way hinders his love of life, plastic bottles, and neighborhood cats. My favorite interactions with him always involve one of the neighborhood cats, who know him better than we do and know that the only reason to run from him is if you don't want to get licked.

In the plant kingdom is my growing “garden.” I have turned out, after years of “practicing” on plants with less fortunate destinies, to have quite the green thumb. We now have bamboo, cacti, basil, rosemary, parsley, hanging vines, and some flowers in our little botanical collection.

Other than that, Nadav and I are taking ballroom and Latin dance lessons and will soon be going on a worldwide tour to exhibit our contribution to the world of dance.

In short, I’m enjoying married life. Despite my love affair with Jerusalem, I am getting along fine here in the traffic-jammed center of the country. And even though everyone claims Tel Aviv, the city that doesn’t sleep, is the place to be, I’m happy to be about 10 miles out, where we can still hear birds and play with Jongo.