Here is a simple checklist (in no specific order) for the first things to do:
- Contact Nefesh B’Nefesh or the Jewish Agency (more information below) about starting the application.
- Place your home on the market, or at least calculate how long your home will take to sell (contact a real estate agent).
- Review your Hebrew skills, and determine your skill level.
If it is low, consider taking a class in Hebrew.
- Budget your finances – both for the time before you will make Aliya, as well as the fist six months to one year after you arrive.
(It’s a good idea to assume you will need at least six months to find employment).
- Review your (and your families) medical history and get a check up.
- Make contact with some Israeli based Aliya groups (AACI, for example).
- Pay off or pay down any debts.
- Review your decision to make Aliya with all family members, especially children who will be coming with you.
- If you have pets, find out the needed procedures for bringing them to Israel (this can take a few months).
- Try to cut back on your day to day expenses – reduce what you spend on things like entertainment, dining out, and other luxuries.
The money will come in handy later, and you’ll start to get used to a more Israeli lifestyle (where recreation is usually done in a less expensive manner).
- Start to review your possessions – what you might ship or might not.
Shipping is expensive, so there is no reason to ship goods that should go to Tzedaka or the trash.
- Consider any special needs you or your family might have, and see what resources are available in Israel.
This is not a complete list, as each individual or family will likely have something important to them.
However, the idea is that you will be changing everything in your life, so review everything you can, as early as possible.
