Israelis leaving big cities

Western Galilee  photo: Yotam Yakobson
Western Galilee photo: Yotam Yakobson

Israelis are bucking a global trend by moving into smaller communities.

Migration figures are an important measure for any community. A city losing its population is a signal that something in the municipal cost-benefit equation is not working.

Cities and communities that are adding new families, on the other hand, are showing that they can be attractive to many Israelis, even if those new families are going there to live because they cannot afford the cost of living anywhere else.

According to figures recently published by the Central Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Construction and Housing, Israelis are fleeing the large cities, in absolute contrast to the global urbanization trend strengthening the world's largest cities. Israel's five largest cities, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Rishon Lezion, and Ashdod, where a quarter of Israel's population (two million people) lives, had negative migration in 2010-2013. Other than Haifa, each of these cities also had negative net migration in 2009.

Of Israel's 40 largest cities (with 40,000 or more residents), only 17 had positive net migration in 2013. In 16 cities, containing 40% of Israel's population, net migration was negative in each of the years from 2009 through 2013.

It seems that despite the distinctly urban lifestyle of most Israelis, and even though the big cities offer a broad range of housing solutions, educational institutions, culture, employment centers, etc., something there is just not working. The high price of housing in those cities, the absence of adequate construction solutions, and perhaps economic and social temptations in other cities are drawing people away.

Fleeing Ra'anana

For some reason, size has become a disadvantage in the Israeli way of life. Other than Petah Tikva, all the cities with 100,000 or more residents are losing people. Even Tel Aviv, which has so many attractions to offer, saw 22,500 people leave in 2013, while only 20,500 moved to the city (legal residents, of course; thousands of immigrants come to the city who are not legally registered in it). 18,000 Israelis left Jerusalem in 2013, while only 10,500 moved there.

Ra'anana has the largest negative migration in Israel, losing almost 2% of its population yearly: 15-18 out of every thousand residents. The fact that the city is currently almost aggressively promoting construction in the framework of National Outline Plan 38, and is building large neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city (Neve Zemer, to contain 3,500 apartments) indicates an attempt to reverse the trend, and perhaps to combat the high prices in the city (according to Ministry of Construction and Housing figures, a new four-room apartment in Ra'anana costs an average of NIS 2.14 million) that drive away many of its residents and making it difficult for other Israelis to settle there.

In stark contrast, Kfar Saba, which is right next to Ra'anana, is the leader in positive migration. Massive construction in the city and the relatively cheap alternative it provides to the other Sharon area cities (a new four-room apartment there costs an average of NIS 1.83 million) are making Kfar Saba the preferred option for many families. Just behind it, Hod Hasharon (NIS 1.82 million on the average for a new four-room apartment) has also been waiting patiently far from the limelight (certainly in comparison with its prestigious neighbor, Ramat Hasharon), and has also consistently shown positive net migration in recent years.

While Kfar Saba is the popular alternative in the Sharon area, in the northern outlying areas this role is played by Afula.

Construction on a large scale, relatively low prices (a new four-room apartment costs an average of NIS 837,000), proximity to Highway 6, and perhaps the promise of a valley railway, are putting Afula among Israel's leaders in positive net migration, with the city gaining 13 new residents a year for every 1,000 residents. On the other hand, large-scale negative net migration is no stranger to the Galilee, as evidenced by Carmiel, Acre, and Upper Nazareth.

Mid-sized cities on the rise

The negative trend is not affecting municipal communities with less than 100,000 residents. The towns and local authorities with the most prominent positive net migration were Ganei Tikva (30,800 residents in 2013), Gan Yavne (24,300), and Yokneam (13,300), all of which are close to older and larger cities. In recent years, these three towns have learned how to optimally combine massive high-density construction in a community capable of marketing itself as having an intimate atmosphere. Similalrly, Pardes Hanna-Karkur, Zichron Ya'akov, and Kfar Yona have continued to show positive net migration figures.

Rural prosperity: A lifestyle appealing to Israelis

While the large cities are combating a loss of population, the figures clearly indicate a move to rural communities. This is not a return to agriculture as a profession; it involves communities apparently offering a style of home that is very appealing to Israelis, even though usually at the high cost of remoteness from places of work and a great deal of time spent in traveling to them.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 30, 2015

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2015

Western Galilee  photo: Yotam Yakobson
Western Galilee photo: Yotam Yakobson
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