Offshore yourself: Making the move to Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv is an exciting city, a young people’s city, and — considering the political turmoil in that part of the world — a relatively safe city, at the moment at least. Tel Aviv is the second-largest city in Israel, behind Jerusalem, with a population of about 390,000. Situated on the Mediterranean, it offers a moderate climate, great beaches, outdoor cafés, shopping, and a lifestyle that is far more secular than Jerusalem’s. 

Apart from the occasional rocket attack, people in Israel talk about the Tel Aviv “bubble,” meaning while the rest of country could be under attack, everybody in Tel Aviv is in the coffee shops, says Ken Smith, co-founder of Zango, an adware company. “Tel Aviv is in the center of the country and out of range of the current missile technology,” he says.

What’s hot: Tel Aviv is the business center of the country and is strong in telecommunications, Internet software, and security. Web development continues to be hot, so ASP, .Net, and C# are good skills to have under your belt.

Database skills are especially useful, says Smith. “We have a hard time getting and retaining SQL Server people — not because they aren’t around but because so many companies want them.”

U.S. and multinational tech companies: All the majors are here, primarily with R&D centers, including include CA, Cisco, Google, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP. A few like Microsoft and IBM also have local sales offices.

Israel is also well known for startups. “With many employees, we have a hard time retaining them because they keep leaving to start their own companies,” Smith says. In fact, Israel has one of the highest rates per capita of startups in the world.

Red tape: Work permits are a requirement to work in Israel. You can get one either in your home country or once you are in Israel on a tourist visa.

Typically, foreign workers come in under company sponsorship, which needs to be certified by the Israeli Ministry of the Interior. Your passport will be stamped with the visa as well as the name of your employer. Permits are limited and must be extended after a year, even if your permit is for a longer period of time. Finally, an Israeli work permit is job-specific. If you change professions, you must reapply.

Of course, if you are Jewish, you can become a citizen of Israel almost automatically. However, you are then subject to the military draft.

Language:English is widespread but knowing Hebrew, especially in a social context, helps. In a high-tech company’s office environment, English is typically spoken. “The only folks who send out e-mails in Hebrew are HR,” Smith says.

Financials:Salaries are close to U.S.salaries but not as high: A software engineer making $75,000 in the United Statesmight make just over the equivalent of $60,000 in Israel. Health care is cheaper, but there is a health care tax.

Housing is less costly, and it is common in Tel Aviv for high-tech companies to give foreign workers a leased car and to pay gas expenses.

Family:Tel Aviv is a good place for singles, but it is not the fleshpot some people think it is, Smith says.

He adds that he’s had the best sushi he ever had in Tel Aviv, and there are great tapas restaurants and good Italian food, too. “The only thing I don’t recommend is the steak. The Israelis have not figured out how to do a steak.”

There are plenty of international schools in Israel, from a branch of the Juilliard School for Music to the Walworth Barbour American International School, which offers classes from kindergarten through grade 12 for students of all nationalities.

Daily life and culture: Israelis work globally, so they are used to working with people from around the world. They are open and welcoming. But one of the cultural differences that you might have to get used to, says Smith, is that Israelis are more direct than Americans and will ask you things like why you think you deserve to work in the position you’re in.