I rent a room in Israel for 90 thousand rubles. What does it look like and what’s included

According to the representative office of the Ministry of Tourism of Israel in Russia, after the covid blockade and the restructuring of air traffic in 2023, more people will visit the country 200 thousand Russian tourists.

And they all need somewhere to stay.

I have been in Israel for over a monthimmediately noticeable: this completely different world. Endless sun, architectural mishmash, people of intertwined cultures. Therefore, we will explain the interest.

You have probably heard more than once that expensive apartments are here, so I decided to share from my experience what travelers can expect.

I have not the cheapest space for rent in Tel Aviv, which I found on Airbnb. I remind you they are crying 90 000 rubles per month per room 3 by 4 meters. And she makes me happy.

I agree, it sounds strange to be satisfied with such input. But I hold on to the apartment, because I was extremely lucky with it.

Why lucky? Far from the beach? What is included in the payment? About everything in order.

👉 Photos taken on iPhone 13 Pro.

Local listings on Airbnb have a mess with dates



I came to the country for the first time, so I was looking for accommodation through Airbnb. The prices are huge.

From the options available to me, there were options from a hostel for 14 euros per night (1200 rubles), where you would have to sleep on the floor, to separate rooms up to 35 euros per night (3000 rubles).

Of course, there are rooms for 55 euros, and apartments for 100, but such expenses are beyond the budget.

Booking is a complete mess. Usually in the application, if the date is free, then the reservation is approved. And here, already at the airport, I received a refusal for the first apartment. They apologized but said they couldn’t let me in.

Well, I made three more requests for housing for the free and necessary dates for me. Refusal. Refusal. Refusal.

And then one of the landlords nevertheless went forward. She said that the room from the ad was occupied, but she could move to another one. The same 150 shekels (3,300 rubles) per night or 23,000 rubles per week.

So I ended up in an absolutely unexpected place for myself, in which I decided to stay longer.

My cool bomb shelter

I got a bunker.

Every new apartment in Israel has a fortified room with thick walls called MAMAD.

It has a thick steel door that opens outward, a separate ventilation outlet and metal shutters on the windows.

But they can be used as a normal living space. It was only on the third day that I noticed exactly where I was offered to stay.

The advantage of such a room is also that during a particularly severe heat (right now on the street +40ºС) thick walls keep cool longer, so it’s more comfortable to be here than in the rest of the apartment.

As a rule, people in the country come with their own furniture, but in my room there was a bed, shelving, a work table, hangers, linens and everything. This was already a good sign.


Thick steel shutters are pulled out in the window to protect against the blast wave

Separate ventilation for a protected room takes up a huge amount of space in the walls and ceiling. View outside the room and inside

Thick steel door should always open outwards

The room is bright, without former tenants. It looks like it’s being sold for the first time. The bathroom is for me and for the neighbor in the other room. There is also a great repair, everything is cozy and clean.

That is, there is nothing to complain about the conditions in order to call in and live. Basic such space.

But in itself, it still does not pull on 90,000 rubles, which they asked me later.

But what pulls, so additional conditions.

I was directed to go up to the seventh floor. As it turned out, the top one.

The door opened and I saw a huge living room (here they are called a salon) with panoramic windows, a large kitchen combined with it and a terrace twice the size of this living room in area, overlooking the north and west of Tel Aviv.

This is a penthouse with an incredible view.

I live in this type of house.

While I was looking for a building in which I would live, the road led to a strange area.

On the one hand, a pleasant well-groomed boulevard stretched along which tall trees all in greenery grow, on the other, incomprehensible village-sized houses have grown into the ground, creepy in the dark with their unkempt facades.

Even closer to the destination was a long dormitory-like apartment building on concrete piles, which was scary to look at, let alone enter.

But the cards said to go even deeper into the yard. And here, among these semi-slums, a completely new modern building looms, with a well-thought-out entrance area and, presumably, very expensive apartments.

Shared workspace in the living room

Rest zone

Here with this view

Here are the types. The weather is sunny, but constantly different

Therefore, the price tag that was requested from me for this space is successful. Initially, the offer was 100,000 rubles, but after bargaining it was reduced to 90,000 rubles. This includes absolutely all expenses, I no longer spend a penny on housing.

Yes, for this amount you can settle in a separate apartment in another city or even find one in Tel Aviv, but there is a big problem with the quality of housing in the country, and you didn’t want to take risks immediately after entering.

As I was told, there could be a villa next to the wreck, and you would have to pay approximately plus or minus the same money.

Moreover, many landlords require confirmation of bank solvency, recommendations from locals and, in the end, often rent out empty rooms.

Therefore, the option, although it turned out to be not the cheapest, definitely turned out to be profitable.

All the comforts with almost no stress

Details fill the apartment with life

To the sea 40 minutes walk. The city center is 15 minutes by direct bus.

You can work, play sports and spend time as you like in the common area. It is furnished with designer furniture and decor, which is not uncommon for Israel.

The other two rooms – each in a separate room – are occupied by two interesting people, so it’s always nice to enjoy their company and ask for advice on local issues.

Fixed payment covers unlimited use of internet, dishwasher, washing machine, electricity, water. And the neighbors often treat me with dishes that I obviously could not afford here yet.

The apartment was put into operation six months ago, so the order here is appreciated not only by me, but also by everyone else.

On the one hand, this is an immense plus in terms of fresh repairs, new furniture, neat neighbors.

On the other hand, no one is immune from bad contractors. Anything used here for the first time may not work well.

The view from the windows is like an endless generator of wall landscapes

The owner of the apartment is a man of art, the decor is full of decorations

There are places for both sports and work.

Were creepy surprises.

So, for example, I found out that the steel shutters of the windows in the bomb shelter room did not close completely, and the air conditioner was leaking from the ceiling right in the middle of the bathroom, because a hose with a crack was put in it.

But these issues are not resolved at my expense, because they are included in the lease.

The rest of the accommodation is very good.

To understand the proportions of payment, a month of rent for this entire apartment costs about 235,000 rubles, plus an additional 42,000 rubles for the maintenance of the building and the entire communal apartment. We divide by three and get the same 90,000 rubles.

Expensive, but only in Tel Aviv



Yes, after living in Turkey for 50,000 rubles in a giant apartment given only to me, returning to life with neighbors feels strange.

But, given the real estate market in the city, this is one of the best options in terms of price / quality ratio.

Apartments on the first coastline here cost from $10 millionforty-meter odnushki in the center will start from $ 1 million. Rent is appropriate.

Any other city in the country will be cheaper. The farther from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, the easier it is to get close to familiar price tags.

But I haven’t been to other cities yet and I don’t aspire to move to them, because in terms of the type of social life Tel Aviv in Israel is a direct alternative to Moscow in Russia, New York in the USA, Berlin in Germany and Shanghai in China. Only with sand and palm trees.

Business, fashion, commerce and art are concentrated here.

And landlords know this very well.

Bonus:

📸 All photos in the article: