Jerusalem for young olim and students
Renting a room, ulpan, finding work, what things cost, and where people actually go out.
Start here
In this order — each one assumes the one before it.
- 01 Student Life in Jerusalem: Housing, Money and Getting Settled 4 min
- 02 Ulpan in Jerusalem: Learning Hebrew as a New Arrival 3 min
- 03 Working in Jerusalem: Jobs, Salaries and How Employment Works for English-Speakers 4 min
- 04 Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and Back: Train, Bus, Sherut and Shabbat 2 min
- 05 Living in Jerusalem: Honest Pros and Cons, and How It Compares with Tel Aviv 5 min
- 06 Renting an Apartment in Jerusalem: Listings, Contracts, Deposits and What to Check 4 min
- 07 Getting Around Jerusalem: Light Rail, Buses and the Rav-Kav 4 min
- 08 Jerusalem After Dark: Bars, Live Music, Late-Night Eats and How to Get Home 3 min
- 09 Date Spots in Jerusalem: Where You Can Actually Talk 4 min
- 10 Cost of Living in Jerusalem: A Line-by-Line Budget 5 min
Sort these out
Things with a deadline, a rule, or an entitlement worth claiming.
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Start studying within three years of aliyah
The Student Authority can cover up to the full standard tuition at public institutions, but you must begin within three years of aliyah and under the age caps. Army or sherut leumi time does not count against the three years.
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Use the ulpan entitlement before 18 months
Free or subsidised ulpan runs out 18 months after aliyah. Working first and studying Hebrew later is the most common way to lose it.
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Load the right Rav-Kav profile
The 18–26 young profile discounts monthly passes only, so irregular travellers gain nothing from it. Students get a discount on stored value instead, renewed yearly with proof of enrolment, and discharged soldiers travel free for a year.
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Convert your driving licence within 12 months
The deadline runs from your aliyah date, not from when you buy a car.
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Expect a squeeze around month six
Free health cover ends at six months and rent assistance only starts around month seven, while sal klita is finishing. Budget for that overlap before it arrives.
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Check the city's student scholarships and housing
Jerusalem runs a students and young adults department with scholarships for people who live and study in the city, and community housing schemes that trade reduced rent for running local activity. Amounts and windows change each cycle.
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Know that a student visa is not oleh status
Masa participants and A/2 student-visa holders are not olim: most transport profiles, tuition benefits and health entitlements above need Israeli residency.
Where to look
Where to go
All the plans
Gazelle Valley Park Parks & nature · Givat Mordechai / Katamonim A 260-dunam urban nature reserve in the middle of Jerusalem with a free-roaming herd of mountain gazelles, a lake, bird hides and a flat paved circuit. Entry is free and no booking is needed. No dogs are allowed anywhere in the park. Abraham Tours Jerusalem Free Tour (Old City) Historic sites & tours · Old City - meets outside Jaffa Gate A daily two-hour tips-based walking tour of the Old City's four quarters in English, meeting in the plaza outside Jaffa Gate, with viewpoints over the Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Guides are licensed by Israel's Ministry of Tourism. Reserve online - free tours fill up, especially in spring and autumn. 
Ein Bokek Central Beach Water & beaches · Dead Sea The free public beach in the middle of the Ein Bokek hotel strip at the southern Dead Sea, run by Tamar Regional Council. Lawns, shaded areas, sand, play and fitness equipment, free umbrellas and chairs, showers, changing rooms and toilets, with a promenade, mall and cafés a few steps away. Entry, umbrellas and chairs are free — you only pay for parking.