For most English-speaking olim moving to the Negev, Be’er Sheva is the practical first base: it has Soroka Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University, government ulpan classes, a municipal absorption department and trains north to Tel Aviv, and the average rent the Central Bureau of Statistics recorded there for April to June 2026 was ILS 3,182.9 a month, against ILS 5,085.5 for Israel as a whole. The small moshavim, community settlements and kibbutzim around the city offer more space and a tighter community, but you usually need to be accepted, rentals are scarce and many families build their own home. Several of those small communities give residents an income tax credit in 2026, while Be’er Sheva, Omer and Meitar are not on the 2026 list. Olim with status from 1 April 2025 who live in the South district can also get a higher rate of rent assistance. This guide compares the options, collects what olim report about daily life, and sets out the official figures as checked on 29 October 2026.
Be’er Sheva or a small community: how the four ways of living in the Negev compare
Most olim who head south choose between four kinds of home. The table is our summary of how each one works in practice, built from Nefesh B’Nefesh community profiles and olim’s own accounts. Every small community sets its own admission rules, so treat it as a map of the questions to ask, not a promise of what any one place offers.
| Option | How you get a home | Everyday services | Usually suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Be’er Sheva (city) | Rent or buy on the open market through Yad2, Madlan or an agent | Hospitals, all four health funds, ulpan, university, government offices and rail in town | Families who want an English-speaking circle with full city services, students, and people working in the city or commuting by train |
| Moshav or moshav expansion (for example Ein Yahav, Even Shmuel) | Buy or build in an expansion neighbourhood once the community approves you; few rentals | Shopping, clinics and secondary schools in the nearest town or regional centre | People who want land and a rural setting and are happy to drive for most errands |
| Community settlement, yishuv kehilati (for example Merchav Am, Sapir, Kfar Retamim) | Acceptance process, often a caravan first, then building your own house | Kindergarten on site; schools in a nearby town or a regional school with council transport | Families looking for a small, often religiously defined community and willing to build |
| Kibbutz as a resident or member (for example Ketura, Kramim, Shomriya) | Live as a resident (toshav) paying rent and kibbutz fees, or join through the kibbutz’s admission process; waiting lists are common | Communal facilities on the kibbutz; regional schools | People who want communal life, with the option of not taking on full membership |
Source: Semerenko Group summary of Nefesh B’Nefesh community profiles and Go South blog accounts (undated or written 2013 to 2015), checked 29 Oct 2026. The legal side of buying in a moshav or kibbutz is explained in our guide to buying a house with land in Israel.
Living in Be’er Sheva as an English-speaking oleh
Be’er Sheva is the main city of the Negev and the place most southern olim start. Nefesh B’Nefesh describes a multi-generational community of English-speaking olim living in a Hebrew-speaking city, with every religious affiliation represented and some neighbourhoods fairly homogeneous. For the property market and investment angle, see our Be’er Sheva real estate guide and the Be’er Sheva city page; this section is about daily life.
Where olim live
According to the Nefesh B’Nefesh community guide, most olim live in the neighbourhoods north of Route 25, the side of the city with Ben-Gurion University, Soroka Medical Center and the Gav-Yam high-tech park. Neve Ze’ev, Hey (שכונה ה’, Shechuna Hey), Tet (שכונה ט’) and parts of Darom also have olim. A 2013 account by an observant English-speaking couple describes the religious English speakers clustering in Hey and Tet, which a small road separates, and notes that Gimel and Dalet, near the university, have many residents of Mizrahi background.
The same writer described housing in Hey and Tet as a mix of apartment blocks, two-storey cottages, single-storey patio houses and attached homes, many set in misholim (משעולים), clusters of homes joined by footpaths, with most homes between about 85 and 120 square metres before the garden. The absorption centre (merkaz klita, מרכז קליטה) for new immigrants was in Hey. Those sizes are one resident’s 2013 estimate, so check the listing and the Tabu extract for any specific home.
Health care
All four health funds (kupot cholim, קופות חולים) operate in the city, and Nefesh B’Nefesh counts more than ten tipat chalav (טיפת חלב) infant-health clinics. Hospitals include Soroka Medical Center, Assuta Be’er Sheva and the Be’er Sheva Mental Health Center, and Terem and Briuta run urgent-care centres. In the 2013 account, one spouse stayed with Clalit because of its link to Soroka and the university’s medical school, while the other chose an English-speaking family doctor at Maccabi. Supplementary insurance prices from that period are out of date, so compare the funds’ current plans yourself.
Schools
The city has the three public streams found across Israel: state schools (mamlachti), state-religious schools (mamlachti dati, the Religious Zionist stream) and Haredi schools, including the Ma’ayan HaChinuch HaTorani network. Ask the municipality’s education department which schools serve the street you are considering before you sign a lease.
Hebrew, ulpan and the municipality
Expect to manage daily life in Hebrew. The 2013 writer found most forms and signs in Hebrew, Arabic or Russian rather than English, and a family who arrived more recently says there are fewer English speakers than in central communities, so they use Hebrew every day. Nefesh B’Nefesh lists three government ulpan sites in the city; confirm current classes and your entitlement with the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration before you plan around one.
The municipality has an absorption department. Nefesh B’Nefesh lists its services as short-term housing in the first two weeks after aliyah, extra classes for children and help registering them for schools and kindergartens, counselling for parents, vocational courses, and an absorption coordinator who helps with documents and forms. Ask the department what it offers today. Olim accounts also describe Be’er Sheva as the regional hub for Interior Ministry and Ministry of Aliyah offices, so residents of Netivot, Arad and other southern towns travel there; check the office’s current address on gov.il before you go.
Getting around
Be’er Sheva has local and intercity buses and Israel Railways trains north to Tel Aviv and the centre of the country. Olim describe Tel Aviv as a short train ride away, and the 2013 writer found the city small and almost flat, so most daily errands could be done on foot or by bus. Journey times quoted in older accounts are out of date; plan with the current Israel Railways timetable. For weekends, the same writer put Mitzpe Ramon and the Dead Sea, Masada and Ein Gedi at about an hour away by car, with the canyon views of the nature reserve at Midreshet Ben-Gurion on the way south. Check drive times on a map app for your own route.
What rent and prices look like
Older blog posts quote Be’er Sheva prices from around 2013 that are far below today’s market, so use current official figures instead. The Central Bureau of Statistics publishes average rents by city and average sale prices by district:
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, table 4.9, average rent and table 2.2, average prices of dwellings sold, checked 29 Oct 2026. These are averages across all sizes of home, not asking prices for any one flat.
For a search, Nefesh B’Nefesh points olim to Yad2 and Madlan, both in Hebrew, and has written English guides to each. Our comparison of Israeli property portals explains which site does what.
What olim say: the upsides and the trade-offs
A young family from Calgary, about four months after arriving, said they chose Be’er Sheva for the affordable rent, the cultural life, easy access to the centre of the country, a close community and desert hikes on the doorstep. Both spouses came from arts and humanities backgrounds and were working in high-tech in the Be’er Sheva area within a month: they started looking before aliyah, networked and adapted their CVs to the Israeli market. They also found daycare for their toddler. They recommend Kehillat Be’erot, a congregation popular with English-speaking olim. That is one family’s experience, not a promise about the job market.
The same family is open about the trade-offs: a long commute for the spouse who works elsewhere, fewer English speakers than in central communities, and a smaller-city feel that can make some services slower or less professional, although they see the city becoming more cosmopolitan.
The 2013 account adds points that matter for observant families. Most synagogues in the city are Sephardi, many of them Moroccan; the English-speaking congregations the writer knew were mainly Mizrachi and Young Israel; English-language Torah classes (shiurim) were rare; and AACI ran an English lending library in the city that the writer called the largest in Israel. The writer, who keeps a stricter kashrut standard than the local rabbinate, found eating out difficult, found meat and chicken with the hechsher they wanted hard to buy, and checked produce for orla. On climate, the writer found winter days in the 50s to 60s Fahrenheit (about 10 to 20 °C) but cold nights in homes without good insulation or windows, pleasant weather from mid-February, and dry summer heat with cool nights and an afternoon wind from about 4:30 pm. These are one household’s observations, not survey or weather-service data.
Small Negev and Arava communities: yishuv, moshav and kibbutz options
Outside the cities, the south has dozens of small communities. Nefesh B’Nefesh’s Go South programme covers cities, towns, moshavim and kibbutzim from Ashkelon to Eilat and answers questions about southern communities at south@nbn.org.il. The communities below are the ones olim have written about most. Housing works differently from a city: there is usually an acceptance process, few or no homes to rent, and many families live in a caravan while they build.
| Community | Type and character | Where | How housing works | Income tax credit, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ein Yahav | Secular agricultural moshav, described as the oldest and largest in the Central Arava; mainly export crops and guest units (tzimmers) | Central Arava, about 1.5 hours from Be’er Sheva and from Eilat | Expansion under way; ask the moshav about plots and admission | 12% up to ILS 213,240 |
| Sapir | Mixed religious and secular community, residents working in many fields | Central Arava, about 1.5 hours from Be’er Sheva and from Eilat | Expanding and accepting new families | 12% up to ILS 213,240 |
| Merchav Am | Orthodox community, the first Orthodox one in the Ramat HaNegev Regional Council | Between Sde Boker and Yeruham, about 35 minutes’ drive from Be’er Sheva | Caravans while families build; the first permanent neighbourhood is being built and occupied | 10% up to ILS 180,000 |
| Kfar Retamim | Religious community founded in 2009 near secular Kibbutz Revivim | Ramat HaNegev, about 25 km south of Be’er Sheva | Acceptance process; no houses for rent, large caravans; each family aims to build its own home | 7% up to ILS 146,640 (listed as רתמים, Retamim) |
| Kibbutz Kramim (Cramim) | Kibbutz founded in 1980 that mixes religious and secular members; crops, vineyards, catering and tourism | Bnei Shimon Regional Council near Meitar, about 20 minutes from Be’er Sheva | Expanding since 2006; has had a long waiting list | 7% up to ILS 146,640 |
| Shomriya | Religious renewing kibbutz (kibbutz mitchadesh) resettled by Gush Katif evacuees, with its own religious schools and community rabbi | Bnei Shimon Regional Council, northeast of Lehavim | Families moved from caravans into permanent homes from 2012 | 12% up to ILS 213,240 |
| Kibbutz Ketura | Kibbutz mixing observant and secular families; Shabbat and kashrut kept in public spaces | Arava, about 30 minutes north of Eilat | Families can live as residents (toshavim), paying rent and kibbutz fees; prefabricated homes in new neighbourhoods on the edge of the kibbutz | 12% up to ILS 213,240 |
| Even Shmuel | Moshav with an older and a new section | Near Kiryat Gat, under 10 minutes by car; about 30 minutes to Be’er Sheva | Construction and expansion ongoing | 7% up to ILS 146,640 |
| Midreshet Ben-Gurion | Small desert community with a café, a grocery, a pizza place and a restaurant | Ramat HaNegev, near Sde Boker | Ask the community about rentals and purchases | 7% up to ILS 146,640 |
Source: descriptions from Nefesh B’Nefesh community profiles and resident blogs, most undated, checked 29 Oct 2026; tax credit rates and annual income ceilings from the Israel Tax Authority 2026 deductions booklet, chapter 8, checked 29 Oct 2026. Family counts are left out because the sources are undated or disagree.
What daily life looks like in a small community
Merchav Am shows the pattern. Residents commit to living in the Negev and work in Yeruham, Dimona and Be’er Sheva. The community has a synagogue, a mikveh, a kindergarten, infant day care and a members’ club, with Torah classes, communal Shabbat meals and festival events. Toddlers go to the day care (maon) on the yishuv; older children attend a state-religious school in Yeruham, with a more Torani option and other schools in Mitzpe Ramon and Dimona, and the regional council (moetza) runs transport to after-school activities in nearby places. One family there described buying a plot, working with an architect on plans and permits, and spending a long time collecting documents from government offices, while living in a caravan.
Kfar Retamim, a religious community founded in 2009, lists its principles as settling the Negev, religious tolerance and community involvement. From Even Shmuel, a resident puts Kiryat Gat (three supermarket chains, a small mall and a Wednesday market) under 10 minutes away, Ashkelon’s beaches about 25 minutes, Be’er Sheva about 30 minutes and Jerusalem a little over an hour. Meitar, a suburban town near Be’er Sheva, draws families who want more space: one family sold a semi-detached house (du-mishpachti) in the Modiin and Hashmonaim area and bought a more spacious home in Meitar after relatives moved there.
The Central Arava Regional Council covers five moshavim (Idan, Hatzeva, Ein Yahav, Tzofar and Paran) and two community settlements (Sapir and Tzukim), about 1.5 hours southeast of Be’er Sheva. Accounts from the region describe the one regional elementary and high school and a medical clinic in Sapir, kindergartens in each moshav, a community centre and a regional library, and the Arava International Center for Agriculture Training, which has trained students since 1994. Newcomers tend to come for a slower life and a supportive community and usually create their own work rather than arrive for a job. Kibbutz Ketura, further south, sees hot summers and cold winters. Ask the regional council which services run today before you rely on any of them.
Communities near the Gaza border, in the area now called Tkuma (חבל תקומה), are a separate case. Their benefits, return dates and newcomer intake have changed since 7 October 2023, and a 2026 temporary law changes the tax credit rates and ceilings for some Tkuma localities for the 2026 to 2029 tax years. Check each community’s current status with its regional council and the Tkuma Authority before you plan a move there.
Do you get an income tax credit for living in a Negev or Arava community?
Yes, if the community is on the Israel Tax Authority’s list of beneficiary localities (יישובים מוטבים, yishuvim mutavim) for that tax year and you meet the residence conditions in section 11 of the Income Tax Ordinance. The credit is a percentage of your taxable income from personal exertion (salary or business income, not rent or investment income) up to an annual income ceiling, and both the rate and the ceiling are set locality by locality each year. Be’er Sheva, Omer, Meitar and Lehavim are not on the 2026 list. Ashkelon was added to the list for 2026.
| Locality | Credit rate | Annual income ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| Ein Yahav | 12% | ILS 213,240 |
| Sapir | 12% | ILS 213,240 |
| Kibbutz Ketura | 12% | ILS 213,240 |
| Shomriya | 12% | ILS 213,240 |
| Merchav Am | 10% | ILS 180,000 |
| Kfar Retamim (listed as Retamim) | 7% | ILS 146,640 |
| Kibbutz Kramim | 7% | ILS 146,640 |
| Even Shmuel | 7% | ILS 146,640 |
| Midreshet Ben-Gurion | 7% | ILS 146,640 |
| Mitzpe Ramon | 18% | ILS 259,920 |
| Yeruham | 18% | ILS 245,400 |
| Dimona | 18% | ILS 245,400 |
Source: Israel Tax Authority, monthly deductions booklet for January 2026 onwards (updated April 2026), chapter 8, list of beneficiary localities for 2026, checked 29 Oct 2026.
To claim it as an employee, fill in Form 1312 with supporting documents and submit it to your local authority. Once the authority signs it, you sign the residence declaration on Form 1312א and give it to your employer, who applies the credit through payroll. The Tax Authority’s 2026 guidance shows the authority checks your registration in the population register and your arnona and water payments, and that someone who keeps a second centre of life elsewhere is not entitled. The list, the rates and the ceilings change every tax year, so check the current booklet for the year you are claiming. For a small community, the regional council is the authority that signs the form.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice; confirm with a licensed professional.
Rent help for olim in the South
The Ministry of Aliyah and Integration’s rent assistance adds a geographic supplement for olim in the South. If you received oleh status from 1 April 2025 and live in a locality in the Interior Ministry’s South district, the current scheme’s total with the geographic addition is ILS 2,000 a month for a family and ILS 1,336 for an individual, during the scheme’s ordinary payment months and subject to the Ministry’s other conditions. If your status date falls between 1 March 2024 and 31 March 2025, the supplement applies in national priority areas and the defined Negev and Galilee regions instead. Our rental assistance guide for olim has the full rules, the other household categories and the payment schedule.
How to plan a pilot trip to the Negev
One couple who moved to Be’er Sheva in November 2012 visited over two years, meeting people and looking at housing, before they decided. Their test was an English-speaking observant group in one neighbourhood, good medical care, the climate and a quieter small-city pace. You don’t need two years, but the method works:
- Write your must-haves. Community type and religious character, schools for each child’s age, distance to a hospital, your commute, and whether you need a rental now or a plot later.
- Shortlist two or three places. Use the tables above: Be’er Sheva for city services, a moshav or yishuv for space and community, a kibbutz if you want communal life.
- Visit more than once. Spend a Shabbat, see the place in summer heat and on a winter evening, and walk the streets you would actually live on.
- Meet the community office. In a small community ask about the acceptance process, waiting lists, caravans or rentals, building rules and timelines. In Be’er Sheva, meet the municipal absorption department.
- Check the money for that year. The tax credit list and rate for the locality, your rent-assistance cohort, and current rents in real listings.
- Test the commute. Do the trip at rush hour with the current bus or train timetable.
Sources
- Israel Tax Authority, monthly deductions booklets, including the 2026 booklet (updated April 2026), chapters 1 and 8.
- Israel Tax Authority, issuing beneficiary-locality residence certificates for 2026.
- Israel Tax Authority, clarification on residence certificates (14 June 2026).
- Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, rental assistance for olim.
- Central Bureau of Statistics, table 4.9, average monthly rent, April to June 2026.
- Central Bureau of Statistics, table 2.2, average prices of dwellings sold, October to December 2025.
- Israel Railways, timetables.
- Community descriptions (not official): Nefesh B’Nefesh, Be’er Sheva community guide; Nefesh B’Nefesh community profiles; Go South blog posts Making Aliyah to Beer Sheva (2013) and New to Beer Sheva.
Weighing Be’er Sheva against a smaller Negev community? Tell us your dates, budget and the kind of community you want through our aliyah relocation service. We search the public listings in the places on your shortlist, check them, and handle the Hebrew side of the lease or the purchase.
