Shekel or Sheqels? The name created a different response when I popped into my local TD Canada Trust to order some of the currency. The conversation went like this......."I would like to order $100 worth of Shekels." The teller starts to laugh and asks me if I am talking about 50 Shades of Grey shekels and have I read the series? Laughter ensues. Nope that is definitely not the shekels I am ordering but I love her humour!
The Israeli New Shekel is the currency in Israel. It is also known as the Israeli Sheqel The symbol for ILS is also NIS The Shekel is divided into 100 Agorot. For every 3.56 Shekels (or Sheqels) this translates roughly into one Canadian dollar. It seems pretty simplistic.......35 Shekels is about $10. I might need a calculator though!
Just how expensive is the cost of living in this Middle East country?
I looked online and here is what I found.....
- One litre of Milk.....6 shekels.... equates to $1.68
- 12 eggs......13 shekels.........equates to $3.63
- One pair of Levis 501 Jeans (or similar) 400 shekels...equates to $111.68
- One bottle of mid range wine......40 shekels.....$11.69
- One litre of gas......7.70 shekels....$2.10
- Water bottle .33 litre.....4 shekels.$1.12
- Movie ticket.......one seat.....38 shekels $10.61
- Rent....one bedroom apt. in city centre..2,870.35....$809
- Five fresh baked rolls........10 shekels.....$2.79
- New Volkswagen Golf or equivalent....125,000.00....equates to $35,032.00!
- Cost of electricity for one month of basic utilities....water and electricity for a 2 bdrm. apt. 680 shekels.....$190.91
A close examination shows that compared to Canada and Europe, Israel's cost of living is a mixed bag. Salaries are definitely lower.
Here is a link showing a list of the world's wages. Scroll down and you can see Israel's minimum wage is 23.12 Shekels which equates to $6.50 Canadian. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_wages_by_country Some consumer goods are much higher and owning a car is very expensive. I read that a 6 ounce can of Israeli made sunscreen can cost $40. Tax rates on new vehicles is a whopping 78%. That along with the high cost of insurance makes owning a vehicle very costly.
In Israel, the average salary is about $2500 per month according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics. Teachers and nurses earn $1666 a month. The highest wage earners are business managers, computer engineers and lawyers. Doctors who work in clinics and hospitals (the statistical majority) earn $6,000 to $7,000 a month unless they have their own private practice.
Education is an area that is affordable. Public University tuition is about $2700 per year due to government subsidies.
To sum it up, consumer good and service costs are higher in Israel than that of Canada and purchasing a car can run much higher than a yearly salary.
It would appear that unless you make a top dollar, living in Israel is pricey!
A question I have for the readers of this blog (and comments are always welcome)........what is your response to the cost of living in this Middle Eastern Country? My first reaction was that of the average family who would certainly struggle financially earning only the minimum wage.
We are currently in Scotland and will arrive in Tel Aviv on April 16th.
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