Tel Aviv: the Friendly City

Here is Rachel from London’s wonderful story on the friendliness of Tel Aviv: I arrived in Tel Aviv with a plan to holiday for 2 weeks.5 weeks later, after having had more conversations with strangers than i could have ever imagined possible, i decided to call one of the friendliest cities on earth, home.

It all started with a lone coffee at the Ben Gurion/Ben Yehuda coffee kiosk, early one Friday morning. 3 free chairs at my table soon attracted a group of Israeli girls and guys to approach, sit down and investigate my story. 30 minutes later, after non stop conversation, the invitation was extended for me to join them, plus more of their friends for brunch. An offer I couldn’t refuse and one, that little did i know, would trigger a cascade of amazing friendship, dating and work opportunities.

The brunch ran into an afternoon which ran into an evening of relaxed fun, ending up on one of the most beautiful panoramic rooftops of one of the Israeli guys. From that 13 hour encounter one Friday with a group of warm, open, ambitious, worldly Israelis, it triggered; a date with the guy’s best friend in Jerusalem the next day (now a good friend) and later down the line; a freelance marketing role, an amazing hairdresser, a graphic designer who I now employ and a wonderful flatmate. That chance encounter gave me a group of friends that i’m proud to say are a very big part of my new life in Israel.