In July 2008, we moved to Arad. Moving day went well and we woke up in a new town. Arad is a small city - 27,000 residents. There's a commercial center and shopping mall with everything we need. A few supermarkets, hardware stores and restaurants - that's the first thing we noticed as we unpacked and bought things we needed. So far we haven't had to go to Beersheva for a thing. It took two weeks to unpack most of our things and a month to feel that we were done moving and settled in. The summer heat slowed us down! Its not nearly as hot as Eilat but its still the summer in the desert.

Arad has a slower pace than Eilat. In Eilat, stores were packed on Thursdays and Fridays and a visit to the supermarket meant a long line. Seems less so here in Arad. Arad's population is about half of that of Eilat (plus 40,000-60,000 tourists at any given time in the summer!). The neighborhoods are pretty and the people we meet care about their community and quality of life.

If you work at home and are considering a move to the Negev, small towns like Arad made sense. You have everything you need without the traffic and crowds. We're a two hour bus ride from Tel Aviv, just over 30 minutes to Beersheva. We considered moving to a moshav or kibbutz but we wanted a bit of the city.

I like the quiet here. Once summer is over, we'll explore the city more. Its easy to sit down and focus on work and hobby stuff. Brazilian, Latin and Caribbean music with a stunning desert backdrop is inspiring and relaxing.

Here are some photos and QuickTime 3d's.



You can view the full sized panorama as well.

If you're interested in Israel, visit my other related pages...
Israel Culture in Israel Israeli Music Eilat The Negev Kibbutz Ruhama The Israel Trail Jerusalem in the Snow Aliyah Tips

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Kenny Sahr