The intensity of life in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv is a blend of the Middle East, the West, and everything that makes cities great.
For the past two months I traveled around Europe and the Mediterranean. The plan was to take advantage of a small window of opportunity to travel between jobs and I wanted to visit Europe, but this was early March and the entire continent was supposed to be bathed in rain for weeks, so I decided mostly on a whim to try Tel Aviv.
I started my trip in London for 24 hours before evacuating the cold to Tel Aviv. I was only going to stay in Tel Aviv for a couple of days, but had such a great time and met so many other great travelers (waves through the internet at you) that I decided to extend my stay for over two and a half weeks.
I happened to go at a particularly vibrant and intense time. Israel was celebrating Purim (the Jewish equivalent to Halloween where everyone dresses up in costumes and parties) while political tensions were just starting to escalate due to a dramatic judicial reform, starting the early stages of mass-protest through the streets.
Of all of the cities I traveled to during my two-month trip, Tel Aviv was hands-down the most memorable. I wanted to share some of the reasons why it was such a great experience to encourage you to consider making a trip someday. If not just to realize how good hummus can be.
A diverse city designed for connection
Tel Aviv is somehow perfectly designed to encourage social interaction. With walkable mixed-use spaces, tons of restaurants, bars, a massive beach, book stores, and shops, it's easy to find a place to hang out. I was particularly impressed by the abundance of public seating – there were even standing tables and stools on some street corners. It's clear that this city values connection and community, especially with how much the country encourages people to have families, but I would have never imagined how well this was reflected in the overall design of the place.
Each neighborhood in Tel Aviv has its own distinct character but safety feels homogenous across the entire city.
Florentin is hip and trendy like Roma Norte in Mexico City, Neve Tzedek is sophisticated and intimate, Jaffa (a 7,000 year old port older than the pyramids) is a trip into the deep deep past, the business center is towering and technological, and the Carmel Market (locally called the “Shuk”) is highly energetic.
It is surprisingly to discover how diverse yet accessible the city was. You can walk or scooter anywhere, and once they finally get their lightrail open after years of promising it would be operational it will be even more connected.
Traffic and parking are a different flavor of mayhem in the city, but for the main city core you can walk almost anywhere you’d want to go in 30-40 mins at worst.
Scooters EVERYWHERE.
Thanks primarily to Bird launching e-scooters way back in 2018, the city is flush with shared and private e-scooters. While the market is now one of the most heavily regulated with daily changes in e-scooter placement zones (what we called Bird “nests”) and extremely strict helmet requirements, e-scooters are fully-integrated into Tel Aviv’s infrastructure.
People ride them relentlessly at all hours of the day, especially along the modern beach promenade, and even go so far as to carrying their own helmets. The helmet is a regular accessory of people of all ages while walking around.
During my trip, I spent a lot of my time with Michael Frascella, a current resident of Mexico City and Product Manager at Bird, who was visiting Tel Aviv for work. We spent a lot of late nights exploring restaurants and clubs while riding scooters through Tel Aviv.
The car culture is still pretty prominent but it feels a lot like Colorado’s car culture – when you live in a place with so much natural beauty you want the flexibility to go and explore it, so it’s hard to give up owning a vehicle. Fortunately, Mariko (a friend and connection from working on Bird’s expansion into Japan back in 2019) and her husband Taketo are living in Tel Aviv and they conveniently have a company car. They generously took me on a day trip to a winery up north to try out some funky and flavorful Israeli wines.
Incredible Israeli cuisine
Every place has their specialties, and Israel’s is Hummus. Unless you’re Hup (hummus messiah and all-around tall guy) you probably haven’t full embraced the possibilities of what hummus could be. Throw away your Sabra because the stuff out of Israel takes it to a whole new level. Served with pita, vinegary jalapeño sauce, tahini, veggies, and various spices, it's a flavorful and filling meal. And don't knock dunking raw onion in hummus until you've tried it – it's surprisingly delicious. For some reason hummus quells raw onion’s sulfurous rage to something that’s like eating a savory apple.
When dining out, always ask for an English menu. If they don't have one, good luck interpreting the Hebrew alphabet. But trust me, the effort is worth it because the food is phenomenal. From Habasta to Hummus Hakarem, the diversity and depth of flavors are almost on par with Mexico City's culinary scene. Almost.
The hand-food game is on fire too with Babagim’s exceptional Turkish döner kebab and Jasmino’s charcoal grilled lamb kebabs served with tahini, grilled vegetables and a delicious spicy pepper mango sauce. I went countless times to Jasmino.
Tel Aviv excels in offering non-pretentious cool spots like Herzl 16 and Teder.fm where they serve rich slices of margherita pizzas alongside Middle Eastern sides like zaatar spices and hot harissa paste that you dunk your pizza into. Beer taps are flowing and people chat among big leafy plants while DJs spin music at all hours of the day – it’s no surprise that I went three times to Teder.fm.
If you’re feeling especially hungry you can go to The Old Man And The Sea to get a massive spread of sauces, salads, and fish to split with new friends.
The beach and fitness culture
Probably the primary appeal of Tel Aviv is its location on a vast and accommodating beach that has great weather all year round.
The beach offers a diverse range of watersports, from surfing on intense wave days to wind and kite surfing when the water is calm. The beach's conditions cater to every kind of activity – I've never seen so many six-packs or people crushing pull-ups in public before.
It's possible that the Israeli Defense Force instills fitness values early in adulthood, as all Israelis are required to serve in the military for 2-3 years fresh out of high school. There is outdoor workout equipment everywhere along the beach and throughout the city including weight-adjustable workout machines. Probably a good way to encourage everyone to stay healthy is to make ample opportunity for people to get a quick rep or two in on their way to wherever they are going.
Plus, people are really good at juggling soccer balls.
As a side note, about 50% of the music I heard was out of Latin America, so hats-off to Bad Bunny and his compadres.
Other observations of the Tel Aviv lifestyle
In no category of their own, here are some other things I saw:
It's no secret that Tel Aviv residents enjoy smoking, but I was surprised to learn that they also openly smoke cannabis. Apparently police stopped enforcing it a couple of years back so people just go for it.
Fresh squeezed juice is everywhere and is perfect for the hot sun. From what I’ve heard this is pretty standard across the Middle East.
Cafe culture is much more digital-worker friendly than Europe. Wifi, outlets, ample seating abundant, you won’t be ostracized to corners of a coffee shop like in Spain or France.
Tel Aviv is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. It’s still cheaper than New York because you don’t have to tip and pay tax with the things you buy, but you can expect most menu prices to be similar to New York or Los Angeles.
Israeli’s tend to act very individualistic in public. If they’re driving somewhere you sure as hell better get out of their way. But they don’t do it with a bias, they just do it to everyone and each other.
Along the lines of intensity and directness, it’s surprising to see how inhospitable Israelis are with things we would consider baseline courtesy in the U.S. Every time I greet someone by asking “how are you?” I get a very subtle eye roll and a reluctant “good, how are you?” from the other person. I sheepishly asked a very non-english speaking laundromat if they could help with my laundry and they said something along the lines of “here!” (motioning to the table) “bye!” (pissed off and intense while aggressively waving me to get lost).
Israel = Intensity
“Intense” is exactly the word to describe everything related to Israel.
The people, the culture, the parties, the protests, the food, the traffic, the scooter culture – intensity is everywhere you go. Every interaction is direct, and occasionally (but mostly temporarily) heated among locals. While there are plenty of ways to unwind and relax in a place like Tel Aviv, it is almost certain that you’ll be in situations that are at the extremes of human interaction.
Tel Aviv taught me that a life lived with intensity, fitness, and healthy eating can be vibrant and exciting. The city's emphasis on connection and community is truly inspiring. If you ever get the chance to visit, I highly recommend it!
Michael and I were lucky to grab a drink with a local through an introduction of one of Michael’s friends. Josh, who moved to Israel with his wife and served his time in the IDF, summarized what it’s like to live the Israeli lifestyle succinctly. Paraphrased:
“Israelis are and always have been at war, so they live their life accordingly. When you don’t know whether it’ll be one of your last days you are focused on living the best life you can with everything you do.”
It’s a great question to ponder with your own life – how would you live differently if you were in a war zone?
reading this felt like I was there with you 🥲
The commentary on external stressors leading to an abruptness and asking for what you want is an insightful take