Tel Aviv's secret: Location
Azrieli Center Glass AtriumYou must have heard the old real estate quote about a value of a property: Location, Location, Location... well, this is one thing that Tel Aviv has. I was speaking to 'sam-d-man' earlier today about towns away from the central region of Israel, specially in the north (Yokneam, Migdal Ha'emek, Carmiel, Haifa). Old towns and new ones, pretty ones and quiet ones. Places where people "should" be flocking to, but they don't. The question is why some places everyone wants to live in, others are quiet and empty. The real estate question is why in Tel Aviv the property prices are many time of "comparable" places in the smaller and quieter towns.
You don't need to be a real estate expert to notice that people WANT to live in Tel Aviv. Not because the scenery is prettier, the streets are cleaner or the jobs pay more. It's the attraction factor. It's the fact that people want to be near other people, near the "action", near where things "can" happen, where you can go to shops, movies, bars, cafes... Where you can see people dress fashionably, funky, weird, elegant, boring... Its trading physical comfort for peace of mind? or is it having it "your own way", the movie your like "exactly" your way! the food you prefer, comfort or exciting, strange or "in" -- EXACTLY! The same can be true to all urban centers. The attraction is not the expensive small apartments, or the scenery of crowdes streets, or even the terrific parking budget - eaten up by tickets on a regular basis -- agghh.
The Three Azrieli's: Square, Round, TriangleIts the selection, choices, variety, activity, liveliness... its the LIFE of the city, the non-stop buzz of people's conversations and ideas, the parade of colors and shapes, the ever engaging and stimulating LIFE. That is what Tel Aviv offers. In a small country with more quiet towns and open spaces than you can imagine. With a portion of the land silenced by the desert, beautiful as it may be, but still silent. In a country where you can't take the chevy and drive for hours, like crossing Colorado on a winter weekend. Tel Aviv offers the next best thing: LIFE, ACTION, BBBUUUZZZZZZ.
But Tel Aviv does it with style. It does it nice but not too nice. Its comfortable but not sleepy. Its a blend that fits, Israelis and foreigners, rich and poor, young and old. I can't say the same for most cities I lived in. New York is arguably more "alive" but maybe too much, too noisy, too crowded, too expensive, too abrasive. Just overdone. San Francisco it too expensive and has overgrown it's size, not enough new building, so it's frozen in time. Spilled to its suburbs far away. Boston is very nice but also somewhat conservative, not alive enough... you get the idea. Tel Aviv is still growing and "jelling" - "crystallizing" ~ maybe in fifty years people will categorize Tel Aviv as one of the other cities. But today, it's still bubbling; but not too much. Maybe we are just lucky, as they say: "the right place at the right time".
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