Tel Aviv - Post Report Question and Answers
How would you describe the availability and cost of groceries and household supplies relative to your home country?
While produce at the market is generally cheaper than in the US, everything else is more expensive. Especially, but not limited to, alcohol. You can get almost any product you would want at stores, but we typically order any bulk food items and household supplies on Amazon. - Jan 2022
You can find most American grocery staples in Israel, and there are specific stores that import items for the American contingent (cake/brownie mix, Mexican food, candy, sodas). One item you won't find much in Israel is flavored canned seltzer (La Croix, Bubly, or the alcoholic stuff like White Claw). You can find regular seltzer easily but most flavored Schweppes has sugar in it and is usually found in big 2L type bottles. There is also a lack of frozen ready made meals (think Trader Joes) which is a bit of an adjustment coming from the States. The beer selection in Israel is also lackluster. You can find pork but only at certain spots and it's hard to find bacon that isn't cured and mediocre. You can find ways to eat cheaply here, especially if you buy all your produce at the markets, but buying groceries (or anything, really)from grocery stores (Tiv Tam, Hezi Hinam are the most common American style grocery stores) or convenience stores (AM:PM is everywhere, think CVS with more groceries) is super expensive. Tiv Tam and AM:PM are great options because they're open late and on Shabbat, but it's easy to leave both places spending $100 on just a few items. - Apr 2021
You can get pretty much anything here and often, even specific brands. It seems like half of Israel has immigrated here from the US, so there is a big market for imported American products. Groceries do cost somewhat more; I'd say imagine doing all of your grocery shopping at Whole Foods in the US and it's about the same. Produce is mostly grown in Israel and is seasonal, so you can't always get specific items at all times of year. The flip side of that is that it's exciting to see what's in season each week at the market. - Oct 2019
Produce is seasonal, local and cheap. We were extremely pleased with the quality and abundance of vegetables and fruits in particular. Our neighborhood had excellent vegetable shops, butchers, cheese shops, wine stores, etc. We found quality and service to be much better in those small independent stores than in the grocery stores.
While there are are large American-style grocery stores in the suburbs, the city center grocery stores are small and cramped, and service often left something to be desired. TivTam is open on shabbat, however, when most other stores are closed, so at least you have an option if you need something on a Friday evening or Saturday. Sarona market has excellent specialty grocery items available at a price. Levinsky market is good for cheap spices and dried fruits and nuts. There are a few small stores for Indian / Asian imports. Israeli wine is not particularly cheap, but at the $20/bottle range you can get some really excellent local wines. - Nov 2018
One of the wonderful parts of Israel, and especially Tel Aviv, is the variety of fresh produce you can buy throughout the year. Few things will last even a week (maybe root vegetables) as everything seems organic and preservative-free. Almost everything is local. Sure, you can find imported apples and pears, but you'll soon be eating the cheaper, local varieties. You might rue bananas for going brown after two days, or strawberries for coming out only twice a year, but seriously - isn't that how it's supposed to be? All that said, it's expensive. Particularly if you shop at Tiv Taam or other smaller grocers. But people make do by shopping at the outdoor shuks or one of the huge supermarket chains in the suburbs where you can get deep discounts. Paper products are a problem. I mean, it's the desert, right? Consider the tree situation. Lots of people ship toilet paper and paper towels from the US through Amazon or Costco or what have you. But you can get bleach, soaps, detergent locally. American and international products - think peanut butter, cereal, oats, chocolate bars, etc. - are widely available, but again expensive, and most people ship these things from the States. - Aug 2017
All available, but all expensive. Despite relatively low local wages, with relatively few exception goods and services are not that cheap. As a single officer I use a housekeeper sponsored by another family on a part time basis (twice a month) and pay for 5 hours at 250 shekels (that's about $75). Using the duty-free vendors for things like sodas and bottle waters (and definitely any liquor as that can be very expensive locally) saves me a lot, and like many, I also use the DPO to order off walmart.com, amazon and drugstore.com, etc, for some staples. - Oct 2016
Produce is very fresh here, the best I have seen anywhere in the world and cheap. But everything is seasonal so at times hard to make dinner plans until you make it to the market or know what is available. Other than that meat and cheeses are expensive here. We order household supplies from Amazon. - Jul 2016
Most consumer goods are imported and the VAT is generally 15%+. City grocery stores are tiny and a huge rip-off. Most people try to shop in cheaper suburban grocery stores. Carmel Market is a good stop for quality produces though prices are not much better than local supermarkets. - Apr 2016
Everything is available but prices are ridiculously high. - Mar 2016
Expensive but most everything is available. - Nov 2014
Expensive: 2 times more then Europe. The only food item that I could not find has been canned soup. - Apr 2013
Everything is probably double to quadruple the prices of the States. You will order most non-food items Amazon.com. - Aug 2010
Vegetables and fruits aren't too expensive, and dairy and breads are subsidized by the government. Cleaning supplies and meat/fish are not as good as in the US and are very expensive. - Jul 2010
Everything is available here, but be prepared that things cost 2-3x what they would in the states. There are a few grocery chains that specialize in international food choices. - Feb 2009
Somewhat more expensive than in the U.S. - Sep 2008
Expensive..but isn't it everywhere? - Jul 2008
