Haifa is Israel's best kept secret. It is a quiet, beautiful, residential city with a decidedly European flavor. Despite its physical beauty, high quality of life and many attractions, Haifa is not on the tourist map and is relatively unfamiliar to people outside of Israel, perhaps because it does not boast a frenetic pace. Still it has a rich cultural life, a young café and bar scene along the main drag on the Carmel and many family oriented activities. Haifa is friendly to olim: it has absorbed the largest number of Russian immigrants proportionate to its size and it has a veteran anglo community. There is a small but steady trickle of English speaking olim and many services are available for new immigrants through the municipality and through the Ministry of Absorption.

Physical Surroundings
The most outstanding feature of Haifa is its green, beautiful panoramic views. Because it is situated on the slope of a mountain the magnificent combination of sea and mountain provide never-ending opportunities for breathtaking views as you climb up the mountain. Haifa is divided into three areas – the downtown area at the bottom includes the port, bus and train stations, government buildings and businesses, the Hadar section in the middle features commercial and shopping districts and some older residential areas and the third area is the Carmel ridge which is mostly residential. At the very bottom are some of Israel's best beaches and at the very top, some of Israel's most magnificent forests –the Carmel Forest also called Little Switzerland. So for people to whom pleasing physical surroundings are important, Haifa has it all.

Religious Life:
Haifa has a wide variety  of religious communities ranging from a Hassidic Sect (Wishnitz) through Habad, Haredi, Modern Orthodox, Mesorati, Reform and all other shades. In most neighborhoods the population is mixed but there are a number of areas in Haifa where there are religious communities with a concentration of English speaking olim. These communities are interspersed within the  non-religious population and therefore are well integrated within the general Israeli society. For those seeking the services needed to conduct a full religious life at their own level and are  also interested in all the amenities which a big city can offer, Ahuza and Neve Shaanan are excellent choices.

The Ahuza area runs from the Central Carmel and includes Denya – the up-scale villa neighborhood near Haifa University. Neve Shaanan is the large area facing the Haifa Bay near the Technion. Also Kiryat Shmuel, a largely religious suburb in the Haifa Bay area, is a viable alternative. Generally speaking, English speaking olim, , many of whom are secular, are spread out all over metropolitan Haifa and can be found in every neighborhood, but for those seeking religious community life the above three areas provide the best alternatives.

Ahuza is the most expensive of these neighborhoods although compared to other cities housing costs are reasonable and some bargains are available.  It has over twenty orthodox synagogues, as well as an active conservative and a thriving reform congregation. There is an excellent local municipal religious elementary school for boys and girls as well as private one. There are two religious boys' high schools and two religious girls' high schools within easy commuting distance of Ahuza. There is a very active, bustling Bnai Akiva snif in the neighborhood, with children from fourth grade through senior high school, and it provides them with a strong and binding social, educational and ideological framework .The Ahuza synagogues sponsor joint holiday celebrations and events and publish a bimonthly community journal.
The English-speaking religious community in Ahuza is very involved in local activities and holds leadership positions in many synagogues and other institutions. They are warm and welcoming to newcomers.

Neve Shaanan has a large, vibrant religious community which boasts a community center with round the clock activities. The large active local Bnai Akiva snif meets there. Neve Shaanan too has a large religious elementary school for girls and boys, and many synagogues. The municipal religious girls high school is located in Neve Shaanan, and the community also boasts a haredi mini- market. The religious population of Neve Shaanan is concentrated around the area of the community center and has a large component  of English speaking olim of all ages.

Unlike the above two, Kiryat Shmuel is a largely religious neighborhood where secular people are a definite minority. Some  streets are closed on Shabbat and their institutions have a more strictly orthodox leaning.

Education:
Haifa has a wide range of educational institutions, from nursery to university, including programs for special needs children, and many choices are available both in the secular and the religious streams. There are too many secular options to list here but a variety of religious educational institutions in Ahuza and Neve Shaanan are available as follows:
Ganim: there are excellent religious ganim available in both neighborhoods and some of the secular gamin have rich traditional programs.
Elementary Schools:  the Carmel School (Ntiv Eliezer) is a government religious elementary school for boys and girls with a religious Zionist orientation. Some of the elementary school age children in Ahuza attend  the Barkai school  (run by a national religious school organization) with separate classes for boys  and girls which is located in Kiryat Eliezer - about 15 minutes away from Ahuza and Neve Shaanan.
High Schools: for girls – Ironi Vav is the municipal religious girl's high school located in Neve Shaanan. There is also a Tzvia High School (run by a national religious school organization) for girls, located in the Hadar. For Boys, Yavne is the Municipal Religious High School and it is relatively close to both neighborhoods. Branco-Weiss High School for boys (run by a national religious  school organization) is also easily accessible.  

In addition,  there are a number of outstanding secular high schools ( Reali, Hugim and Leo Beck)  nearby as well as municipal high schools.

Transportation – intra city buses cover the city, cable car to connect upper and lower cities. There are buses to all destinations in the country. The train line also connects travellers to destinations further North and South. Travelling to Tel Aviv by train makes working there an option.

Cultural Life and Entertainment: Haifa has many excellent cultural resources: the Haifa Municipal Theater with its own beautiful building, the Haifa Symphony Orchestra, the Cinematheque and  a number of thriving community centers. It also has a well-developed network of public libraries including children's books and books in English.  There are a number of sports complexes, four large cinema multiplexes and to top it all off, an excellent amateur English theater with  performances for the general public two or three times a year. Haifa also has active branches of all the large volunteer organizations, including an English speaking Hadassah chapter.

Housing: A large variety of housing is available in Haifa from the most modest shikunim in the downtown area or Hadar (which can rent for under $200 a month and sell for under  $100,000) and up to single family dwellings in Denya which can sell for considerably over a million dollars. In between there are all varieties of housing and prices. A 3 bedroom apartment in Ahuza or Neve Shaanan can be purchased for between $150,000 -$300,000 and rented for $500 and up. Kiryat Shmuel is about 20% cheaper.