15 Ways You Know You Have Been In Tel Aviv Too Long

When you first arrive in Tel Aviv, it can feel like another planet. You are surrounded by new people, new amazing options and opportunities. But it doesn’t take long for most everyone to adapt to the charisma and energy that this young and lively city has to offer. But ever wonder if maybe you’ve been here too long? Check our list and find out you really are a Tel- Avivian/

When arriving ‘on time’ means arriving 30 minutes late.

It’s an Israeli thing to arrive late and behave like you are not late. You know you have officially become a local when someone tells you to arrive at 12:00 and any time before 1:00 is still on time.

When a dog occupies the seat you want to sit on and you just accept it.

Dogs are everywhere in Tel Aviv, and they are basically treated like people. They attend coffee shops, shopping trips to the mall, and will definitely sit in a seat you would like as well. Once you look at a seat and realize the dog was there first and you must find a new one, you know you have been in Tel Aviv too long.

When a soldier walking around the streets with a weapon doesn’t phase you anymore.

At first, seeing a young woman or teenage boy walking down the street carrying a large M16 seems overwhelming and scary. But soon it becomes an everyday sight, and you don’t even notice the large weapons around the locals’ bodies.

When you’ve learnt how to cut the line, like everyone else.

Just like an Israeli, soon after living in this vibrant city, you must learn how to ask for what you want. If that means cutting in front of everyone in the line to ask if the ice cream place has lotus flavor, you’ve got to do it. Not worth waiting in line to find out.

When 60ºF (15ºC) requires a ‘winter’ coat.

When it’s winter and you can’t even imagine what warmth feels like, and you bundle under a winter jacket, hat and gloves, but it’s still 60 degrees outside, you know you are a tropical lover. When you dress like a local, you have start to become one.

When there is such a thing as missing the last bus to get home and having to be ok with it.

When you live in Tel Aviv and try to get somewhere on the weekend or are trying to head back to your Tel Aviv home, you really must study the bus schedule. If you happen to miss the bus by just a few minutes, you have to accept it. Sometimes buses are early, and sometimes they won’t let you on even if you run. If you miss it, you’ve missed it.

When you don’t need a reason for brunch in the middle of the week.

Brunch is an essential for the people living in a city like Tel Aviv. Unlike most cities, where it is a weekend special, you know you’re living like a local when you brunch during the week, before work, or simply any time at all.

Colorful and flavorful Delicatessen brunch

When it’s perfectly acceptable to eat out all three meals in one day, at three different cafés.

Cooking is fun and delicious, but so is having ten different food options on one block open early in the morning and still serving late at night. Café-hopping is definitely a thing in Tel Aviv, and if you become a regular at many different Tel Aviv cafés, you know you have truly made the cut.

When a midnight workout is a legitimate workout time

Sometimes the work week is too crazy, and the weekends are too fun, but you still want to fit in that daily workout. Have no fear, Tel Aviv’s gyms are open all night, and night time is the perfect time for a workout in this nonstop city.

When hummus for breakfast truly sounds appealing.

Maybe before you move or travel to Tel Aviv, you think hummus is just a snack, but you know you’ve changed when you’re eating hummus for meals. When hummus becomes your breakfast, you know it’s gone too far. But no one is judging you because you can never have too much hummus.

When yoga on a paddle board (SUP) is a perfectly feasible weekend activity.

You see all these awe-inspiring pictures of people looking super cool striking a yoga pose on a paddle board. It’s all over the internet and your Instagram feed. But once you try it, you will understand why. You just can’t get enough. It’s a workout, a fun outdoor activity and a picture-perfect moment all at once.

When looking for a parking spot in the city for 45 minutes isn’t even surprising anymore.

The first time you try to park in Tel Aviv, you might never want to drive again. Spots are limited, and streets are narrow. But soon it becomes second nature to drive around the block or even the neighborhood for 45 minutes looking for the perfect spot where you won’t get towed, hit or have to walk too far.

Bicycle Lane along the Tel Aviv Boardwalk

When you have learned how to do a ‘combina’.

Combina is the Hebrew word for the Israeli way of using your ‘contacts’ in the system to your own advantage in creative and various ways. It’s quite an accomplishment when ‘combina-ing’ becomes a part of your daily routine.

When excessive honking doesn’t make you jump anymore.

At first, you will not believe the crazy things drivers will honk at. You won’t believe they are honking at a pedestrian with a walk sign or a biker who is, in fact, in their bike lane. But after a while the honking puts you to sleep at night, you don’t even notice – it’s background noise.

When you never want to leave the bubble.

You officially know you have lived too long in this amazing, fulfilling and strong city when you honestly never want to leave it.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

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