Why we move to Israel? To integrate into Israeli society or “get more bang from the buck”

What makes lifestyle migrants (individuals from wealthy countries permanently relocating to another wealthy country) satisfied with their move to Israel? Some believe lifestyle migrants are most satisfied when they reside in well-to-do, cultural oases, settled by like-minded migrants. Others report the opposite–that lifestyle migrants who move to Israel are most satisfied when they integrate into Israeli society. This study asks which of these two approaches led to life satisfaction for English-speaking, lifestyle migrants? Using a cross-sectional study, working-age, Jewish adults (n = 109) who recently emigrated from Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States were recruited. We found that life satisfaction post-migration in Israel was highest among lifestyle migrants who achieved their pre-migration desire to integrate into the host country’s social-, cultural- and work-life. No evidence supported the contention that lifestyle migrants moved to Israel with the desire to live in well-to-do, cultural, enclaves. In fact, contrary to many studies, pre-migration and post-migration levels of socioeconomic status were unrelated to lifestyle migrants’ life satisfaction. While privileged, Jewish migrants may arrive to Israel with a higher level of socioeconomic status than others, they strive for their pre-migration goal, to become part of Israeli society.