Tel Aviv

Florentin is just past Neve Tsedek and is considered to be the artistic slums of Tel Aviv. It’s run down, full of arty types and poor families and some of the coolest cafes and bars in Tel Aviv are found here.

Whilst the apartments in Florentin are often full of marijuana smoke of all the bong smokers, it’s also a worker’s neighbourhood and on every street you find carpentry or metal work shops. A little more towards the centre Florentin has rows of wholesale shops selling clothes, furniture and children’s toys. There’s always men in the street hoisting heavy cardboard boxes out of vans or on pulleys and it can feel like the entire neighbourhood is forever moving house.

But then you walk through the narrow streets at night and there’s not a soul moving but for the armies of cats who take possession of Florentin and commence their nighttime drama. It can completely freak you out when one jumps up in shock from behind a car wheel or a piece of cardboard.

The apartments in Florentin are amongst the cheapest in Tel Aviv but it’s still only a 20 minute walk to the beach or the Carmel market.

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