Kyle travels 15,632 miles (25,156 km) in four days to meet with real estate professionals and friends in three different countries.
As usual, I had intentions of taking the train to my beloved Newark Airport, but ran out of time and hopped in an Uber for the 11:45pm flight to Tel-Aviv. After the double security check, I wolfed down some popcorn and boarded what would be a 13.5 hour, relatively turbulence-free flight to Israel. Needless to say, I was thrilled to finally disembark the plane given that I don’t find a stiff window economy seat that won’t recline all that relaxing.
Although it took me a while to download the GettTaxi app and find means of transportation into the city, I finally arrived at my 3-star (at best) hotel, took a much needed shower, and went out to meet an Israeli friend for some local food. I cannot emphasize enough how lucky I was to have him guide me to North Abraxas, which served us phenomenal, fresh Israeli food (especially the baby cauliflower) in an open-kitchen setting with the most engaging, personable staff.
Craving a few cocktails to wash down the meal, we meandered throughout the same neighborhood and found two separate spots that willingly exchanged shekels for libations. A very enjoyable evening, all in all!
Ring, ring, ring….those are the first sounds I heard at about 8:40am on Sunday morning, which was concerning considering that the alarm on my phone goes “beep, beep, beep.” A bit tired from the prior evening, I realized after a few seconds that I had arranged a coffee meeting at 8:30am to introduce the Global Real Estate Dealmakers concept to a prospective guest, Doron Haleva. Guess this is what happens when you don’t pay attention to the AM vs. PM when setting an alarm at 2:00am. Anyway, while it was not exactly the way I had envisioned the day starting, I threw on clothes and was in a taxi 10 minutes later. Luck was still not on my side though, as the driver had to proceed very slowly on the roads to the café where I would meet Doron because of a torrential downpour.
I finally caught a break upon my late arrival at the café, as Doron could not have been nicer or more forgiving. We spent the better part of 90 minutes chatting about everything from online dating to real estate development, which caused me to emerge from the conversation very pleased even though it was still dumping rain. In parting, we set a tentative time two weeks later to record the podcast…I promised not to be late again!
The taxi from the café dropped me off at the soaring Azrieli Center so that I could gain a better perspective on the Israeli real estate scene from a senior partner at Greenberg Traurig. The insight he provided over the ensuing hour was tremendously valuable, as he shared who the large landlords in Tel-Aviv are, where the “up and coming” areas of the city are located, and how deals are structured for both development and existing asset opportunities.
As the rain finally ceased, the ride back to my hotel was much quicker, but not as quick as the subsequent packing effort in my shoebox of a room. No time for nice folding of clothes or organization…I had a flight to Kiev to catch! (In hindsight, not quite sure why I fully unpacked in the first place) Before long, I was in the middle of a grueling, 20-minute inquisition just to check in to my flight. Note to everyone…it’s not terribly helpful to have visited Lebanon in the past few years if you find yourself at Ben Gurion Airport. Also, this was the fourth time I have been pulled into the “special” line at security, which means I had the pleasure of standing idly for another 20 minutes while the staff swabbed every electronic device and inspected numerous articles of clothing.
Somehow I emerged on the other side unscathed and still on time for my Ukrainian Airlines flight to Kiev. After what could be considered three hours of professional, but not tremendously friendly service from the flight crew, I touched down in the land that has caused such a recent stir in American politics. No relatives of politicians in sight, I proceeded to my hotel to freshen up and meet a Ukrainian friend (who helped organize the next morning’s meeting) for dinner at a cozy, tasty spot called Fish & Pussycat.
Benefitting from a favorable exchange rate, I certainly ordered up a storm and soon found myself back at the hotel wishing that I had consumed two dishes less.
As the prior day’s experience taught me the value of focusing on my “alarm setting”, I executed the task flawlessly and, despite a bit of jetlag, arrived with plenty of positive energy to my 10am meeting with Denis Buyanov at Atelier M2. After an insightful conversation over coffee about the Kyiv real estate market and my podcast plans, we coordinated a time for the official recording a few weeks down the line. Denis was also nice enough to give me some ideas on places to visit during the remainder of my stay, which would only last until that same evening.
The remainder of the day in Kyiv afforded me the chance to meet a seasoned private equity/finance friend for lunch at a delicious Ukrainian place and pick his brain on the opportunities and risks of real estate investment in the country. Afterwards, I spent over an hour walking around the CBD, which included a stroll through the Besarabsky Market and the Tsum department store along Khreschatyk St.
Another expedited packing mission and taxi ride later, I was back at the airport for my KBP – TLV – SFO journey.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly aside from the previously mentioned inquisition at Ben Gurion Airport. As far as I know, there is no easy way to simply transfer flights without going through the entire security process (especially when flying on Ukrainian Airway to TLV and United from TLV to SFO). So, I had to incur the lengthy process of going through immigration and customs at TLV in order to immediately check in to a flight leaving the same airport three hours later. Anyway, I had a surprisingly restful 15-hour flight, took a shower and ate upon arrival at SFO, and then hit the ground running for a full day of visiting properties in the Bay Area! It goes without saying that I needed a coffee or three…
