Ashkelon, Israel

Capital City

The population of 141,000 belies the daily hassles of living in this hardscrabble city. Ashkelon's origins as a destroyed Arab town, hastily repopulated by Jewish immigrants, have left a legacy of bureaucratic headaches. Persistent rocket attacks from Gaza ensure that the threat of violence is never far away. While the city has seen rapid growth over the decades, becoming Israel's third-largest in the south, the costs of its turbulent past remain a heavy burden for residents. Unless you're prepared to navigate bureaucratic obstacles and live with the occasional barrage of rockets, Ashkelon may not be the right fit.