Quoting from one account in the Avira D’Eretz Yisroel series:
As a business consultant, I tell people that if they want to be successful, they should speak to successful people. If you want to be a good plumber, speak to a successful plumber. If you want to be successful in real-estate, speak to someone successful in real-estate, not to a plumber.
I understood that this concept applies to aliyah as well. Hearing ten reasons why aliyah cannot be successful from people who didn’t succeed, would not help us succeed in making aliyah. We understood that we didn’t need or want support groups comprised of people who may be interested in aliyah but have not succeeded as of yet. Certainly, asking people point blank in shul (who are still in chutz laAretz) what they think about aliyah was not going to foster success. What was important was to create our own support network comprised of the people who did succeed.