Drive through · Beit Shemesh
Driving through old Beit Shemesh
The valley city below the ridge, filmed end to end at normal speed — Sheinfeld, Nofei Aviv, Nofei HaShemesh, Givat Sharett, the old centre and the station. If everything you have seen of Beit Shemesh is Ramat Beit Shemesh, this is the half of the city you have not been shown.
What an old Beit Shemesh drive actually shows you
Anglo buyers are steered to the ridge, and the valley gets described as somewhere you drive through on the way to the station. It is a city of about thirty years' standing in parts and seventy in others, with the only real house stock in Beit Shemesh, the lowest prices, and the station at the bottom of it.
So the camera runs it properly, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, at the hour it matters.
The house neighbourhoods
Sheinfeld, Nofei Aviv and Nofei HaShemesh — cottages and private homes with mature streets, which the ridge does not have.
The old city
Givat Sharett and the original centre: the lowest prices in Beit Shemesh, with real renewal activity and real variability.
The station, on foot
How close the valley actually is to the train, which is the argument for living down here rather than up there.
Valley versus ridge
Filmed as one continuous run up and down, so the two halves of the city can be compared rather than imagined.
The run through old Beit Shemesh
The full drive starts at the station and finishes back at the foot of the ridge. Times are from the start of the film.
The station and the centre 00:00
Where the city connects to Jerusalem, and the older commercial streets around it.
Givat Sharett 03:40
The original quarters: the lowest prices in the city, with renewal activity visible street by street.
The old centre 07:10
Services, shops and the working city that existed long before the ridge did.
Sheinfeld 10:30
The established Anglo neighbourhood of houses and cottages, mature and settled.
Nofei Aviv and Nofei HaShemesh 14:00
The adjoining house neighbourhoods, filmed back to back so the differences are visible.
The newer valley building 18:20
Recent construction on the valley floor, at prices well below the ridge.
The climb to the ridge 21:30
The road up, filmed so the separation between the two halves of the city is obvious.
Every Beit Shemesh film we have
The full drive, the neighbourhoods worth seeing on their own, and the timed commute tests.
Old Beit Shemesh, end to end
The full run: station, Givat Sharett, the old centre, Sheinfeld, Nofei Aviv and the climb to the ridge.
Sheinfeld and Nofei Aviv
The house neighbourhoods on their own, for buyers who want a garden rather than an apartment.
The station, on foot
Timed walks to the platform from three different valley neighbourhoods, with the clock on screen.
Givat Sharett and the renewal areas
The lowest prices in the city, and what is actually happening to the buildings.
Beit Shemesh to Jerusalem
Platform to platform at the morning peak, including the walk at each end.
Beit Shemesh to Tel Aviv
The longer journey, filmed in full so the difference from the Jerusalem run is obvious.
The one thing a drive through old Beit Shemesh will not answer
The valley is not one place. Sheinfeld and Givat Sharett are a few minutes apart and are different markets with different populations, different housing and a substantial price gap between them. A film shows you that gap exists; it cannot tell you which side of it suits you.
What the drive does settle is the question most Anglo buyers never ask, which is whether they should be looking at the ridge at all. Watch the valley before you decide. Plenty of families who came for Ramat Beit Shemesh ended up with a house down here for less money and a shorter walk to the train.
old Beit Shemesh: questions from the footage
What is the difference between Beit Shemesh and Ramat Beit Shemesh?
Beit Shemesh is the original city in the valley; Ramat Beit Shemesh refers to the newer neighbourhoods on the ridge above it. Housing type, price and community character all differ, and so does the distance to the station.
Where are the houses in Beit Shemesh?
Mainly Sheinfeld, Nofei Aviv and Nofei HaShemesh in the valley. The ridge is almost entirely apartments, so if you want a garden this is where to look.
Is the valley cheaper than the ridge?
Givat Sharett and the old centre are cheaper again than anything on the ridge. The house neighbourhoods are a different market and priced accordingly.
Is old Beit Shemesh closer to the station?
Considerably. The walking film times the route to the platform from three different valley neighbourhoods, which is the practical argument for living down here.
Is there an Anglo community in the valley?
Yes, long-established, particularly in Sheinfeld and the neighbouring house neighbourhoods, dating back to the first families who moved there in the early 1990s.
Is Givat Sharett worth looking at?
It has the lowest prices in the city and genuine renewal activity, with the variability that comes with both. Watch the specific street on film before deciding.
The neighbouring drives
The valley and the ridge are one city and two markets. These are filmed to the same standard, so they can be watched back to back.
RBS Aleph
The original ridge neighbourhood and the Anglo dati-leumi centre, including Ramat Shilo.
Drive throughRBS Gimmel
Built out fast over the last decade, largely charedi, with a very young population.
Drive throughRBS Daled & Neve Shamir
The current frontier, where most of the off-plan supply and most of the construction is.
Seen the streets. Now the numbers.
The drive is one part of the Beit Shemesh file. The area profile, the quarterly market analysis, the current projects and the remote purchase guide are all filmed and written to the same standard.