Beit Shemesh/Ramat Beit Shemesh
Why Beit Shemesh Real Estate?
Beit Shemesh
Beit Shemesh or the “‘house of the sun” with a population of over 75,000 people, was founded in 1950. In its early days it was home to a largely North African immigrant population. In the 1990s starting with the large wave of immigration from the Soviet Union, the population in the city expanded rapidly together with the building of new neighborhoods attracting affluent new immigrants from the Anglo-speaking world and a large number of Ethiopian Jews. From the 1990s, new neighborhoods and districts were added to the city such as the modern orthodox neighborhoods of Shainfeld and Nofei Aviv and the haredi neighborhood, Nahala UMenucha, adding yet another facet to the changing demographics of the city.
Over recent years, Beit Shemesh has seen a large increase in the number of Anglo-speaking residents who immigrated from North America, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia. The majority of the Anglo immigrant community is orthodox, educated with a middle class background.
Shainfeld House, Beit Shemesh
Today Beit Shemesh counts approximately 17,500 Olim or immigrants out of which almost 7,000 are from Russia, 3,500 from the US, 2300 from Ethiopia and 350 from South Africa. The growing city offers an array of educational institutions. There are more than 40 elementary schools and 20 high schools as well as many synagogues and yeshivas which were built in the community.
Ramat Beit Shemesh
Ramat Beit Shemesh (RBS) is situated in close proximity next to the main part of Beit Shemesh located on a mountaintop above the city. Its population mainly consists of Orthodox Jews with many different outlooks and opinions.
B'nei betcha home, Ramat Bet Shemesh
The neighborhood is divided into two sections, Ramat Beit Shemesh Alef, charecterized by a more mixed population of religious, (mainly American) haredi, and a handful of secular Jews and Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet populated mostly by ultra-orthodox haredi Jews. There are plans for a third section, Ramat Beit Shemesh Gimmel, for which land is being zoned through tenders by the Housing and Construction Ministry for construction of apartments. In recent years the religious character of the area has become more and more ultra-orthodox as haredim seeking an exclusively haredi environment and suffering from a housing shortage in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak moved to Ramat Beit Shemesh, which today is often compared to the ultra-orthodox area of “Mea Sharim” in Jerusalem.
EMPLOYMENT IN BEIT SHEMESH/RBS
Beit Shemesh is divided into two industrial zones. In the northern part featuring mainly small industry businesses ranging from carpentry and metalwork workshops, garages and wholesale to retail outlets and in the Western industrial zone several larger companies are situated including Beit Shemesh Engines Ltd, which manufactures and repairs jet engines. Since the end of the 1990s during the hi-tech boom, many hi-tech start-ups opened support and customer service or outsourcing centers in or near the city.
TRANSPORTATION IN BEIT SHEMESH/RBS
Over the last 15 years, Beit Shemesh has become very popular with young couples moving out of Jerusalem and for those who can not afford to live in the big cities or prefer to live in a bigger property than they could in a large city. The geographic location of Beit Shemesh coupled with a good transportation system make the area an attractive place to live for professionals working in the major cities. Beit Shemesh is approximately a 30-minute drive to Jerusalem and a 45-minute drive to Tel Aviv, depending on traffic. The train ride from Beit Shemesh to Tel Aviv taking 40 minutes offers a convenient alternative to escape the rush hour traffic in the morning. There is also a regular train connection to Jerusalem which takes about 50 minutes.
Furthermore reliable and regular bus services run throughout the day to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other major areas of the country. Within the community there are also organized van services and ride-sharing programs.
LINKS
Bet Shemesh Municipality website (Hebrew only)
Beit/ Ramat Beit Shemesh Directory website
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