Givat Shmuel is small enough to cross on foot in half an hour, but the neighbourhoods feel different: low private houses in the old centre, 1970s blocks by Bar-Ilan, and new towers in the east and south. Nefesh B'Nefesh says olim live all over the city, but especially around Ramat Hadar. JLIC says most of its young-adult community lives on the "Old side" (Ben Gurion, HaNasi and Yoni Netanyahu Sts).
Rent figures below are asking-rent averages from Realta, a listings aggregator, on 5 October 2026. The samples are small and mix flat sizes, so treat them as a rough ranking, not a price list.
Quick comparison
| Neighbourhood | Feel | Avg asking rent |
|---|---|---|
| Giora | 1960s estate in the north, urban renewal planned | 5,480 NIS (37 listings) |
| Ramat Ilan | Next to Bar-Ilan, paths and gardens | 5,726 NIS (27) |
| HaShachar | Tiny, private houses by the interchange | 6,600 NIS (6) |
| Givat Yehuda (old centre) | Private houses, city hall, new towers | 7,568 NIS (39) |
| Ramat HaDekalim | North, towers and cottages, big park | 7,726 NIS (17) |
| Ramat Hadar HaHadasha | Newest, towers, schools campus | 8,633 NIS (10) |
| Ramat Hadar | East, malls, many olim | 9,057 NIS (21) |
No average was published for Ramat Ilan HaHadasha or Pardes Rosenblum.
Givat Yehuda, the old centre
The original neighbourhood, mostly private houses around city hall, the library and the main matnas on Ben Gurion St. Its western side is going through pinui-binui (urban renewal) with tower projects on Ben Gurion St. This is the "Old side" where JLIC says many of its students and young professionals live.
Ramat Ilan and Ramat Ilan HaHadasha
The southern neighbourhood next to Bar-Ilan, built from 1968, with 7-13 storey buildings, two-storey houses on pedestrian paths, a shopping centre on Oranim St, three gardens and the Ben Gurion state school. HereNextYearIsrael says the Anglo student crowd lives around here and Yitzhak Shamir St. The newer extension adds four towers and Gan Weismonsky, which has a dog park.
Ramat Hadar and the Southern Triangle
Ramat Hadar, begun in the 1990s, has more than 200 cottages plus high-rises, Kanyon HaGiva and the Rogovin centre, Ramon Park, four synagogues, an ulpana and three mikvaot. It is where NBN says olim are most concentrated, and it has the highest average rent. Ramat Hadar HaHadasha (the "Southern Triangle"), built since 2017, has towers, Park Darom and an education campus with Kanfei Ruach, the six-year high school and Yeshivat Bnei Akiva.
The north: Giora, Pardes Rosenblum, Ramat HaDekalim
- Giora (Shikun Giora Josephtal, completed 1966) has the lowest average rent and a renewal plan the city has promoted since 2015, so expect building work in coming years.
- Pardes Rosenblum, one of the two original 1948 neighbourhoods, links Ramat Hadar and Giora and has the Bnei Akiva and Ezra branches.
- Ramat HaDekalim (from 1999) has towers and cottages, two primary schools, Holmes Place and the large Pineles Park.
HaShachar and the campus
HaShachar is the smallest area: private houses between Route 4, Bar-Ilan and the interchange, where the Jerusalem and intercity buses stop. On campus, most students in the Shabbat community live in the Park 100 dorms, which JLIC says are the closest Bar-Ilan dorms to the community.
Use the matcher
The neighbourhood matcher scores these areas on price, English speakers, families, quiet, transport, new buildings, walking to shul and green space. The scores are my reading of the sources above, not a ranking: walk the streets on a weekday and on Shabbat before you sign. If you live here and think a score is wrong, tell me with the email button on the About page.
