The first thing that confuses newcomers in Modiin is that every neighbourhood has two names. They were first named after their architects or planners, and renamed in 2009-2010, mostly after their streets (municipality (opens in a new tab)). Locals, Facebook groups and real-estate ads still use both, so here is the key.
Old name to new name
| You'll hear | Official name today |
|---|---|
| Buchman (north) | HaShvatim |
| Buchman (south) | Moriah |
| Shimshoni (north) | HaNevi'im |
| Shimshoni (south) | HaMeginim |
| Kaizer / Kaiser | Avnei Chen |
| Givat C (Giva C) | Masuah |
| Safdie | HaNechalim |
| Miromi | HaPrachim |
| Tzipor | HaKramim |
Sources: the municipal neighbourhood pages and Hebrew Wikipedia (opens in a new tab). NBN labels Nechalim "Shimshoni", which clashes with the municipal history, so check with the person you're talking to.
The city counts 13 phase-A neighbourhoods plus the Maccabim-Re'ut borough. Its index also lists the new City Center neighbourhood and two planned ones, Givat Sher and HaMaayanot (municipality (opens in a new tab)).
How big, and how old
| Neighbourhood | Residents (2024) | First settled |
|---|---|---|
| HaKramim | 11,952 | 2003 |
| Avnei Chen | 10,952 | 2003 |
| HaMeginim | 9,593 | 1999 |
| Masuah | 9,429 | 1996 |
| HaNechalim | 9,423 | 1996 |
| Moriah | 9,155 | 2007 |
| HaPrachim | 8,378 | 1996 |
| HaNevi'im | 7,777 | 1999 |
| HaShvatim | 5,829 | 2004 |
| Nofim | 5,504 | 2019 |
| Moreshet | 5,224 | 2022 |
| HaTziporim | 3,372 | 2017 |
| City Center | 885 | 2020 |
Figures from the individual municipal neighbourhood pages, e.g. this one (opens in a new tab).
Where olim tend to live
NBN lists Shvatim (North Buchman), Moriah (South Buchman), Avnei Chen (Kaiser), Masuah (Givah C), Nechalim, Nofim, Tziporim and Moreshet as popular with olim (NBN, Sep 2026 (opens in a new tab)). It describes the city as covering "all affiliations", with most neighbourhoods fairly homogenous.
There are community-run English Facebook groups for "Kaizer/Shimshoni women" and "Buchman/Giva C Women" (ModiinApp (opens in a new tab)), which tells you something about where English speakers cluster.
Houses or flats?
- HaShvatim and Moriah (the old Buchman) are mostly ground-level and semi-detached houses (municipality (opens in a new tab)).
- Maccabim and Re'ut are low-rise, ground-level communities set apart from the rest of the city (Hebrew Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)). A Maccabim resident survey rated public transport 1.5 out of 5 and getting around by car 5 out of 5 (Hebrew Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)).
- HaKramim: Bizportal says residents rate entertainment, shopping and public transport low, because the train stations are far and you need a car or a feeder bus (Bizportal, Aug 2026 (opens in a new tab)).
What's coming
Givat Sher is planned for about 6,000 homes, and HaMaayanot for about 3,200 homes and 10,500 residents, 30% of them affordable housing. HaMaayanot was still in planning in 2025 (municipality (opens in a new tab)).
Try the neighbourhood matcher to rank them against what matters to you, then look at the directory filtered by neighbourhood.
