Carmel : California
Living a Golf Lifestyle in Carmel, California
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Where to Retire in Carmel and Home Prices
Real estate prices are sky high even by California standards. Zillow reports the Home Value Index to be about $2.7 million in mid-2022, up 30% over the past year. There are smaller homes and some condominiums. The town is compact and you can walk to anything, including the public beach.
What Is Special about Carmel
Perfect climate, beautiful downtown, relaxed atmosphere, and walkability. If you can afford it, it is an ideal place to live. Its planned and controlled development and its long history as an artists colony, along with the seaside, make it an astonishingly beautiful place. One curious holdover from its early days as an artists colony is that there are no street addresses for the homes, which originally were named by their artist owners. The Post Office does not provide home delivery.
What Is Not Special about Carmel
The biggest drawback is the cost of living - it is only available to people of great means or who lived here before real estate went out of reach.
Climate and Physical Environment
Carmel is on the Pacific Coast, which obviously has a huge effect on climate. Winters are milder than inland and summers are cooler. Even in June it can get chilly. Average temp in January is in the 40's and in July in the 60's, with big variations by time of day.
Restaurants & Cultural Scene
The town has a rich cultural lifestyle including a library. Pacific Repertory Theatre presents a year-round season of 10–12 plays and musicals in three Carmel theatres: The 330-seat Golden Bough Theatre, the 120-seat Circle Theatre and the 540-seat outdoor Forest Theater. The Carmel Bach Festival began in 1935 as a festival of concerts that celebrate the work of J.S. Bach. Restaurants like the small but packed Dametra offer wonderful and casual dining experiences. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake Carmel was inundated with musicians, writers, painters and other artists turning to the establishing artist colony after the bay city was destroyed. The new residents were offered home lots for ten dollars down and no interest.
Crime
Crime is not allowed in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Medical Facilities
The nearest hospitals are in Monterey, and San Francisco is not that far.
Transportation
Nearby Monterrey has a small public airport and train connections north and south. I 5 is a busy conduit in the same directions.
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