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Does anyone posting here live in Carmel CA?

or any adjacent community? I peruse a lot of real estate on Zillow and realtor.com and have fallen in love with the enchanted cottages of Carmel.

Just wondering what it's like to live there.

by Anonymousreply 47August 9, 2019 3:15 AM

Expensive

by Anonymousreply 1August 6, 2019 10:38 PM

The ghost of Cackle Cackle.

by Anonymousreply 2August 6, 2019 10:40 PM

Expensive. Full of tourists. That's important because the village is so very small.

Your neighbors are all Republicans. About half the time you are in fog.

But, yes, sure, it's great.

by Anonymousreply 3August 6, 2019 10:42 PM

This thread (a "Tasteful Friends" / Carmel house / real estate) thread has some info on Carmel, Calif.

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by Anonymousreply 4August 6, 2019 10:42 PM

Clint Eastwood used to be the Mayor.

Enough said.

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by Anonymousreply 5August 6, 2019 10:50 PM

It's the epitome of "twee."

by Anonymousreply 6August 7, 2019 4:09 AM

I spent a summer working in Monterey, and spent a lot of time wandering around Carmel.

The place was beautiful and is a great place to wander around aimlessly, but... it began to feel slightly creepy after a while. The place started as an eccentric artist's village, but it's now the home of the Idle Rich. The pervasive air of wealth and privilege didn't wear well, it's not a place I would live even if I won the lottery and could afford it.

by Anonymousreply 7August 7, 2019 6:11 AM

I felt like I was walking around the town of "The Truman Show", when I visited a year ago.

by Anonymousreply 8August 7, 2019 6:16 AM

Beautiful, Expensive and Empty.

There is indeed a creepy factor, and not in a fun or intriguing way. A Bangor, Maine vibe to put it into Stephen King terms.

by Anonymousreply 9August 7, 2019 6:33 AM

its beautiful and kind of a utopia for the rich. Housing is extremely expensive. THe gay community is very small and I dont even think they have a local gay bar anymore. If you move there I would suggest you already be part of a couple as the gay dating scene is extremely limitied. I would say a great place for a vacation and a great place to live if you are retired, white, very very rich, and heterosexual plus its a huge plus if you just love and worship golf.

by Anonymousreply 10August 7, 2019 7:25 AM

It's just too too.

Which is why I left for Menlo.

by Anonymousreply 11August 7, 2019 8:21 AM

Thank you all for your comments, most interesting.

R9, creepy in what way? Stepford people? Or something darker?

by Anonymousreply 12August 7, 2019 11:25 AM

All those troll cottages look fine in the sunshine. But when the fog rolls in and they are cloaked in it, those cottages turn sinister.

by Anonymousreply 13August 7, 2019 11:43 AM

[quote]I spent a summer working in Monterey, and spent a lot of time wandering around Carmel.

Well, how about Monterey? Would you live there?

by Anonymousreply 14August 7, 2019 11:46 AM

Monterey is an actual city with a range of people and amenities.

Carmel is a wealthy enclave. You can enter it from just a few points. And then you must LEAVE!

by Anonymousreply 15August 7, 2019 12:08 PM

Lol r15

by Anonymousreply 16August 7, 2019 12:27 PM

My memory is that Carmel its self has many strict rules. At least at one time, one could not walk down the street with an ice cream cone. I suspect it could become oppressive to actually live there.

However, the guys who run the Carmel Doll Shop live there. Send them an email and ask them.

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by Anonymousreply 17August 7, 2019 12:33 PM

I grew up in the Monterey area. Carmel isn’t that great. Yes, it’s beautiful. It’s also very expensive, very white, very snooty, very small, not at all diverse. I personally wouldn’t live there. It’s the kind of place where folks will call the cops on you for being black or for giving them a bad feeling. No joke. A friend of mine used to work at a coffee shop there and some old rich frau got irritated with him for listening to his music too loudly. Anyway he got tired of her crap and politely told her to buy something or get lost. Anyhow, she was some big shots wife and my buddy got fired because she shrilly complained. It’s a place for bratty, white, entitlement.

by Anonymousreply 18August 7, 2019 12:49 PM

How disappointing..

by Anonymousreply 19August 7, 2019 1:14 PM

I knew a guy (hot) who was a police officer in Carmel for quite a while, be said there are a lot of suicides. Lots of old rich depressed people. They have an artificial life and kind of isolated. He said they rolled up on a lot of suicides and dead bodies in the house because the population skews old folks.

by Anonymousreply 20August 7, 2019 1:24 PM

Carmel by the Sea, voodoo, zombies, sinister artists, Angie Dickinson & Roy Thinnes!

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by Anonymousreply 21August 7, 2019 1:33 PM

Agree with the above who say it’s not a place to live. People have fantasies about places that seem idyllic. They rarely are. The most fulfilling places have some beauty but also diversity of people and activities. Supper rich bubbles tend to be cauldrons of toxicity, unhappiness and substance abuse.

by Anonymousreply 22August 7, 2019 3:35 PM

This thread is useless without pics of troll cottages in sinister fog!!!!!!

by Anonymousreply 23August 7, 2019 3:45 PM

Carmel-by-the-sea OP.

It's a beautiful little thing but to live there? It's kind of expensive. I always have a great time when I go there.

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by Anonymousreply 24August 7, 2019 3:45 PM
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by Anonymousreply 25August 7, 2019 3:46 PM
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by Anonymousreply 26August 7, 2019 3:47 PM

It's wonderful, but if you're posting on here, you do not have the class or money needed to live there.

by Anonymousreply 27August 7, 2019 4:12 PM

In Carmel all seems to breathe freedom and peace, and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils.

by Anonymousreply 28August 7, 2019 4:14 PM

Again R27 - as was extensively discussed in the “class” thread, class and money are totally different things. The only thing you need to live in Carmel is money.

by Anonymousreply 29August 7, 2019 4:30 PM

Folkie by the beach.

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by Anonymousreply 30August 7, 2019 4:41 PM

Do locals say car-MEL or CAR-mel?

by Anonymousreply 31August 7, 2019 4:53 PM

"Well, how about Monterey? Would you live there? "

R7 here, and yes. I would definitely live in Monterey. I mean it's a smallish town a long way from anything else but Carmel and Big Sur, even the south end of San Jose is an hour away, but as a smallish town it's beautiful and full of interesting stuff, and has all the amenities I like to have around. Plus a heaping helping of natural beauty and a nice snug downtown, yes, I could be quite happy there. Now mind you it's also expensive, not Carmel expensive or anything, but most of the regular working people live in Salinas and commute, and I bet the success of "Big Little Lies" is making that situation worse.

As for the creep factor in Carmel, which I was the first to mention... hard to put a finger on it. Maybe it's because everyone who lives there is filthy rich, retired, and bored. Maybe it's because many of the houses are empty, being the second homes of the filthy rich. Maybe it's the fog, and the houses that look like the Seven Dwarves live there.

by Anonymousreply 32August 7, 2019 5:23 PM

Oodles of tourists, rich pretentious locals, and it very small. Expensive!!! For more diversity, consider Monterey or Pacific Grove. And as beautiful as the coast is, if your mood is negatively affected by gray, foggy days, it may not be for you.

by Anonymousreply 33August 7, 2019 5:29 PM

FYI - Our dearly departed Cackle Cackle posted from Half Moon Bay, NOT Carmel.

by Anonymousreply 34August 7, 2019 5:39 PM

If you're interested in the central coast of California, take a look at Santa Cruz & environs (Capitola, Aptos). It's larger than Monterey, though it still has a "small beach town" feeling. As the site of UC Santa Cruz (my alma mater), it's extremely liberal, with lots of social activities & amenities, clubs, cafes, galleries, etc. Plus, there's the Boardwalk and an annual Pride Parade.

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by Anonymousreply 35August 7, 2019 7:33 PM

Does Santa Cruz still have that underlying seediness, or has it all been gentrified away?

by Anonymousreply 36August 7, 2019 10:29 PM

Santa Cruz is also very foggy (unless climate change has made it sunnier). There are few coastal places in northern Cal with much sunshine--unless you consider that a feature, not a bug.

by Anonymousreply 37August 7, 2019 10:37 PM

For R23

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by Anonymousreply 38August 7, 2019 11:44 PM

More for R23.

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by Anonymousreply 39August 7, 2019 11:46 PM

If it was good enough for Joe Sample ...

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by Anonymousreply 40August 8, 2019 12:11 AM

Some of the comments about Carmel seem like they'd be more appropriate for Pebble Beach/Del Monte Forest, which is indeed a private enclave with a road (17-mile Drive) that you have to pay to drive on (and to visit the area.)

by Anonymousreply 41August 8, 2019 1:57 AM

I first heard of the city in Charlie's Angels. Cameron Diaz figures out they're in Carmel because of the sound of a Pygmy Nuthatch.

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by Anonymousreply 42August 8, 2019 2:04 AM

R42 That's how I know it too! "Setta pygmaea!.... they're only found in one place... Carmel!"

by Anonymousreply 43August 8, 2019 6:17 AM
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by Anonymousreply 44August 8, 2019 6:33 AM

I might like it there. I love the foggy marine layer that comes into the coastal areas of the LA/OC area overnight during parts of the year.

by Anonymousreply 45August 8, 2019 6:44 AM

r45: I live in Santa Monica now but lived in the East Bay (around Berkeley) for a long time. The fog here is kind of nice because it means it's not going to be such a hot day and burns off in the afternoon usually. The fog in Northern California is much longer lasting and colder. There are periods in maybe April and September that can be sunny and pleasant in Northern Cal but the fog usually has cold wind associated. The landscape is much greener and prettier up there but you will get sick of the fog. Usually you have to drive over the hills to get sunshine in summer (like to Sonoma or Napa or Contra Costa County), and then it can be quite hot in those places--like a 20-30 degree difference. You should probably go stay somewhere up there in the summer and see how you like it.

by Anonymousreply 46August 9, 2019 2:56 AM

[quote] A friend of mine used to work at a coffee shop there and some old rich frau got irritated with him for listening to his music too loudly.

Well, she's dead now so your friend got even.

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by Anonymousreply 47August 9, 2019 3:15 AM
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