People often move to Carmel to start a family. It’s known as a place to buy a home and enroll your kids in some of the best schools.
But Carmel is also starting to see a growing population of young professionals. Many of these young people are still trying to find “the one” and this time of year – with Valentine’s Day approaching – many unattached men and women are lamenting the difficulties of being single.
Single people, don’t fret! Supposedly, Carmel is one of the best small towns for you.
A Website called DatingAdvice.com published a list in January of the top 15 “Best Small Cities for Singles” and Carmel was ranked 11th.
The Web site describes Carmel thusly: “Home to the famous Arts and Design District, Carmel Marathon and The Carmel Center for the Performing Arts, Carmel is just as sweet a place as the name would have you believe. It is growing quickly and thriving economically, offering all the perks of a big city and the fuzzy feelings of home. This “just right” city will help you find a single lady or gentleman who’s also just right for you.”
Is Carmel really one of the best places to be single?
The methodology doesn’t really consider every factor.
The Website uses MONEY magazine’s annual list of best places to live, in which Carmel was ranked third this year and first in 2012 (no list was compiled in 2013). From there, DatingAdvice.com used total population figures and the amount of singles to create the final 15. According to the site, Carmel has 31,793 singles, so basically they are saying that out of the best small towns to live in, these places have the largest pools to choose from.
Interesting side note: Quite a few college towns on this list, which makes sense.
That makes sense. Lots of small towns might see people get married younger. In Carmel, many singles might be focused on a career and choose to wait. But does a larger pool mean it’s easier to be single?
“The dating pool is limited and I don’t go anywhere in Carmel with the hopes of meeting a person,” said 32-year-old Mindy McCutchan.
It’s difficult to ask single people if Carmel is a great place to be single. What defines a good place to be single? Does it mean that it’s easier to find someone? If that’s the case, then asking single people will probably elicit a negative response. Because they are still single. You could ask people who met their significant other while being single in Carmel but that could be hard to search for.
Kayla Hanson, 24, said it’s tough to be single in Carmel at her age because so many people are married or with kids. Still, she said the more she thinks about it, it’s probably better than being single in another small town this size.
“It’s probably better to be single in Carmel than in a lot of other similarly sized cities,” she said. “But it also has the added benefit of being so close to Indy, which gives it an advantage since there’s more to do in the area.”
But less optimistic singles told Current that they felt that most of the restaurants and stores were geared toward married couples and families and that most bars/restaurants close earlier than they do in nearby Indianapolis. So they strongly disagreed with the ranking.
Where do you meet people in Carmel?
There’s isn’t a bustling corridor of late-night bars and nightclubs similar to Broad Ripple or Massachusetts Avenue in Carmel.
The Carmel Arts & Design District offers a few walkable places to enjoy libations and mingle with available singles, such as Scottie’s Brewhouse, Woody’s Library, Old Town Tavern and The Pint Room.
Actually, one of the best suggestions was to chat with people while walking your dog.
“That’s actually the most promising place in Carmel to meet men, or new female friends, around my age,” Hanson said.
Carmel Clay Parks is opening a large dog park this spring/summer and it should be a great place to meet singles.
Melanie Heck, 24, said it can be difficult to find places to meet people, but that might be a problem in any city, no matter the size.
“There aren’t many places to meet people,” she said. “The gym is hard because everyone is usually focused on what they’re doing. And there are a couple bars, but not really a super ideal place to meet someone.”
Where would you take someone on a date in Carmel?
While there are upscale white-tablecloth restaurants for a fancy date night out, most people told Current that they prefer a casual setting so as to not add “too much pressure” to a first date.
Heck said she suggests Divvy, The Pint Room or Union Brewing Company for dates in Carmel. She said she’s also excited about the new Flix Brewhouse movie theater set to open this year.
Bazbeaux’s, a pizza place located in the Arts District, was a popular choice that many people mentioned.
“I went on a date to Bazbeaux’s once and the beer was the highlight of the date,” Hanson said. “Joking, but that actually happened.”
Other said they decided to just walk on the Monon Trail during a sunny day and just talk.
But many Carmel singles told Current that if they do go on a date, they often travel to Broad Ripple, Massachusetts Avenue or Fountain Square. Those areas tend to skew younger and more casual in their minds.
The Top 15 Small Towns to be Single:
15. St. George, Utah — 30,727 singles
14. Pleasanton, California — 31,126 singles
13. Rockville, Maryland — 31,395 singles
12. Meridian, Idaho — 31,766 singles
11. Carmel, Indiana — 31,793 singles
10. Rochester Hills, Michigan — 32,099 singles
9. White Plains, New York — 32,983 singles
8. O’Fallon, Missouri — 33,952 singles
7. Bolingbrook, Illinois — 34,750 singles
6. Milpitas, California — 36,985 singles
5. Chapel Hill, North Carolina — 39,359 singles
4. Orem, Utah — 41,242 singles
3. Kirkland, Washington — 41,371 singles
2. Ames, Iowa — 42,019 singles
1. Newton, Massachusetts — 43,986 singles
Source: DatingAdvice.com
