Carmel, Indiana

Do you love cute, cool downtowns that emphasize pedestrian and cyclist safety? If so, check out Carmel, Indiana, a mid-sized suburb of Indianapolis with fantastic walking and biking opportunities. In fact, Carmel’s Monon Trail, a 27-mile paved stretch that starts in nearby Sheridan, will take you all the way to downtown Indianapolis, passing exciting local sites like the Carmel Arts and Design district and the Hamilton Center for the Performing Arts. Carmel — aka the Roundabout Capital of America — is a town known for its excellent infrastructure, particularly its roadway design. We’re talking well-maintained, pothole-free streets, traffic management and crackless sidewalks that will have your mother saying “Gee, thanks!” And it’s only getting better: The city announced planned improvements in August that include the construction of a multi-use path. Carmel is also home to the state’s largest high school, where you can find the most competitive girl’s swim team in the nation, and one of the top school districts in the state. Economic opportunity abounds in Carmel, which boasts a below-average unemployment rate of 2.6% and a high median household income of $127,700. With significant stakes in health care, manufacturing, technical services and more, employment is expected to continue growing in Carmel over the next few years. As for fun times, the annual CarmelFest Independence Day celebration draws tens of thousands of people for fireworks and festivities. Living in Carmel also means actually looking forward to a midwestern winter thanks to the city’s German Christmas market, Christkindlmarkt. Have you ever seen a miniature house collection? Well, you can in Carmel, where there’s one of the only museums in the country dedicated to the art of fine-scale miniatures. — Mary Ellen Cagnassola