Carmel

Carmel is a suburb on the north side of Indianapolis. Many wealthy people live there including sports stars and CEOs. This may be the reason that many "Carmelites" call themselves rich. However, most of the people that reside in Carmel are not "rich". This brings me to a good example: in Carmel, some say that there neighborhood streets are lined with "CEOs, Presidents, and VPs". In reality, it is more like "$100,000 in debt, $200,000 in debt, and $300,000 in debt". Most of the neighborhoods in Carmel are made of modest size houses, only a few have houses that one would consider "huge". You will also see a lot of Mercedes and Jaguars around town, but don't be fooled because most of these cars are leased. If they are not leased, then they probably require the last few cents of their paycheck to pay the bill for it. I say probably because like I said earlier, there are a select few in Carmel who can afford to write a check for a S600 Benz. You will be able to tell who is living paycheck to paycheck in Carmel by walking inside their home. Even if it is a large house, look at their furniture. Does the house seem empty? Does the couch look 10 years old? If you get the sense that the furniture doesn't match the house, they are most likely in debt up to their eyeballs. Carmel is a very materialistic community. You are defined by what you posses. For this reason, Carmelites find the need to buy a nice car. Since most of the people who live in Carmel are not capable of purchasing an S-class or a 7 series, they opt for the bottom of the line C230 Benz or the 325i BMW. For some reason, there are a lot of "Wiggers" that go to Carmel high school even though there are almost no black people living in Carmel. The kids also like to talk about money. You will often hear "I just bought a $300 dress at the mall yesterday" instead of the modest phrase, "I just bought a dress at the mall yesterday". They think the more something costs, the more important they are as a person. This is the general mentality there. Zionsville is a neighboring suburb also considered "wealthy", but you won't find many people in Zionsville acting like it. They have been taught the importance and respectfulness of modesty. You would never know the difference between the kid in school who drives the 750Li BMW and the one who drives the 1999 Camry. Zionsville has always been "old" money and Carmel is considered "new" money. This shows by the way people act. Old money has no need to prove their wealth, they have grown up knowing they have money and so have their parents and so on. In Carmel, the people go to college and get a good job then fall into money. They feel the need to show everyone that they now have a 6 digit paycheck. Bottom line is if you want to put yourself in huge debt to keep up with the neighbors, move to Carmel. If you want to retire early and leave money for your kids, move to Zionsville.