Carmel has been ranked at the top of national rankings as one of the best places to live in America multiple times. Organizations such as Time Money, CNN Money and Niche all commend that Carmel’s schools, safety and culture make up for its ideal conditions and balance of suburban lifestyle.

This October, Carmel was named as the Number One Best Place to Live in a ranking by 24/7 Wall St. Assistant Principal Joe Schaller said he believes much of Carmel’s high ranking is credited to the school system, which attracts many to move to Carmel. However, Schaller said Carmel should be cautious of overbuilding.

“They have a lot going up right now, which hopefully is a great thing and it’ll look good, but I would just be cautious of overbuilding… Part of the draw of Carmel in the past has been that we’re not a large city, we’re a small community,” he said.

Joseph “Joe” Blake, Carmel Mayor’s Youth Council member and senior, said Carmel’s community outreach and the opportunities it provides for students at the high school are the driving forces of Carmel’s success.

Blake said building a more interconnected city is an important subject Carmel should consider.

He said, “Even though we have a lot of great programs we offer to families and the community around us, I do think we need to develop more of a unity as one city. A lot of it is the stigma, that when you come to Carmel there’s a lot of disposable income… that we’re very rich. For a lot of the kids here at CHS, that’s not usually how it goes.”

On the other hand, junior Thomas Smith said there are multiple ways Carmel can improve that have yet to be explored.

“I think whether a place is good to live in is really subjective and I don’t think it can be a ranking. Carmel doesn’t have any public transportation which makes it really inaccessible … Additionally, it’s not walkable at all, you have to get a car, which further makes it more expensive to live here and it’s a really big socio-economic divide,” he said.

Schaller, Blake and Smith all said they agree living in Carmel is a privilege, but like any other community, there are different ways to strive to improve.

Blake said, “I don’t think we should get caught up in this vision of being the best. Even though it’s great to be up there, if there are things that we need to do that slow us down from becoming the best, we need to do those things first.”