Palm Springs never held much of an appeal for me. I don't understand why you would rent a house in a desert. I'd driven by twice. I ate brunch in town once. And that was it. I spent six weeks in the San Bernardino area during COVID 2020 and needing a break to focus on work I did what millions have been doing since the 1950s, I took a minivacation in Palm Springs. I was pleasantly surprised with the experience. During COVID the town was mostly shutdown. There was no in or outdoor dining allowed but restaurants were open for take out. The one time I was in Palm Springs before, I found the small downtown area to be too crowded. This time I had the downtown all to myself. Without crowds you can really marvel at what Palm Springs is - a well planned desert community where each building feels architecturally distinct but because they all adhere to some sort of desert vibe everything in the town goes together quite well.
The town has two interesting quirks - first nearly, if not every, home I saw was single story. Second, there's very wide streets. This combination means that wherever you are in Palm Springs you can look up and see Mt. Jacinto, which makes a perfect backdrop. The draw back to the tall and steep Mt. Jacinto is that the sun sets very early. In December, the sun is behind Mt. Jacinto by 3:30. I went out to take a few photos of Palm Springs after work and all the subjects were already in the shadows. I had to wake up early the next day to retake photos in certain areas. I'm not quite ready to buy a second home here but I now understand why people choose to live here. There's just enough to do and the views never get old.
The town has two interesting quirks - first nearly, if not every, home I saw was single story. Second, there's very wide streets. This combination means that wherever you are in Palm Springs you can look up and see Mt. Jacinto, which makes a perfect backdrop. The draw back to the tall and steep Mt. Jacinto is that the sun sets very early. In December, the sun is behind Mt. Jacinto by 3:30. I went out to take a few photos of Palm Springs after work and all the subjects were already in the shadows. I had to wake up early the next day to retake photos in certain areas. I'm not quite ready to buy a second home here but I now understand why people choose to live here. There's just enough to do and the views never get old.
I'll never understand how brown can be beautiful but I love the natural landscape appeal of desert communities. There's no rational reason for Palm Springs to be beautiful and yet it's as fun a town to drive and walk around as I've ever been.
|
|
|
Compare the photos above with photos below to see how much of an impact the sun setting at 3:30 has on the sky.
|
|
|
It's not just the homes that are spectacular, it's every building in the town has some sort of flair. Take a guess as to what the building on the bottom left is - would you believe that's a KFC? Palm Springs must have the most beautiful KFC in the world. That's a Starbucks in the middle photo. The spectacular buildings weren't limited to the major chains, even liquor stores have a modern desert vibe to them. That's Liberace's house on the bottom right.
|
|
|
I could walk around these neighborhoods every night.
|
|
|