New building in Palm SpringsLook around. Palm Springs is booming. The last several years have brought new hotels, restaurants, clubs and housing to Palm Springs. Downtown is undergoing a revitalization, and the Uptown Design District is hopping with hip shops and cafes.

What was known as primarily a sleepy retirement community has suddenly morphed into a sexy destination for young people – all year round. Major events follow one after another, especially in season, from the Palm Springs Film Festival to Modernism Week and the Coachella Music Festival. All these visitors need places to stay, to eat, and shop. And those businesses need employees, who need places to live.

So, what's new on the horizon? Some of the projects you see when driving around town include:

New Hotels

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Whenever you relocate, there are some many mundane considerations. Things you took for granted for where lived before: Where is the best, closest grocery store or pharmacy? It took years to find my someone who knows how to cut my hair; now, what do I do? Where is a decent dry cleaner, a reliable mechanic, a dog groomer? 

But perhaps one of the most important concerns is how to replace your doctor. What can you expect from medical services in the Coachella Valley?

The Coachella Valley has excellent medical resources. Doctors, medical centers, urgent care and hospitals can be found throughout the desert from Palm Springs to Indio. There are two major networks that provide all services: The Desert Care Network and Eisenhower Health. (For those seeking…

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Moving to a new city means change. Among those changes is the likelihood that you’ll need to find a new health care provider. And for those people with chronic conditions, such as HIV/AIDS, it’s important that your new community can provide you with the same or better level of care than you’re used to.

Palm Springs is unique for a small town in that it has a large community of people living with HIV, many of whom are 50-plus years old. The availability of health services for this demographic is particularly outstanding in the Coachella Valley and comparable to those you’d find in a city like San Francisco or Los Angeles.

Health and wellness have always been in the DNA of Palm Springs. The Aqua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians were aware of the…

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As if searching for the right house, making the offer, and closing escrow aren’t enough, now you actually have to move!

How are you going to furnish the place? If you’re buying in Pam Springs, chances are you’ve selected a contemporary, a Midcentury Modern, or a Spanish/Mediterranean style home. Will your Seattle apartment’s French settee and or your San Francisco Edwardian flat’s Louis VX dining set go with your new digs? And if your Palm Springs home is used as a second home, or maybe as a part-time vacation rental, you’ll have to find some practical, durable furniture. 

Luckily, Palm Springs is the place to be for vintage, contemporary and consigned furnishings. Savvy shoppers from all over Southern California make the trip out to the desert…

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If you’re looking for a home in Palm Springs, and you’re not from the southwest, the landscaping around here may be unfamiliar, even confusing. On the one hand, you’ll see lush, Mediterranean gardens, with green lawns, tropical-looking palms, bougainvillea, olive and citrus trees. On the other, lots of rock and gravel, some spikey-looking things, and a few trees that don’t appear to have much going on in the leaf or shade department. And if you’re into gardening, trying to figure out what to do with your new yard can be intimidating.

Golf courses in a desert?

People forget: this is a desert. All Southern California is dry. And we just came out of a years-long drought, with water rationing, rate hikes, and a mandated push toward drought resistant…

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If you have a dog, you’ll see that Palm Springs is a very welcoming place for your best friend. If you don’t have a dog, you may just decide to get one (or two) after you settle in to your new home here.

Dogs are everywhere in Palm Springs, and the chill atmosphere seems to effect them just like it does its human residents. You’ve never seen such an assembly of the most well-behaved, laid back pups. Maybe it’s because of all the places they can go with you and all the other dogs they get to meet. 

People clearly love their dogs here and take them everywhere – to restaurants, parks, shopping and on hikes. 

Patio Dining

If you haven’t already noticed, the Palm Springs climate lends itself to outdoor dining, and many restaurants and coffee shops…

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When you pull up listings on various real estate search sites, you might find a “walkability” rating. Tired of always having to get in the car to go somewhere, more people are looking for neighborhoods where they can walk to shops, restaurants and entertainment. Sure, driving around in Palm Springs is nothing like driving around LA (local traffic reporters get all excited when there’s a backup on the 10 during Coachella). But, still, having a “walkable” neighborhood is considered a plus.

So, what are the best walkable neighborhoods in Palm Springs? It depends somewhat on what you’re walking to. But for our purposes, let’s say you want to be able to walk to stores, restaurants, nightlife and, maybe, some hiking.

The oldest neighborhoods in Palm…

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It used to be called Gay Pride, and it began as a commemoration of the June 28, 1969, Stonewall Rebellion in New York City. And originally, in New York and San Francisco in particular, the event was held in late June and was more of a march and demonstration than a parade and festival. Through the Anita Bryant and AIDS crisis years, there was a lot to demonstrate about.

Now many cities throughout the world host some version of Gay Pride; most are in late June or in the summer months. “Gay Pride” has often been truncated to “Pride” to be more inclusive of the entire LGBTQ community, and the demonstrations are more parade-like, with floats, music, dancers plus a festival featuring stages for performers and weekend-long events. 

Late June would not be…

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Beautiful mountain scenery, gorgeous weather, and an endless surplus of the best golf courses around encompass the greatness that is Palm Springs. Just imagine waking up every morning with the sun peeking over the mountains just outside your window and starting your day in a sunny paradise. With its high end hotels, modern architecture, and an accepting atmosphere, it’s no wonder so many people choose to live there. 

If you live and work here, you’ll probably never want to leave. However, no matter how much you may not want to leave, sometimes travel is unavoidable. If you know anything about Southern California, you know that the traffic can get a little much to say the least. Luckily, there are a handful of tips and tricks to getting around the city,…

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Yes, the global gay conspiracy has had one of its early successes in the city of Palm Springs. It may be the one city in the US where restaurants and clubs can be referred to as “straight-friendly.”

Recently, Palm Springs received media attention as being the only city in the U.S. with an all-LGBT city council. All five elected members trouped up to Sacramentoto receive official recognition from the state legislature.  Indeed, Palm Springs has more gay couples per household than any city in the U.S. 

How did the city become such a gay mecca? The truth is that Palm Springs was always a place for privacy; for people, including gay people, to be themselves, away from the constraints of so-called “acceptable behavior.”

 

A Remedy for Hollywood

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