Rancho Santa Margarita is the ultimate urban village.  Nestled in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains, with palm tree lined streets, Rancho Santa Margarita offers the best of two worlds. Our city has all of the elements and advantages of a small city plus the quality of life of a small village.  This is pristine California living.  Money Magazine calls Rancho Santa Margarita one of the wests hottest towns and one of the best places to live.  "Incomes are high. Home prices are rising ever higher. Here's where people are moving."  I couldnt have said it better myself.  Average household income is $84,000 a year, average home prices are $350,000, and there is still time to get in on an amazing way of life.  On top of all this, Rancho Santa Margarita is the safest city in Orange County.  Despite being a young city, Rancho Santa Margarita has developed into a mature community with a well-balanced mix of beautiful homes, shops, entertainment and plenty of open space.  Bring the kids when you come for a visit, you might not leave. 

With weather this gorgeous, youll definitely want to enjoy the outdoors.  There are 10 parks, four pools, numerous recreational fields and a swimming pond.  The O'Neill Regional Park is a great place for a morning hike or an afternoon with the kids after school.  The park is situated in the beautiful Trabuco and Live Oak Canyons and is heavily wooded with coast live oak and sycamore trees.  The hillsides surrounding the park are filled with cactus, wild buckwheat, sagebrush and chaparral of scrub oak, buckthorn and mountain mahogany.  The Trabuco and Hicky Creeks meander through the park, flowing in winter and early spring.  The park's nature center features exhibits on the area's mountain lions, birds, raccoons, possums and (now extinct) grizzly bears.  For a great vantage point, its a short hike to the Tijeras Spur overlook, which offers a superb view of Rancho Santa Margarita and all that lies beyond to the east.  Lake Santa Margarita is another great spot.  It features a one-mile paved trail that is the community's prime spot for walking, jogging or in-line skating.  Lakeside benches provide a place to watch the sunset or feed the birds.  And we are all looking forward to the new Skateboard Park and Dog Park.

The small village feel really comes out during the great community events.  The Rancho Santa Margarita Fourth of July fireworks show near the lake is a family favorite, as is the traditional Fourth of July parade in Trabuco Canyon.

Dont miss the chance to see the most famous rabbit around at the Easter Egg hunt.  Make sure to get dressed up for the Halloween "Boo Blast" at the lake.  The Rancho Santa Margarita Town Center Summer Concert Series is a great way to catch a diverse range of musical acts.  The Coto de Caza Candlelight Concerts should not be missed.  Sponsored by the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, this candlelight series is chance to hear classical favorites or be introduced to something new.  And, no year would be complete without a visit from the big man, in December Santas Holiday Workshop moves into town.  Its a great time to celebrate family, friends, holiday cheer with crafts and the arrival of Santa.  All the events really help to foster a sense of community and spirit.  Its great to get out and meet friends, and make new ones. 

As a parent in Rancho Santa Margarita, I appreciate having one of the finest educational systems in Orange County.  Rancho Santa Margarita is served by two amazing school districts, Saddleback Unified and Capistrano Unified.  The Capistrano Unified School District is the proud home to thirty-three California Distinguished Schools, an award granted for high standards, graduation requirements, and scholastic achievements.  State academic rankings fall in the range of 8Oth to 90th percentile, which means that students in Rancho Santa Margarita are among the top in the state.  A safe, clean and healthy learning environment contribute to the ongoing success of our education system.  The success our students enjoy and our positive local and national reputation are the result of focused teacher energy, vigorous parent involvement and strong staff and management commitment as well as business and community support.  The academic environment is enhanced by a variety of athletic opportunities, fine and performing arts programs and many other student activities.  The use of technology as a tool to enhance learning for all students is also a top priority. There is a real sense of sense of dedication in our schools.

Not only is Rancho Santa Margarita a great place to live, but its also a great place to work.  Rancho Santa Margarita is home to great employers like Cox Communications, O'Connell Landscape Maintenance, Control Components Inc., Viking Components, Applied Medical Resources, CCI, Virtium Technology Inc., Sanmina-SCI, Viking Components, Melissa Data Corp and South County Bank.  In addition to having great business opportunities right here in town, Rancho Santa Margarita is near huge business centers in Mission Viejo and Irvine.  Irvine is home to many technology industrial clusters including medical device manufacturers, bio-medical companies, computer software and hardware companies, and automotive design firms, companies like Toyota, Toshiba, CitiCorp, Taco Bell and Ford motor Company to name a few.  Orange County is widely known as a great place to do business.

Rancho Santa Margarita has so much to offer.  Theres no question, Rancho Santa Margarita is an amazing place to live.  The only question is, why arent you here yet?