Read all about the Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage and Yucca Valley California and check out my listings in these areas! 

LOCATION
Palm Desert is in the heart of California’s Coachella Valley, about 2 hours drive from Los Angeles, San Diego, or Tijuana. Interstate 10 runs from Los Angeles to Phoenix via the Coachella Valley, and State Highways 74 and 86 come to an end at this point. The Palm Springs International Airport is a 25-minute drive from Palm Desert and Amtrak has railway stations in nearby Palm Springs and Indio. 

BRIEF HISTORY
Incorporated in 1973, Palm Desert is considered the cultural and retail center for the surrounding desert communities. In 1997, voters approved changing Palm Desert's designation from general law to a Charter City; in doing this they chose a greater degree of self-governance, particularly in social and economic fields. 

ABOUT EDUCATION
The Palm Springs Unified School District is one of California’s finest. Currently it has fourteen elementary schools, four middle schools, three comprehensive high schools, one continuation high school, one independent study program, eight headstart/state preschools, three full-day headstart programs, four childcare programs, and an extensive adult education program. A wide range of programs serve a diverse student body, including special education, instruction for English Learners, Tech Prep, athletics, advanced placement, SBCP, Title I, school-to work transition, and GATE. Palm Desert itself has three of these elementary schools, one middle school, and a high school. A range of private schools grants more choices to residents; higher education is found at Palm Desert’s two-year community college and the recently opened satellite branch of the California State University San Bernardino. 

WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT AREA?
Residents and visitors alike are drawn to Palm Desert for its gorgeous sunny weather, desert beauty, and outdoor lifestyle. With some of the best courses in the world, Palm Desert is a golfer’s paradise; the annual Golf Cart Parade attracts visitors from all over and Palm Desert is the only city in the world to grant golf carts street legal! The city has amazing public art and the region’s most exciting shopping; El Paseo is often referred to as the “Rodeo Drive of the desert”. Palm Desert is the region’s economic center, generating over one billion dollars in yearly retail sales and driving the current rapid growth enjoyed by the entire Palm Springs region. The city runs a Business Support Center which attracts further business to the area. 

LOCATION
Palm Springs is about 107 miles southeast of Los Angeles and 135 miles northeast of San Diego. Convenient to major interstates and highways, Palm Springs is an easy drive from these major cities; I-10 passes right by; I-15 (south to north), and I-5 (north to south), terminate at the I-10. Hwy-91 runs east from LA and Hwy-215 travels north to south, linking I-10 with I-15. The Palm Springs Airport connects the region with most major US cities including Atlanta, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Houston, Minneapolis, Portland, Salt Lake City, and Vancouver. Palm Springs is also easily reached by rail and bus.

BRIEF HISTORY
Since prehistory, Coachella Valley has been home to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. In pre-contact times the band spent their winter months at the hot mineral springs (where the Spa Resort Casino is at present), and in summer they moved into the cooler climate of the canyons. The Southern Pacific Railroad finished its line through the desert to the Pacific Ocean in 1877, bringing the first white men to the region. By Federal decree, the surrounding lands now belonged to the Railway or the Federal Government. The first non-Indian family moved to the current Palm Springs in 1884 and local Indians helped them to construct an irrigation ditch. As the 19th century wore on, numerous adventurers, settlers, and military came through the desert, but it was not until the first decade of the 20th century that Palm Springs became widely known, after Dr. Harry and Nellie Coffman started their sanatorium, The Desert Inn, in 1909. The Indian springs drew more and more people to the town and in time, the Inn became a world famous resort hotel catering to the likes of the Vanderbilts and the Hearsts. Palm Springs was incorporated in 1938 and the post-war boom saw new housing developments and businesses, schools, and a hospital being constructed. Much of this post-war architecture represented the best of its day; many are attracted to Palm Springs by these stunning designer homes. The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians also regained about 3,000 land sections during the 1950s and they have used this resource to maintain their way of life. Hollywood discovered Palm Springs early on, as the desert was a popular place to make films and the town had enough quality hotels to house the stars. Today, many Hollywood celebrities have homes in the city or stay at its famous hotels.  

ABOUT EDUCATION
Residents have access to an excellent range of educational resources—from kindergarten through to adult education. Preschools and kindergartens include a Montessori and a parent-participating school, two Jewish schools, and Reimer’s School of Music. The Palm Springs Unified School District is excellent. After-school activities abound, like the Palm Springs Boys and Girls Club. Higher education is offered at the Desert Career College; nearby LA and San Diego have some of the world’s top universities. 

WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT AREA?
The answer to this is simple: the weather. With glorious sunshine an estimated 350 days of the year, the outdoor lifestyle is the only way to go. Recreational activities abound, from swimming and sunning poolside to golfing, hiking, biking, exploring, gaming, tennis, and eco-tourism. Palm Springs is a spa town; the hot mineral springs are complimented by world-class health resorts. Palm Springs is also aesthetically pleasing and culturally sophisticated. The beauty of the desert and surrounding canyons are complimented by the city’s stunning modernist architecture and sensitive town planning. Long a “Hollywood town”, Palm Springs has glamour—great shopping and nightlife, restaurants, and cultural events flourish. 

LOCATION
Rancho Mirage is 11 miles from Palm Springs, right in the middle of Southern California’s economically thriving Coachella Valley. Railway and major highways and interstates connect Rancho Mirage to Southern California—a market of over 20 million people. The nearby Palm Springs International Airport services all of the country’s major metropolitan hub districts. 

BRIEF HISTORY
A relatively new city, Rancho Mirage incorporated in 1973 to become the sixteenth city in Riverside County. The city’s first building permit was to the Sunrise Country Club; since then Rancho Mirage has become known for its exclusive clubs and residences. The city enjoyed a building boom in 1974 and valuations rose dramatically by 11 million dollars; assessed values have steadily continued to rise since that time. Long popular with presidents, Rancho Mirage’s Annenberg Estate has hosted Presidents Nixon, Ford (who purchased a home there), and Reagan; Frank Sinatra was married to Barbara Marx at the Annenberg Estate and lived there.  

ABOUT EDUCATION
Rancho Mirage benefits from the excellence of the Palm Springs Unified School District. Higher education is nearby with the College of the Desert and a satellite branch of the California State University San Bernardino in nearby Palm Desert. 

WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT AREA?
Rancho Mirage is currently leading the nation in luxury residential development; this is complemented by the city’s three superlative, award-winning resorts. Residents and visitors appreciate Rancho Mirage’s fine restaurants, professional services, financial institutions, and home furnishing centers; the city’s five-star health care is renowned, particularly the excellent Eisenhower Medical Center and the Betty Ford Center.