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Me thinks you should get your butt over to talkranchosantamargarita!

Owned in RSM since 1991.

When you say RSM it's important to clarify which part of RSM.

RSM City center has homes from the late 80's to early 90's.
Melinda Heights has larger homes and built in mid 90's to early 2000's.
Robinson Ranch, a William Lyon master planned community vintage 1985-1990 homes, big homes, big views and with some very large lots.
Rancho Cielo - gated community built by Brighton Homes, a Standard Pacific level builder.
Dove Canyon - gated community with various builders from 1990-mid 2000's
Las Flores - a Shea master planned community built out in the mid 2000's.
and finally although people in Coto De Caza don't like to hear this, CdCz is part of RSM as well. Coto has a very wide range of properties from the Village to supersized mansions.

It takes me about 20 minutes by toll road to get from Melinda Heights to JWA. On a good day it's about 30 minutes to Laguna Beach.  Summers are very warm, often in the upper 90's, but still bearable. One thing that will stand out is how quiet some of the neighborhoods are. Very little traffic noise and few low flying airplanes.

Schools are pretty solid. It's possible to get a great education in Irvine, but pay $900k for a home with a 10 foot back yard and a courtyard driveway, or pay $700k in RSM and a 3GG on a 7,000 SF lot and send your kid to Santa Margarita Catholic School for about the equivalent amount of cash.

Happy to answer more questions here or in a PM.

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I have friends that live there.  I don't know exactly which area, but they bought in the area that neighbors the surrounding cities like mission Viejo and ladera.  Essentially RSM prices but one street away from higher priced cities.  I would look towards those homes for better prices. 

YellowFever said:

What do you guys think about homes in Rancho Santa Margarita? 
Living there as a primary residence, raising an Asian family.  I think it's primarily a white-washed county no?

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Look for homes near Oso Reservoir area with decent sized lots (translation:  real backyards).

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Rancho Mission Viejo relies on two roadways - Ortega Highway and Antonio Parkway. Neither of these roads are very efficient in getting you to mid or  North OC. If you work in San Diego, then this might be the right spot, but why not move to Carlsbad instead? AM traffic at the 405 and Ortega is surreal. If Antonio then becomes the only way out, it's a 7 mile drive to get to the Toll Road. Until the 241 is built RMV would not be on my short list of places to buy.

My .02c

RMV iirc has high MR to boot, like GP %wise

YF I think one drive out to RMV and you will say forget it. 

RSM is do-able, still lots of good food and entertainment options there.  A few months back I saw an amazing home listed in Dove Canyon for $1.4M with an awesome pool / outdoor living area, right on the golf course, single loaded street, 2 lofts upstairs, 4k sq ft... I almost regret not moving there.

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YellowFever said:

It just seems crazy how for the same money, you can only get a detached home, no drive way, no back yard in Irvine... yet drive down to RSM or Aliso, and bam, you get all 3 no questions asked.  Are Irvinites getting robbed?

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Location, location, location.

YellowFever said:

It just seems crazy how for the same money, you can only get a detached home, no drive way, no back yard in Irvine... yet drive down to RSM or Aliso, and bam, you get all 3 no questions asked.  Are Irvinites getting robbed?

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Just do it 

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The distance between Irvine and RSM is about the same distance between Laguna Beach and Aliso Viejo.  Aliso Viejo prices are at least 30% less than that of Laguna Beach (probably more). 

Is it worth the extra cost?  Yes for some, no for others.

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aquabliss said:

The distance between Irvine and RSM is about the same distance between Laguna Beach and Aliso Viejo.  Aliso Viejo prices are at least 30% less than that of Laguna Beach (probably more). 

Is it worth the extra cost?  Yes for some, no for others.

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Ahh yes, this talk bring me back memory. That was almost 16 years ago and I was in the same dilema. We literally looks south OC and way North of OC to weigh in all of the options. 16 years ago 50k to 70K difference is price for a home is huge. We could have gotten a bigger home in Mission Viejo for less. Priced was 289K for a 2400 sqft single family home vs. Irvine 350K for a 2000 sqft homes. We chosen Irvine and never regret it. Standing here now and doing number crunching, that same home that we considered purchase is 35% less in price today vs the Irvine home that we bought. And to have that extra 45 minutes commute each way added to my trip daily commute for work is a killer. An extra 1 1/2 hour added on a 45 minutes commute is a no go. We did not have kids then, and it seem that if we had gotten into the Mission Viejo home, our time would be either at work or in the car and you really have no time to enjoy your house. Rat race, I gotten out of that, thanks God.

YellowFever said:

It just seems crazy how for the same money, you can only get a detached home, no drive way, no back yard in Irvine... yet drive down to RSM or Aliso, and bam, you get all 3 no questions asked.  Are Irvinites getting robbed?

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I think it all depends on your priorities. If you want the best bet for protecting property values/appreciation, Irvine is hard to beat. But if you want to maximize your house/lot size and get more bang for your buck, there are other places to look (RSM, Lake Forest, YL, etc.). It is a matter of priorities. But because of the schools, amenities, employment centers, and overall quality of life, Irvine property values have done better appreciation-wise than the other options discussed?not that those are bad options!

TFDB;

(Too far, don't buy)

Soylent Green Is People said:

Rancho Mission Viejo relies on two roadways - Ortega Highway and Antonio Parkway. Neither of these roads are very efficient in getting you to mid or  North OC. If you work in San Diego, then this might be the right spot, but why not move to Carlsbad instead? AM traffic at the 405 and Ortega is surreal. If Antonio then becomes the only way out, it's a 7 mile drive to get to the Toll Road. Until the 241 is built RMV would not be on my short list of places to buy.

My .02c

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Two different places (Rancho Santa Margarita and Rancho Mission Viejo) that are 11 miles away from each other.