Palm Springs is the oldest and best known of the desert resort cities.  Palm Springs lies at the western end of the Coachella Valley in what is known as the "low desert" (a reference to altitude) of California.  It is a world famous resort city that serves both as a popular weekend get-away for Californians as well as a winter home for Northern snowbirds.  The desert cities are strung like pearls along state Highway 111 about 120 miles east of Los Angeles, with Palm Springs the first in line.  As with all desert communities, it is beautiful most of the year and rather warm (okay, really hot!) for three months in the summer.

Palm Springs is notable for its large, older estate properties in neighborhoods called "Las Palmas" and "The Movie Colony."  If you're looking for a stately older Spanish Colonial style with a separate guest house, pool and tennis court on a high-walled acre or two...these are your neighborhoods.  Just don't look for street lights...they are banned as they block the stars at night!  Palm Springs also has become famous of late due to reviving interest in "Mid-Century Modern" houses.  What were originally built as tract homes adjacent to Las Palmas have now gained a huge and devoted following.  If you see a home listed as an "original Alexander" you can expect to pay a premium price for this mid-century tract home built by the Alexender family of home builders. 

There are also many nice tract neighborhoods and condo complexes in Palm Springs from which to choose.  Despite its reputation, Palm Springs is probably not the city for you if living on a golf course is a top priority, as Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells and La Quinta have many more golf course homes from which to choose.  But Palm Springs has the best, most lively downtown in the desert along with plenty of supermarkets and drug stores in smaller shopping centers throughout the city.  Palm Springs is the "old world" of the desert, and there is nothing wrong with that!