| Weather | | How much crime? | | What are the neighborhoods like? | | What are the people like? |
| Lake Forest has very mild weather. In fact, this town has the stereotypical California weather that has been bringing people to the state for well over a hundred and fifty years. The summers can get hot occasionally, but the cool ocean breezes cool you off and make each summer day just about perfect. Spring and fall are the best, as far as weather goes. Not hot, not cool, just right. Winters can get cool, even cold, so always bring a jacket and wear layers because the weather, rather the temperatures can change from cold to cool to warm in a matter of minutes. That is true California weather. | | Crime in Lake Forest will probably never get into the national news because it's generally a pretty safe place to live. However, thievery does exist and no one should leave anything that they value inside an open vehicle or where someone can just walk off with it. Unlocked cars with purses or jackets or laptops or anything that someone can use or sell are the most vulnerable places that thieves will target in this town. The basic rule is: Leave a something alone long enough and it will be gone before you get back. One woman in an apartment complex left a bag of groceries by her front door while she took in the other bags, and when she returned for it minutes later it was gone. | | Lake Forest has some nice areas with some very nice homes. Some of the older parts of town, if you can call this area old, have some great neighborhoods that are family oriented with big houses and yards and very safe. Some of these are on the the side streets between Lake Forest Drive and El Toro Rd., between Trabuco Road and Muirlands Blvd. Newer developments which have very nice houses and are good sized in great family neighborhoods are in Foothill Ranch, which is a section of Lake Forest just northeast of 241 toll road. There is plenty of shopping and entertainment in that section of town that pretty much caters to that portion of Lake Forest simply because of its geographical location. The bad or questionable parts of Lake Forest are generally considered to be on the south east side of El Toro Rd. There are some industrial zones there mixed in with apartments and some single family homes. But basically, this part of town looks a bit more unrefined and you would definitely not want to park your car around there if you're not familiar with the neighborhood that you are visiting. | | Lake Forest is a real melting pot. It is a lower middle class town full of people who generally work for someone else or for a company that is in a neighboring town. Lake Forest has just about every race of people represented there, but it seems that white and Hispanic people are the majority. There are some people there who have advanced degrees who teach at one of the many colleges and universities in the general area. Most people seem to be in retail or customer service jobs, however, with high ambitions of moving elsewhere. |
| Downtown Area | | Restaurants | | Schools | | Single life |
| Downtown Lake Forest has plenty of shopping but the traffic can be horrendous. If you time it right, however, and drive down Lake Forest Dr. or El Toro Rd. between the traffic jam moments, you'll find some great shopping on both of these streets. Generally, drive between 9am and 2pm or after 7pm. | | Plenty of good, solid restaurants in Lake Forest. Avila's El Ranchito is one of the best Mexican restaurants in the whole county. And Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ on El Toro Rd. has been going strong for many years. There are plenty more restaurants in this town to keep your taste buds happy. | | Lake Forest's public schools get high ratings from greatschools.org. El Toro High School got a 9 out of 10 rating and so did three elementary schools there. There are over twenty schools in this town and they can stand up to just about any other schools in the state. | | Singles in Lake Forest don't have to worry if they can't find too many places to meet other singles. Lake Forest is close to the beaches, where there are plenty of hot night spots and close to big towns like Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, where there are great restaurants and clubs to meet your soul mate. |
| Noise | | town comparison vs. | | Best hospital | | Tourist attractions |
| Lake Forest is a pretty sleepy town with no unusual noises unless you live right on top of one of the freeways that surround it. Orange County airport is about twenty miles away so you won't be bothered by any jets. However, the Orange County Sheriff's Department helicopters seem to be flying overhead a lot more than in previous years, so you could be bothered by those disturbing sounds. Unless they are hovering directly over your house, you will only be annoyed for about thirty seconds, the length of time it takes the noise to pass over on their way out of the area. | | One of Lake Forest's neighboring towns isMission Viejo. This is a pretty nice place in that it has a lot of greenery and it has its own lake. It also has some great shopping and dining venues along with some cool movie theatres. Just by the description of this town, one can tell that it does cost a little more to live there. Mission Viejo is a real family oriented community, with plenty of single family homes, established neighborhoods and miles of walking areas, especially around Lake Mission Viejo, which is a gem of an attraction. Another town near Lake Forest is Rancho Santa Margarita. This is a relatively new town and it looks like it. Just about everything is new and just about everything has that unmistakable nondescript look of modern architecture and construction which is part of the school of "Get it built as fast as you can, because no one cares what it looks like anyway." It's not a bad town, because it too has a lake, although much smaller than Mission Viejo's. It also is a bedroom community like Lake Forest and it seems most people you meet there are all trying to climb the proverbial ladder. Mission viejo is a polished diamond compared to Rancho Santa Margarita. | | Saddleback Memorial Medical Center and Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center are the two hospitals that are quite close to Lake Forest. Both of these hospitals have well earned reputations as great hospitals. MissionHospital is also a trauma center and specializes in head injuries caused by accidents, etc. | | The nicest thing to visit in Lake Forest is Lake Mission Viejo in Mission Viejo. Yes, that's funny, but it's not a joke. Mission Viejo is only minutes away and beautiful lake is surrounded by absolutely fantastic homes and plenty of green trees to shaed you from the afternoon or morning sun. It's a splendid stroll around the lake and you'll be glad that you visited Lake Forest because it brought you so close to Lake Mission Viejo. |
| General comments | | | | | | |
| Lake Forest is a nice town to pass through or to live in for a short period of time. It's more of a bedroom community with all the real action, whatever that may be for you, always being somewhere else. People seem to be too busy to want to take the time to be nice to strangers and a lot of the residents are just concerned about getting ahead. Traffic is horrible on El Toro Rd. and Lake Forest Dr. It gets worse every year and you should stay off of these two main streets in the morning and late afternoon. So, Lake Forest has too much traffic and it's a bedroom community. If the traffic weren't so bad, it would be a nicer place to get around in and a nicer place to enjoy. | | | | | | |
