Hawaiian Gardens, CA

Hawaiian Gardens covers less ground than some shopping malls, and this compact Los Angeles County city sits right where Lakewood, Long Beach and Cypress meet at the Orange County line. Nearly everything a resident needs is inside the city limits or just across one of those borders, so a newcomer can learn the whole place in an afternoon. The town is essentially one neighborhood with a commercial spine. Carson Street carries the shops, restaurants and civic buildings east to west, while Norwalk Boulevard crosses it as the second main road. Off those two streets, the blocks fill with older one-story houses on small lots, courtyard apartments and duplexes, and a few mobile home communities. Those parks are pocket-sized and scattered through the residential blocks, with ball fields and a community center that keeps a busy calendar. For long walks, big lawns or a skate park, many people head a few minutes north to Cerritos Regional County Park. Eating out stays casual. Carson Street strip centers hold taquerias, pho, sushi and Korean barbecue, and Pollo Inka Express turns out Peruvian rotisserie chicken that many households pick up for weeknight dinners. Norwalk Boulevard adds bakeries, juice stands and small Mexican markets. Anyone wanting a sit-down night out typically drives to Lakewood or the plazas of Cerritos. Errands run close to home, with supermarkets and the county library branch all on Carson Street. The 605 lies just west and the 91 just north, so most commutes start on one or the other. Homes here rarely sit empty, and the fully built blocks leave little room for anything new, so options are limited when it is time to move. Those who stay in Hawaiian Gardens get a town where the grocery store, the library and the park are all a few blocks apart.