Colony Cove, Carson, CA

Colony Cove takes its name from Colony Cove Mobile Estates, a manufactured home community of about 400 spaces that has sat on Avalon Boulevard in Carson since 1975. The park has a pool and clubhouse, and for years its residents pushed back against a plan to subdivide the spaces, which the city council approved in 2009. Housing in Colony Cove is mostly those multisection manufactured homes, plus some nearby midcentury single-family houses. Residents in the park generally own their homes and rent the land underneath, a setup worth understanding before buying. Homes sit close together along narrow internal lanes, many with carports, awnings and potted gardens by the door. Stevenson Park on Lysander Drive is inside the neighborhood, the city park where people go for ball games, walks and the recreation programs run out of its community building. Library on Avalon is a quiet place for books and study, and it sits close enough to the park entrance that plenty of neighbors walk over. A small cluster on Avalon handles food. Avalon Cafe & Boba serves espresso, Vietnamese coffee, boba and breakfast sandwiches. Smhokin Pot next door does Cajun seafood boils, and The Big Burger covers classic burgers. Across Avalon, Carson Harbor has El Pescador Bar and Grill and El Burro Tacos and Beer. Errands happen on Avalon, with markets and chains a few minutes south. The 91 and 405 freeways are both close. Dignity Health Sports Park, home of the LA Galaxy, is just south, and Cal State Dominguez Hills is a short drive. Groceries usually mean Sprouts on University Drive. The tradeoff is Avalon Boulevard traffic, especially on game days, and the limited mix of housing types. Inside the park, though, the lanes are slow and quiet, and the pool and clubhouse become everyone's backyard.