Lakewood Country Club Estates, Lakewood, CA

Lakewood Country Club Estates takes its name from the 18-hole golf course on Carson Street, and its houses run larger than the typical tract home elsewhere in Lakewood. The neighborhood also reaches toward Lakewood Center and the civic buildings on Clark Avenue, so larger lots and the city's main shopping district end up side by side. Homes in Lakewood Country Club Estates show their extra size from the curb. Ranch houses sit alongside Spanish-style and midcentury modern designs, many on generous lots where a curved horseshoe drive out front and a pool deck in back are common. The streets have a settled, well-kept look. Lakewood Country Club is the obvious outdoor draw, a public 18-hole course a few minutes away, with the Lakewood Tennis Center next to it. Bolivar Park, with its pool and ballfields, is a short drive west, and the San Gabriel River trail is across town for longer rides. Lakewood Center is the neighborhood's big neighbor and its errand hub. Around it, Candlewood Street works as a restaurant row. George's Greek Cafe on Faculty Avenue is the local pick, a father-and-son operation cooking gyros, moussaka and salads from scratch, with seats outside. Every Saturday the Lakewood Farmers Market sets up at Del Amo Boulevard and Clark Avenue, next to the Angelo M. Iacoboni Library. That corner is the closest thing the city has to a town center, and it is an easy trip from here. The tradeoff is noise and traffic. Long Beach Airport sits just south, so jets are part of the soundtrack, and the roads around the mall get crowded on weekends and through the holidays. On a weekday morning, though, the fairways and the quiet side streets make it easy to forget the mall is right there.