Monterey Highlands, Monterey Park, CA

Monterey Highlands spreads across the hills on the west side of Monterey Park, where a lighted driving range and hillside streets sit a few minutes from the 10 and 710 freeways. Long before the houses, this was farm country. Homes in Monterey Highlands follow the terrain. Single-family houses step up the hillsides on curving streets, many from the city's postwar building years and plenty remodeled since, and condos and townhomes cluster along Casuda Canyon Drive. Highlands Park on Casuda Canyon Drive and Pine Tree Park on Arriba Drive are the two neighborhood parks, with playgrounds and lawn close to the hillside streets. Right next door, Luminarias Restaurant & Special Events is a restaurant and special-events space on Ramona Boulevard. Down on Monterey Pass Road, Lee's Noodle is the neighborhood's own noodle counter, and Carnitas El Momo's Michoacan-style carnitas are a short drive south in Monterey Pass. Daily life runs by car. The hills make walking to shops impractical, and groceries mean a drive to the markets along Garvey Avenue or Atlantic Boulevard. The upside of that location is fast freeway access, with the 10 and 710 both close enough for a quick run toward downtown Los Angeles or the Westside. The tradeoff is that the Highlands have very little commercial life of their own beyond the golf club and a few spots on Monterey Pass Road. What you get instead is quiet streets and a driving range glowing at the bottom of the hill long after most of the city has gone dark.