El Segundo

El Segundo is an upper-middle class beachside neighborhood just to the south of LAX. About half of the residents in the area rent and about half own their homes. Much of what defines this city has to do with its unusual location. Residents throughout El Segundo—but especially on its northern end—have to deal with the fairly constant noise of living next to a major international travel hub, LAX. Most of the homes in this northern section are double and triple paned to try to drown out some of this racket. But really, if you are a light sleeper or prone to insomnia, you will probably not find a good night’s sleep in this area.

To the south is a huge factory/refinery area that stretches up along the beach as well. There is also some kind of a sewage plant nearby that occasionally spews a foul stench over parts of the adjoining community (or so I am told) so this is maybe not the best place for those with keen senses of smell. (So no one with acute hearing or acute sense of smell. Hmmm.) You do have beaches beyond this column of refining pools (the source of the occasional stink) and they are okay—but most prefer to go down to Manhattan Beach or up to Venice and Santa Monica.

To the east is Del Aire and Hawthorne and increasing crime and violence especially as you get into West Athens, Inglewood and Westmont. So most residents here don’t venture in that direction unless they are driving through to get somewhere else.

The vibe in this neighborhood is decidedly conservative. One out of ten of the residents are former military, some pilots, some in the aerospace industry, some engineers. Northrop Grumman the aerospace and electronics defense contractor has a facility here that employs many of the residents, so you definitely get that kind of narrow minded, paranoid sort of a mentality in the area. This is also a majority white neighborhood—the kind of place where Pro-Prop 8 lawn signs were common place though, as a whole, El Segundo went 2/3 for Obama. Less conservative residents often note that racially insensitive comments are also a fixture of El Segundo—a little strange for a neighborhood with a Spanish name—but such are the contradictions of Los Angeles.

As to the actual look of the neighborhood? It is really quite attractive. Partly it is the weather. The seaside location means lots of fog covered days when the streets feel like that of a sleepy seaside town—except for the plethora of houses. The homes themselves are Baby Boom era Ranch Homes and there are a good portion of the residents that have actually been here since then. There is some variation to this. A few bungalow style homes are sprinkled throughout as are the occasional newer Mission Revival styles. Working partly as porous defense against the stentorian blast of engine noise from the runways beyond, a stalwart line of boxy Seventies style apartment buildings form a wall along the northern border of the city—a good place to find deals on rent.

There are also a number of parks, a hospital and great schools. El Segundo High is actually the gem of the area. With an API of 9, El Segundo High regularly has over 50% of its students passing the Math portion of the STAR test and about 75% passing the English portion. Its average score on the SAT is above the national average as well. Put simply, its one of the crown jewels of the LA School system.

Overall, if you can deal with the noise, stink and high property values, El Segundois a great place to set down roots—definitely not a second rate city.