Sarah Paris

Seaside aka Seaside Ranchos is famous for their Annual Christmas Light Display. It's also called Candy Cane Lane and Sleepy Hollow due to the tree lined streets draped in lights. Every house is done up and people sometimes buy here to be part of a neighborhood with so much spirit. Thanksgiving til New Years is the ONLY time of year there is traffic and activity due to the light display. The train of cars from far and wide drive 5miles an hour. Neighbors have gotten used to this and are now making the best of it and selling hot cocoa and holiday goodies.

Built on sand dunes, less than a mile from the beach, at the border South Redondo Beach, adjacent to the Hollywood Riviera is Seaside Ranchos. It is walking distance to Seaside Elementary (Home of the Dolphins), St. Lawrence (for private school), Calle Mayor Middle School (Home of the Bulldogs), and South High (Home of the Spartans). It is all single family homes, no condos or apartments. Most lots are 6500sq.ft.+ and usually range 8000-12000sq.ft.. They used to be beach bungalows and second homes. In the 50's when they were built a lot of TRW workers lived here. There are rarely homes for sale or rent because they usually stay in the family for generations. Over the years many homeowners have remodeled, rebuilt, mansionized, or modernized. You will see original bungalows, variations of spanish style (californian, modern, and ranch influences), as well as cape cod and traditional ranch style homes with copper finished rain gutters. Bindewald Rd., Vanderhill Rd., parts of Doris Rd., and Zakon Rd. are the VIEW streets. Bindewald Rd. is the highest point and has the best views. On the North Side there are ocean views as well. I always knew all my neighbors and growing up we rarely locked our doors. We always could go to our friends house and play in the street. Every morning, we walked down the street to school, more kids would join us on the way.

All the dining is pretty much off PCH between Hawthorne all the way to Palos Verdes Blvd. You can have Chinese, Thai, Hawaiian, Mexican, French, American. Or even shop and dine in the Riviera Village less than a mile away. You can work out at Elite, Riviera, Pop Physique, Shapeshift Pilates, Unity Jiu Jitsu, or at the Personal Trainer on Calle Mayor. There is a bar, florist, and liquor store on Calle Mayor and Anza you can walk to as well. You're blocks away from Ralphs. It's still one of the better Ralphs in the area. And after 15 years later, I'm still going to Deluxe Nail Spa behind South High School. After school, we would walk to Jack's Pizza or Taco Bell, then hangout at Vanguard Surf & Skate and see what new shoes we should buy. What more could you ask for growing up?