This middle-class South Bay community is the ethnically diverse model of day-to-day life in Southern California. Torrance was once the West Coast center of the aerospace industry and rapidly subdivided into suburban homes to house the families of engineers from around the world. Although other industries now dominate the area, the internationally mixed suburbia remains intact.

Driving along Crenshaw or Hawthorne boulevards, you can spot tiny sushi joints, Hawaiian restaurants, Peruvian chicken spots, Korean BBQs, and soul food diners. This is the kind of place where you might see a Beijing-Islamic restaurant nestled next to the Chuck E. Cheese, or an Ethiopian spot next to the Olive Garden.

The largest mall in Southern California calls Torrance home. The Del Amo shopping center is so huge that trekking from one end to the other is practically impossible if you’re carrying shopping bags.