All beach communities, at least in California, are packed together. The fact is El Segundo is an island. To the west is the ocean and a highway, Vista del Mar, from which you cannot see the town because of a sand hill. To the north is LAX. To the south, Standard Oil, to the east the aerospace companies. The major problem is something nobody has touched upon, the expansion of LAX and increased noise. But the physical setting and social setting of that town is very good. It is shared by some communities to the south along the coast, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, the Hollywood Riveria section of Torrance, and most of all El Segundo's neighbor one mile away, El Porto (now part of Manhattan Beach).
When you are a teenager these places are very nice to live in and you as a teenager realize this. As an adult, this is a small world in which I do not want to live.