A working-class Latino suburb located about 20 minutes (without traffic) southeast of Downtown
Los Angeles. It is bordered by South LA to the
west, Huntington
Park and Cudahy to the north, Downey to the east, and Lynwood to the south. Since it is located on the flight path to
LAX, you can hear airplanes quite often throughout the day and
night. The area just
west and south of South Gate Park has the nicest homes with lower crime and higher median household income, which explains why most homes in the area do not have fences around their lawns. The eastern part of South Gate has more crime due to its proximity to South LA. Most businesses cater to the high immigrant Mexican population. However, as their US-born children grow up and many are unable to afford to live on their own elsewhere in the LA area due to barely graduating
high school, newer businesses are catering to a younger generation of Latinos with more
American and corporate tastes, which is evident in the recently built Azalea Regional Shopping Center on Firestone and Atlantic. Modern technology tends to arrive late to Sough Gate because the immigrant adults do not follow technology much and their US-born children
don't exactly have the money to keep up to date with new technology. Many residents escape the mundaneness of South Gate by going next door to Downey. Those willing to travel more go to Cerritos, Long Beach, DTLA, or Dockweiler Beach.
South Gate
Resident: "Hey, I just bought an Amazon Echo! I can't believe you can talk to device and it talks back to you and does things for you!"
DTLA Resident: "Uh, the Amazon Echo came out 3 years ago. Where have you been all this
time?"
South Gate Resident: "I've been in South Gate,
California."
