Overview
About Leisure World
Leisure World occupies about one square mile at the north end of Seal Beach, bounded by the San Diego Freeway, Westminster Boulevard, Seal Beach Boulevard and the Haynes Generating Station and its cooling channel. The city's Land Use Element records the housing as 6,482 cooperative apartments and 126 condominiums in one and two bedroom plans of roughly 800 to 1,100 square feet, and the city's address layer counts 6,633 homes inside the boundary on 47 streets and 10.13 miles of pavement. Because the mutual corporations hold their land in common, all of it sits on just 306 parcels. Leisure World is age restricted: at least one person occupying a unit must be 55.
The Golden Rain Foundation divides the community into sixteen self governing mutual corporations, numbered up to 17 with no Mutual 13, and publishes 531 park like acres. Residents share five clubhouses totaling 72,000 square feet, a swimming pool, a nine hole golf course, a 2,500 seat amphitheater, five woodworking and art studios, lawn bowling, gardening plots and a professionally equipped library, alongside the Leisure World Health Care Center with a full service pharmacy, clinical laboratory, radiology and physical therapy. The Land Use Element counts approximately 250 organized clubs and the Foundation publishes more than 160. The community is split between Council Districts 2 and 5, and the county's school district layer places all of it in Los Alamitos Unified.
View available homes in Leisure WorldHistory
How Leisure World was built
The streets are a tour of championship golf. Saint Andrews, Prestwick, Sunningdale, Wentworth, Merion, Oakmont, Interlachen, Scioto, Tam Oshanter, Burning Tree, Canoe Brook and Fresh Meadow are all the names of real courses, and Saint Andrews in Scotland, where golf has been played since the fifteenth century, is the home of the game itself. They circle a nine hole course of the community's own. Golden Rain Road, the main artery, carries the name of the Golden Rain Foundation, the nonprofit set up to hold the shared property in trust for everyone who lives here.
Ross W. Cortese built it. He and his wife Alona Marlowe Cortese met in a real estate class at Hollywood High School, married in 1948, and founded Rossmoor Corporation in 1951; Cortese had already built Rossmoor next door in Los Alamitos. Construction started in the middle of 1961 and the first models opened on 29 October 1961. Ten thousand people came through that day and about five hundred and fifty units sold before it closed. The first residents moved in on 8 June 1962. The finished community holds 6,608 one and two bedroom apartments on five hundred and thirty one acres.
By the Numbers
Leisure World by the numbers
Lifestyle
The Leisure World lifestyle
The city lists a swimming pool, a nine hole golf course, a 2,500 seat amphitheater, five wood working and art studios, lawn bowling, gardening plots and a professionally equipped library among the recreational facilities. Five clubhouses hold 72,000 square feet between them. The city records approximately 250 organized clubs and the association publishes more than 160.
Commercial, medical and religious uses sit inside the community. The city records the Leisure World Health Care Center on site with a full service pharmacy, a clinical laboratory, radiology and a physical therapy department. A fare free mini bus runs through the community and to nearby shopping centers, and a wheelchair mini bus is available by reservation.
Schools
Schools serving Leisure World
The county's published school district layer places Leisure World entirely inside Los Alamitos Unified. The campuses below are that district's schools with enrollment from the federal count. Which campus a given address attends is set by the district's attendance boundaries, and the district does not publish those as a map, so confirm the assignment with the district before relying on it.
9-12 · 2,915 students
6-8 · 1,018 students
6-8 · 998 students
K-5 · 721 students
K-5 · 642 students
K-5 · 640 students
K-5 · 625 students
K-5 · 603 students
K-5 · 540 students
FAQs
Common questions about Leisure World
How big is Leisure World and how many homes are in it?
The city's Land Use Element puts the community at 533 acres, approximately one square mile, and the Golden Rain Foundation publishes 531 park like acres; measured against the boundary the city draws on its Residential Boundaries layer it covers 556.5 acres. The Land Use Element records 6,482 cooperative apartments and 126 condominiums, and the city's address layer counts 6,633 addresses inside the line.
What does an owner actually own in Leisure World?
Most of the housing is cooperative. The city's Land Use Element records that a share of stock represents ownership of an apartment within the community, while the 126 condominiums are owned outright. The mutual corporations hold their land in common, which is why the county parcel layer records only 306 parcels behind 6,633 addresses. The city's address layer carries a mutual number on 6,609 of those addresses.
Is there an age requirement?
Yes. The city's Land Use Element records Leisure World as an age restricted community in which at least one person occupying a unit must be 55 years of age to qualify for residency, and the Golden Rain Foundation publishes the same requirement.
What amenities does the community have?
The Land Use Element lists a swimming pool, a nine hole golf course, a 2,500 seat amphitheater, five woodworking and art studios, lawn bowling, gardening plots and a professionally equipped library, plus five clubhouses totaling 72,000 square feet and approximately 250 organized clubs; the Golden Rain Foundation publishes more than 160 clubs. The Leisure World Health Care Center inside the community carries a full service pharmacy, a clinical laboratory, radiology and a physical therapy department.
How is Leisure World organized, and how do you get around it?
The Golden Rain Foundation publishes sixteen self governing mutual corporations, numbered up to 17 with no Mutual 13, and the city's address layer carries a mutual number on 6,609 addresses across all sixteen. The Land Use Element records a fare free mini bus serving the community and nearby shopping centers, with a wheelchair mini bus available by reservation, and the city's Evacuation Plan records two access points.