Nobody thinks of Costa Mesa as being close to bankrupt when they play host to one of the most expensive shopping malls in California, South Coast Plaza.

FORBES: Connect

Just four years ago, the top 10 list would have included a pair of popular California destinations--South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa and Del Amo Fashion Center in Los Angeles--along with the King of Prussia Mall in Pennsylvania and the famed Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn.

FORBES: They're springing up in Asia, but will they all last?

Step out from the old church into the main plaza of Trinidad, a colonial gem on the south coast, and you will be mobbed by a dozen touts.

ECONOMIST: Fidel, the church and capitalism