Sunnyvale West - Sunnyvale, CA

The area that has become Sunnyvale West originally belonged to the Ohlone Native American tribe. The Spanish missionaries arrived first to the area in the 1770s, and the economy began to flourish. In 1901, the town began calling itself Sunnyvale and has developed and become more industrial in more recent years.

Every summer, a huge number of Sunnyvale West vendors and residents turn out for the Sunnyvale Art & Wine Festival. After closing several city blocks to accommodate the festival, the city welcomes many art, food and wine sellers who show up with their eclectic set of goods. You don’t want to miss out

To catch a great new play, keep abreast of the events going on at Sunnyvale Community Theater, which regularly provides discount tickets online.

Walking down the main restaurant hub near El Camino Real, you can’t miss Pezzella’s Villa Napoli, a tiny, stylish Italian restaurant that serves steaming linguini with clams and huge pieces of lasagna with an old-fashioned feel and taste. No meal can stand complete without the melt-in-your-mouth garlic knots, either. Don’t forget to grab one of the restaurant's famed cranberry vodka drinks while you’re there

Not in the mood for Italian? Head to Adamson’s French Dip, which has gained fame with the locals on account of its hot French dip sandwiches and the root beer floats that should always accompany them. For those not fond of beef, Adamson’s also serves hearty pulled-pork and chicken sandwiches that still go great with the au jus.

When you get a hankering for sushi, pop over to Hanamaru. You can count on edamame on the house and a selection of decently priced sushi rolls with a large number of combinations. Don’t like seaweed? No problem Order the UFO roll, wrapped in cucumber, perfect for anyone trying to watch their weight. You can also try the poki salad, which features raw tuna, seaweed, onions and sesame seeds, if you’re feeling adventurous.

Need a drink or a place to party? The Local 102 Lounge has tasty tequila infused with strawberries and basil. The lounge also offers a number of great beers on tap. With darts, karaoke, pool and shuffleboard, Local 102 Lounge makes for the perfect hang-out spot.

With 69 bus routes and several Caltrain stations, public transportation makes for a convenient method of getting around that allows residents to skip the hectic rush-hour traffic. A single ride ticket cost $2 if you just want to catch a bus or the light rail toward downtown.

If you plan to drive, your most efficient options are the Lawrence Expressway, the Central Expressway or SR 85, which meets up with several main freeways. Finding parking can be a challenge, though street parking, parking garages and parking meters all are available.

Calling a cab is always an option, though hailing one is rarely possible. Uber has come to Sunnyvale, and more drivers become available every day to help you get to and from your destination.

As the city provides on-road and off-road bike lanes and paths, using your bike as a method of transportation works well within Sunnyvale West. Because many of the business establishments, local shopping centers, restaurants and parks lie within walking distance, you’ll see many pedestrians on the streets.

Parks abound in Sunnyvale West, so it’s easy to find one that works well for your purposes. Las Palmas Park, located near central Sunnyvale, provides a splash zone water area for kids as well as a playground. With plenty of field space and palm trees, this park makes for the perfect spot for a mid-week picnic. The park also offers an area appropriate for dogs.

Ortega Park also makes for a great local getaway since it has an even larger water play area as well as a large, shaded picnic area. Though the park can get very busy, particularly on the weekends, it has a small rock climbing wall that makes it a hit with kids. Neither park charges a fee for use.

Living in the Bay Area comes with a large price tag, and Sunnyvale West, though a ways from San Francisco, sticks with that trend. On average, it costs 76 percent more than the national average to live in Sunnyvale West, though it costs only 3 percent less on average than living in San Francisco. Housing, utilities and groceries present the largest increase, in that order, above the national average. The average one-bedroom apartment rents for around $2,101.

Getting an ice cold beer at a local pub runs $5-$6, depending on where you go, and gas prices are 11 percent higher than the national average.

Though it is small, Cherry Orchard Shopping Center is one of the best places for getting fresh produce. The cherries at C.J. Olson taste fresh and have decent prices, especially when cherries have become so expensive. The mall also is home to chain stores and restaurants such as P.F. Chang's. Cupertino Village Shopping Center and Hacienda Center provide an expansive list of ethnic stores and a number of local restaurants, though parking can be difficult to find. Many grocery stores serve the local population of Sunnyvale West, including large chains such as Safeway and smaller stores such as Smart & Final. If you're skeptical about going to a chain grocery store for produce, don't forget about the Sunnyvale Farmers Market, which provides the freshest fruits and vegetables you can find on Saturdays all year round.