scapeone

Lori Avenue is quite the underrated neighborhood, along with Shirley Avenue. This little neighborhood is best accessed from either Mathilda Ave and California Ave(the Fire station is on that corner, always a plus), or you can come from Mary Ave and California Ave(close to Central Expwy, a plus as well). We own a home in this area and can personally say that considering the expensive prices for homes in Sunnyvale, we discovered so many pros and very little cons about this area that softens the blow of the expensive price.

neighbors are awesome! most folks in this area have been here since day 1 when the neighborhoods here and their homes first came about (which was around 1950's). you can see that the folks have taken good care of their homes and lawns. quiet, friendly and welcoming. no traffic here other than the folks living here.

pets: VERY friendly pet neighborhood! all incredibly good pet owners, most dogs on leashes, the ones that arent on leashes have been amazingly friendly! there are condos and townhomes on california ave that have many dog owners, along with a few apartment communities that accept dogs. there is a business complex on California that houses a HUGE lush park, with benches and trash receptacles where everyone in this neighborhood gets together with their dogs in the evenings, making it a good place for dog lovers.

this neighborhood is very close to the town center, which although is currently under major renovation, houses a still fully functioning Macys and a nice big super Target! Murphy avenue is on the backside and has awesome pubs and restaurants for nightlife.

this area has very little/no crime...there is more small crimes occuring as you get past Mathilda avenue, which is far enough to not impact this neighborhopod in any way. there are two starbucks: on in the Lucky shopping center on mathilda and maude, one further down mary ave heading towards el camino. both are reasonably close.

cell phone coverage is awesome for all carriers!

soil conditions are insanely good for growing plants, veggies and herbs. the neighborhood was all once an orchard, which catered to the former cannery that once sat on california avenue.

cons: squirrels. lots of squirrels. dont know if you wanna call that a con though, unless you like your fruit robbed from the trees before you can pick them off!

Big Con: oriental cockroaches have been abundant not only in this area, but have been a growing epidemic in most of northern california. but we have seen a few here and there, mostly outdoors, few inside from time to time. do your research on making sure you keep them out of your home because the city doesnt seem to care about the ones outdoors.

the public schools in this area are good! all have decent ratings, far better than santa clara and san jose.

the greenery is pretty around here. lots of trees, mostly fruit trees!

public transportation is good, however you will need to access it from mathilda or mary, which are larger and more frequently accessed.

the cost of living will always be high here in sunnyvale. this area caters to a lot of tech related folks such as engineers(like me) i wouldnt expect too many hipsters and colorful characters. just your standard bunch of nerdy hermits and quiet families sipping wine in their backyard hot tubs ;)

There is a small neighborhood off Central & Mary that houses a cluster of apartments. the streets are Escalon Avenue, Ano Nuevo Avenue and Corte Madera Avenue. I like this neighborhood because it is far from highway expressway noises, away from the railroad running through Sunnyvale which is mostly down Evelyn Avenue(I highly recommend staying away from any apartment communities running down Evelyn for this reason alone). You are close to Central, however there is hardly ever any major noise from traffic that would disturb anyone in the evening. You would be on the border of Mounatin view, which is close to 237 and 85. This small cluster of apartment communities are on the business side of Mary Ave, meaning everything else around you are simply businesses that will clear out by 5 or 6pm, making it nice and peaceful in the evenings and weekends.

there is also Encinal Park nearby, which has picnic tables, tennis courts, big playground for kids, you name it! nearest supermarket is Lucky which is at Mathilda and Maude (~2 mins drive), however be warned that there has been a surge in panhandlers over the last few years in that shoping center.

people in that area are mostly tech(engineers). rents are expensive, but well worth it if you count the safety and security in that area. good schools for elementary and high school. close to downtown sunnyvale where all the restaurants and the town center is(they are currently renmodeling) which houses Macys and a HUGE Target!