Coast to Coast, Nation to Nation, BridgeStreet Worldwide No matter where business takes you, finding quality extended stay housing should never be an issue. That’s because there’s BridgeStreet. With thousands of fully furnished corporate apartments spanning the glove, BrideStreet provides you with everything you need, where you need it – from New York, Washington D.C., and Toronto to London, Paris, and everywhere else. Call BridgeStreet today and let us get to know what’s essential to your extended stay 1.800.B.SSTEET We’re also on the Global Distribution System (GDS) and adding cities all the time. Our GDS code is BK. Chek us out. WWW.BRIDGESTREET.COM WORLDWIDE 1.800.B.STREET (1.800.278.7338) ® UK 44.207.792.2222 FRANCE 33.142.94.1313 CANADA 1.800.667.8483 TTY/TTD (USA & CANADA) 1.888.428.0600 CORPORATE HOUSING MADE EASY™ ublisher of 95 U.S. and 32 International Relocation Guides, NewMarket PServices, Inc., is proud to introduce our online version. Now you may easily access the same information you find in each one of our 127 Relocation Guides at www.NewMarketServices.com. In addition to the content of our 127 professional written City Relocation Guides, the NewMarket Web Site allows us to assist movers in more than 20 countries by encouraging you and your family to share your Silicon Valley Information Guide [ 5 www.newmarketservices.com Silicon Valley Information Guide [ Volume 10 [ Number 2 LOCAL INFORMATION The State of California 8 Area Codes, Important Phone Numbers 14-15 Travel Information 16-17 Driver’s License and Vehicle Registration 13 About Silicon Valley 9 Silicon Valley History 10-11 Major Cities of Silicon Valley 18-20 Cultural Attractions 21-22 Publisher: NewMarket Services, Inc. Sights 23-24 President: Patrick Morgan Shopping 24 Managing Editor: Rebecca Wallace Spectator Sports 25 Golf 25, 28 Executive Editor: Jason Gerali Media 29 Contributing Writer: Amy Tennant MOVING Executive VP Sales & Marketing: Robert Fischer Smooth Transitions 31-32 Regional Sales Manager: Beth Hurley Choosing a Moving Company 29 Art Department: Sprague Design Packing Tips 31-32 Staying Organized 32 Graphic Designer: Dean Sprague Settling Into Your New Home 32 NewMarket On-Line: Total Web Design, Inc. What’s All The Talk About? 35 IT and Web Development: Larry Bongiovi Pre-Move Checklist 36-37 Research Assistant: Stephanie Cooper, Lora Price MOVING WITH CHILDREN & PETS Circulation: Little Drummer Boy Dist., Inc. Reinforce the Positives 39-41 Phoenix Office: Choosing a School 39-41 Selecting Child Care 42-43 PO Box 30534 Education 42-44 Phoenix, AZ 85046-0534 Relocating Your Pet 45 Phone: (602) 923-3415 Fax: (602) 923-0774 FITNESS & HEALTH Toll Free: (866) 595-3791 In the Kitchen 47 Chicago Office: Physical and Mental Well Being 48-50 902 North Ashland Volunteering 51 Chicago, IL 60622 HOUSING Phone: (312) 226-6288 Making the Right Choice 53-55 Fax: (312) 226-6290 Choosing the Right Home 55 Toll Free: (866) 595-3792 Housing Options For Growing Active Adults Demographics 56-57 NewMarket currently publishes Information Home Inspection Checklist 58 Guides for 95 North American and 32 Homecare Basics for New Homeowners 59 International Markets. To order your Security 60 NewMarket Information Guides for $3.50 Take Control of Your Energy Costs 61 each, please contact NewMarket Services toll free at (866) 595-3792. Home Buyer’s Glossary 62-63 Who’s Who in Building 64 In preparing this publication, every effort Selecting a Builder 65 has been made to assure the accuracy of Selecting a Contractor 66 the information contained herein, but authenticity cannot be guaranteed. Listings Banking & Mortgage Information 67-70 are subject to omission, error or change without notice. BUSINESS DIRECTORY All material in this publication is copyright Business Directory Listings 71-79 protected and can only be reprinted with permission of the publisher. Silicon Valley Information Guide [ 7 THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA European explorers first began contacting the region in the 16th century; the area was inhabited by a variety of Native American tribes. The coastal areas of the state were colonized by Spain beginning in 1769, but became a part of the Mexico in 1821 because of the Mexican War of Independence. It was part of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico, and then was ceded to the United States in the Mexican-American War, which ended in 1848. Reno The California Gold Rush of 1848-1849 brought about 90,000 Sacramento additional U.S. migrants to the state, and California became the Oakland 31st state of the Union in 1850. San Francisco Stockton NV The state's major predominant industries include agriculture, Modesto entertainment, light manufacturing, and tourism. California is also Silicon Valley the home of several significant economic regions such as Monterey Salinas Hollywood (entertainment), the California Central Valley (agriculture), Fresno Silicon Valley (computers and high tech), and the Wine Country (wine). California’s economy is the largest in the United States, and CA at $1.55 trillion, is larger than all but 7 countries. Per capita personal income was $33,403 as of 2003, ranking it 12th in the nation. San Luis Obispo Las Vegas Bakersfield Most of the state has a Mediterranean climate, with rainy winters and dry summers. The climate along the coast is mild; cooler along Santa Barbara the central and northern coast. Southeastern California is arid Ventura County desert. Along the cost, the rainy season runs from October to April San Bernardino AZ in the north and from November to March or April in the south. Los Angeles Pacific Ocean Record temperaturs of a high 134 °F (56.6 °C at Death Valley on Orange County Riverside July 10, 1913 and a record low of -45° at Boca on January 20, 1937. Average yearly precipitation ranges from under 5 inches in south-east to 120+ in parts of the north-west. San Diego California levies a 9.3% maximum variable rate income tax, with Mexico 6 tax brackets and a 7.25% sales tax. he State of California covers the southern portion of the United States’ west coast. With a population of 37 million and an area of 158,402 square miles, California is the largest Fast Facts T ESTIMATED POPULATION: 37,172,015 U.S. state in population and the third largest in area. California borders the Pacific Ocean to the west, Oregon to the LAND AREA: 158,302 sq mi north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and the Mexican state of COASTLINE: 840 miles Baja California to the south. The state has incredible geographic CAPITAL: Sacramento diversity. It has both the highest and lowest elevations in the Continental US (within 100 miles of each other), an expansive STATE MOTTO: Eureka central valley, tall mountains, arid deserts, and hundreds of miles of STATE NICKNAME: The Golden State coastline. Most major cities are at or near the Pacific coastline, LARGEST CITIES: Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose notably Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Santa 7.5% Ana/Orange County, Riverside/Moreno Valley, San Bernardino and STATE SALES TAX: San Diego. However, the capital, Sacramento, is in the Central Valley, and there are other significant cities on the interior. 8 ] Silicon Valley Information Guide THE SILICON VALLEY OVERVIEW he Silicon Valley is the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. Journalist Don Hoefler first coined the term in 1971. Silicon is a Tcomponent of semi-conductors and computer chips. Since the 1970s and earlier, the area has been the headquarters of many high tech companies, among them Apple, Google, and Intel. San Jose is the largest city in the Valley by far, with nearly one million residents. It’s the tenth most populous city in the United States. San Jose considers itself the Capital of the Silicon Valley, but Stanford University’s home of Palo Alto is where the first technology research park was founded. Originally, the San Francisco Bay was the site of the Navy’s west coast operations, and many government contractors set up shop in the area. The Navy has since moved it’s operations to San Diego, but NASA moved in, meaning many contractors stayed and other aerospace companies moved in. Frederick Terman was a professor at Stanford University who decided to take advantage of the already high-tech climate of the area. He set up a program to encourage students to stay in the area by enabling them to use empty Stanford land. William Hewlett and David Packard, were two students who took advantage of the program, and in 1939, they founded Hewlett-Packard. The program was expanded in 1951 to become what is now Stanford Research Park. It is essentially an office park for high tech companies. Currently, this type of technology incubator is common, but it was revolutionary at the time. By the early 1970s there were many semiconductor and computer companies in the area, and the area has exploded since, as new innovators move in and infant companies break off from more established businesses. The Silicon Valley has a Mediterranean climate tempered by the presence of the San Francisco Bay. It’s a little drier than the Bay Area, getting 20-30 inches of rain a year, and manages to avoid the fog that often blankets San Francisco. About 300 days each year are sunny here. Temperatures are usually pretty moderate. January’s average high is 59°F and average low is 42°, with overnight freezes several nights each year. July's average high is 84°F and average low is 58°F, with heat exceeding 100°F several days each year. Silicon Valley Information Guide [ 9 HISTORY OF SILICON VALLEY Before the silicon chip, before Dionne Warwick, and well before to Benecia, Vallejo, and finally Sacramento); the hard-living State the Spanish gave it a name, the Santa Clara Valley was home to Assembly was known as "the Legislature of a Thousand Drinks".