Welcome to Sunnyvale - Documentary

Produced By: Miranda Comstock and Sarah Sy
Three generations of Miranda's family have grown up in Sunnyvale. However, with rising home prices and corrupt rental corporations at the heart of Silicon Valley, Miranda isn't so sure she'll be able to raise her own family there too, let alone afford the rent.

[@amyclemons9422]

Grew up in Sunnyvale and had to move away at 25 (2004) because I could not afford to live there. Had to leave my mom behind as she had lived there since 72 and loved it. She had to finally move when she retired because she couldn’t afford it. It is a crisis.

[@alicelev7301]

Terrific job, Miranda. You bring up some very important issues. Alice Lev

[@LighthouseTravelTour]

It is wonderful to show this balanced documentary story of the daily lives of people in Sunnyvale and Santa Clara from a different perspective. Thank you.

[@goldilocks3593]

Very interesting! I was a child of the 70’s in Sunnyvale and I can attest to the fact it was absolutely amazing. Pretty much a dream childhood. One of my friend’s parents bought a house there in the 70’s that they still live in (looks very similar to yours) for I believe $45 K. It is now worth around 2.5 million. The middle class utopia is gone and now only an enclave of the wealthy like far too many places in the US. As a society, we are going backwards, and have been for quite awhile now.

[@terrivellios]

Nice short film. I too grew up in Sunnyvale. In the 1970's I was in high school and my mom worked for Lockheed. She said someday the houses here will be over a million dollars. I thought she was crazy to say that. And here I am selling those homes and I still think it is crazy. It was a wonderful place to grow up. It certainly doesn't look anything at all like it did then. Let's see more of those films.

[@thevaeightball7005]

Nice work on your short film, Miranda. I grew up in Sunnyvale as 1st grader in 1969 until I moved for college and work in 1986. It was a wonderful, safe, and affordable place to live back then, with many many fond memories. Fast forward 50+ years, and I no longer see the Sunnyvale I grew up in. My sister and I recently sold our mother's home after she passed, and neither one of us considered even for a minute returning to live there. Too much has changed and is changing to make a future there moving forward. My advice to you, is to hold fast to your memories, but look elsewhere to make your future. You can get so much more for your money in places with a far brighter future. Again, kudos on your film, I wish you continued success in your filmmaking future.

[@fandyllic1975]

Lived in Sunnyvale for 30 years. I feel bad for kids who grew up in Sunnyvale in last 20 years. Housing prices and rents are outrageous. My dad moved my family to Cupertino in the late 70s and if you think Sunnyvale is bad… check out Cupertino (Mountain View, Palo Alto, Los Altos, etc. are worse or about the same). Sunnyvale is basically the bedroom community for the HQs of cities around it that have big tech companies based there. Sunnyvale got bigger than many of the cities around it based on Lockheed which was headquartered in Sunnyvale before most of the tech companies grew. Sunnyvale is surrounded by Cupertino (Apple), Mountain View (Google), and Santa Clara (Intel). Sunnyvale’s affordable housing problem is a Bay Area problem, a California problem, a USA problem… and world problem.

[@jeff0247598]

Did you go to Homestead High? I went to Fremont. I was born in mid 70's and my parents moved to Sunnyvale when I was a baby. Lived their until the late 80's. Such a fun town to grow up in.

[@jeff0247598]

My parents bought a two bedroom one bathroom home at West Duane Ave. in Sunnyvale in the early/mid 70's for $75,000. We left and relocated to Calaveras County to live a "rural country life" in the 80's and my parents made a lot of money from the sale. They rolled some of the profit into the ginormous beautiful home in Calaveras County and kept some of the proceeds. They didn't realize that the large amount they didn't roll into the new home would be hit with horrendous capital gains tax. We struggled in rural Calaveras County for a few years and returned to the bay area in Redwood City in the early 90's. My father was a butcher working out of the union hall making good money and my mother was a production supervisor for one of Hewlett Packard's microchip fabs in San Jose. Because of their combined income, it was the only way they could buy back into the bay area!! These days, to purchase a two bedroom one bath home in Sunnyvale anywhere would be at least $1.5 million or thereabouts. Because of the titan tech companies concentrated on the peninsula from San Jose to San Francisco, gentrification has spun out of control. It's sad. Sunnyvale has lost its soul. There used to be a feel and a magic to Sunnyvale. I remember riding my bike all over town at age 10 into my early teen years. I would rake leaves, wash cars and mow lawns for extra spending cash in the summertime with my best friend so we could make our trips to Cosmic Comics in Downtown Sunnyvale, buy our favorite X-Men, Spiderman and other comics and take the rest of the money to rent action, kung fu, ninja or horror movies at Blockbuster Video lol!! There was no fear of taking off to the creek to catch tadpoles and frogs or going to the Sunnyvale Mall and playing arcade games at Alladin's Castle and worrying about being shot by gang bangers or kidnapped! Watching the airshows for free because our house was a stone's throw from Moffett Field! I remember it all being so like a Utopia. Well, then you grow up, everything changes and you roll with the punches. I'll always have the memories, vivid in my mind, of growing up in Sunnyvale.

[@gouveia305]

I’m not sure how it used to be in the past, but I assume there was more harmony among neighbors as we didn’t have so much entertainment in house and I also assume there weren’t that many immigrants back then. I’m an immigrant myself, but I feel like having many different cultures in one place may not be beneficial as there is no strong bond between people. Everyone comes from a different place with different habits and stories and sometimes it’s hard to find someone you can spend time with as you may not have that much in common. I’m not complaining, but I’m pointing out this may have also changed the life substantially here

[@fredkameda6368]

This documentary seems to be very popular. If you haven't viewed it yet do so.

[@emilypoon2501]

Miranda, this is excellent, and delivers your message well. You could afford a home only if you line up for BMR ( Below Market Rate) condo or a townhome at the City of Sunnyvale. Another resource you could check is the NEW Forgivable Builder Loan for first time buyers. There is a great KZbin video made by a San Diego loan agent on how to obtain it. In summary, you could get a $80,000 loan from the government ( which is forgivable) and the target price of the home is around $800,000, which does present a great difficulty as one cannot buy a 2 bedroom condo for this little money in most cities around here or in San Diego. Or you could work with your family to build an ADU in the backyard. I would probably choose the last solution.

[@albertadriftwood3612]

My Father bought a new house on Fernwood Circle in ‘53. I grew up there. Went to Bishop Allen and Morse. Loved the old downtown and everything about Sunnyvale. There were farms on Morse Ave and a stop sign to get on the Bayshore highway.

[@maxon-m3c]

Born in Sunnyvale 1953. Lived on E. Duane near Fair Oaks. Also went to Morse, 1958-60. Are you speaking of Bishop school, I think was on Maude across from Bo's and M&M drugs?

[@danoesq2]

Moved here when I was eight in 1968. It was a good place to live and a cool place to grow up until the tech industry and population explosion destroyed it. That's why I'm cashing out and moving to the outskirts of this valley. The quality of life here is going down the toilet fast.

[@annmariecarroll3328]

We also moved to Sunnyvale at about the same time It was a wonderful place to live. We moved 20 years ago and I am still homesick - for the old Sunnyvale. I do not recognize it now and I am not sure I would want to live there again even if I could afford it. I find this very sad.

[@KaliforniaLA]

Sunnyvale High Class of 1981. I’ve lived in LA almost 40 years now.

[@StevoMacG]

Great vid! Thanks for doing this, brings back great memories of growing up in such a great place. My parents bought a house in Sunnyvale in 1957. Sadly we just sold it a few years ago.

[@luvnoh8]

awe i loved this! thanks for making it, from a fellow sunnyvale-an ❤

[@jordanlarain2231]

Job well done Miranda! I haven’t seen you guys in forever, I hope you all are doing well and I wish you the best on your future endeavors, cousin❤️ Loved the thought put into this documentary.

[@du24pont70]

This is pretty much anywhere in the Bay Area. But especially the Southbay.

[@jamesbolling6681]

Moved to Sunnyvale in 1966 , Lived across the street from Cherry Chase Elementary School. We played in Orchards of Cherry and Apricots. The Sunnyvale I new no longer exists.

[@vstrawbarrys]

This was very well done! I too grew up in Sunnyvale and owning a house there seems like a pipe dream.

[@AddyOsmani]

Very nice work on your short film!

[@peterjv8748]

I liked the ghost at Toys R Us.

[@fredkameda6368]

Thank you for this great documentary Mimi.

[@witch9862]

It's a kinda nostalgia!!

[@ninawong-dobkin5540]

Congratulations! Very nicely done!

[@drreed917]

Nice.....

[@LighthouseTravelTour]

Nice work! May I share?

[@fredkameda6368]

Please do, I have talked with Mimi and she wants everyone to see this. Share and ask your contacts to share!!

[@LighthouseTravelTour]

Thanks. I had an 85% rent increase in 10 years. This is not in the financial planning we prepare living here over 30 years. People are a community. Where are the people exiting too?

[@fredkameda6368]

@@LighthouseTravelTour Do you live in a mobile home park? Have we talked before?

[@LighthouseTravelTour]

@@fredkameda6368 No I live in and older housing property near Lawrence on the Santa Clara side. (inches away from Sunnyvale) I supported your story as I am a Core Member of Reclaiming Our Downtown Santa Clara FB and you shared the battle. I am glad you received help. There is no support for those people with housing. I value my independence.

[@fredkameda6368]

@@LighthouseTravelTour Yes, the rent increase limit of 5% was a token political gesture for residential and apartments. The real solution is to create lower cost housing to make the housing market competitive at a lower cost. Right now developers have no reason to do this so > it has to be legislated.