For grocery shopping, there are two major supermarket chains in Silicon Valley - Safeway and Lucky's. You will never be far from either of these. There's not much difference between their range of products - you can usually find a Wells Fargo bank branch at Safeway along with Starbucks at some of the modernized stores, with Bank of America branches at Albertsons.
A more eclectic grocery store chain is Trader Joe's, which is becoming more and more popular and supplies a large variety of excellent grocery products exclusive to themselves.
Starbucks and Peet's Coffee are the two major coffee chains around every corner.
Target, Mervyns, Macy's and J C Penney are some of the larger department stores you will find in the local malls.
And, talking about shopping, don't forget the sales tax. This varies by county. In Santa Clara County, it is 8.25%, so if you buy something for $1 you will actually be paying $1.08 in Santa Clara. Food, except when sold in restaurants, is exempted.
If you're looking for bargains, try Ross and Marshalls for discounted clothes and household goods. Easy to find good stuff there at great prices. Also try craigslist where you can post for free your items to sell, and definitely worth checking out if you're looking to buy something second-hand. Freecycle.org may just have what you're looking for and you don't have to pay a cent! And there's always the great American Garage Sale where you can find many bargains just by driving around your neighborhood on a Saturday morning. Don't forget to get up early if you really want a good bargain! And that means of course, that you can sell your stuff too at your own garage sale. Happy Shopping!
Further Information:
- General Grocery List prices from Safeway - June 2007
- General Grocery List prices from Trader Joe's - September 2007
- General Grocery List prices from Lucky's - September 2007
- General Grocery List prices from Nob Hill - September 2007
- General Grocery List prices from Whole Foods - September 2007
Useful Links:
- British Shop
- Store Locater - Trader Joe's
- Store Locater - Target
- Store Locater - Macy's
- Store Locater - JC Penney
- Farmers Markets in Silicon Valley