the metropolitan area of greater helsinki also includes two of finland's biggest cities, espoo to the west of helsinki, and vantaa to the north. these two cities, along with helsinki itself and the small town of kauniainen (which is in fact surrounded by espoo), make up the capital region ("pääkaupunkiseutu" in finnish or "huvudstadsregionen" in swedish). there are other towns nearby that are part of greater helsinki, including järvenpää, kerava, tuusula, nurmijärvi, sipoo, kirkkonummi, mäntsälä and vihti. they have become popular places for helsinki commuters to live.