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Saratoga, California Real Estate, Homes, Culture, Village, and Benefits

By Mary Pope-Handy

Saratoga, California, is a scenic place at the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains that enjoys a very high quality of life within Silicon Valley. It is now considered a suburb of San Jose or Silicon Valley, but it was once known as a logging town during the gold rush era of the mid-1800s, and was then known as Bank Mills.

Downtown Saratoga, "Saratoga Village"

Today, Saratoga's downtown is referred to as "Saratoga Village" or "the Village" and it features a wide array of shops, boutiques, restaurants, and pleasant views. Additionally, the downtown offers a lovely retreat, Wildwood Park, which includes the meandering Saratoga Creek. There are small inns and hotels that make for a nice weekend getaway, but also spas for the afternoon of pampering, as well as the expected excellent dining. For those travelling simply, a youth hostel can be found just a few miles up Big Basin Way.



Culture and Entertainment in Saratoga

Away from the downtown or village area, Saratoga is also a popular destination because of cultural and entertainment opportunities at Villa Montalvo or the Mountain Winery. In both places, people can enjoy live music and great shows, not to mention beautiful views. Montalvo provides a beautiful backdrop for portrait photography, but also for leisurely or more athletic hikes on wooded trails. Another exquisite stop for culture and scenic beauty is the Hakone Gardens (which was in a recent movie).

Plays, lectures and other events may also be taken in at West Valley College in Saratoga (located at Fruitvale Avenue and Allendale Avenue).

Neighborhoods & Homes of Saratoga

Although the city is not young, it was widely expanded in the post World War II era, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s, as neighborhoods such as The Golden Triangle and Prides Crossing sprang up. (The Golden Triangle is bordered by Saratoga Avenue, Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, and Cox Avenue; Prides Crossing lies between Cox Avenue and Prospect Avenue.) Several builders left their imprint on the these areas, including George Day and Kaufman and Broad. It was during this timeframe that city planners across Santa Clara County realized that straight "grid" neighborhoods were not so appealing as those with meandering roads, so part of the charm in this part of Saratoga lies with the fact that the roads gently curve from street to street, making for a very pleasing look.

There are many other fabulous neighborhoods in the city of Saratoga, including the Blue Hills area, the Montalvo area, the area off Quito Road, and townhome communities such as Saratoga Oaks (an upscale community in the village area) and The Vineyards, and many more.

Homes in Saratoga range from condos and townhouses and single family (or even patio) homes in the flatlands on small lots to enormous estates with vineyards or orchards, barnes, stables, and views of San Jose and Santa Clara County. It runs from rustic to elegant with everything inbetween.

Saratoga boasts nine parks, many of which are easy accessible by residential neighborhoods.

Schools in Saratoga

Schools with exceptionally high scores tend to be the single biggest drawing card in Saratoga today. They have been good for many years (I can attest to this personally as a 1977 graduate of Saratoga High School) but the emphasis has only grown in the last decade or two. Saratoga, like neighboring Los Gatos, Cupertino, and San Jose, has messy school boundaries in that they do not neatly or simply follow the city's boundary lines. Instead, there are several school districts that slosh from one city to the next.

Most of Saratoga enjoys the famed "Saratoga Schools". But some homes on the edge of town are either the Moreland School District or Cupertino Schools. Sometimes the homes on the same street may look identical, but have very different values because of the school district boundaries and the weight that consumers place on the API scores or other factors.

Finally, it should be noted that with West Valley College in town, it is not difficult for students to take college-level classes in summers or evenings if there is a subject which they want to study not available at the local public high school. Options about for success in schools anywhere in Saratoga already, but this is a wonderful added bonus.

Other Plusses to Saratoga

Not surprisingly, crime is low in Saratoga, and that is another draw for home buyers who choose to live here. Because of the gently rolling hills that blanket most of the city, it becons bicyclists and those on foot to get out and get moving. Festivals happen off and on throughout the year, as do farmer's markets. The recreation center provides classes and fun things to do for residents (and non-residents) of all ages - it is located across from West Valley College and Redwood Middle School alongside the city offices on Fruitvale Avenue. And Saratoga Springs, located not too far up Big Basin Way, is a wonderful place to retreat and relax whether you come from near or far.


Links for Saratoga, California:

City of Saratoga (official government site)
Mary Pope-Handy's  Posts on Saratoga on Valley Of Hearts Delight blog

Other links of interest:

Silicon Valley Community Information (list of many cities, towns and areas in Santa Clara County such as Almaden Valley, Campbell, Willow Glen, Cupertino, Los Gatos, and more)

For more information on Saratoga real estate and homes, please contact me today!