Saratoga NEIGHBORHOOD GUIDE

If you're looking for a charming, quiet place to live then Saratoga is the town for you. Tucked in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains just west of San Jose, Saratoga doesn't have the tech-centered DNA of other Silicon Valley cities. Instead, its main selling point is the small town vibe that its residents have fallen in love with. 

Despite its small size — the population is about 30,000 people — there’s no shortage of amenities here. Most of its businesses are clustered in Saratoga Village, the city's historic downtown district. You'll find clothing boutiques, gift shops, cafes, restaurants, banks, salons (lots of salons), and services ranging from dentists and doctors to home design and attorneys. Essentially, all the daily conveniences can be found here. 

Saratoga is also the unofficial wine capital of Silicon Valley and there are tasting rooms and vineyards dotted around. One vineyard — the Mountain Winery — hosts a summer concert series featuring big names like Willie Nelson, Trevor Noah, and Sheryl Crow.

Saratoga is home to a number of parks and preserves that make it ideal for nature lovers. The city's website has a number of local hiking trail maps offering everything from strolls through the Village to tough hikes in the mountains.

A good chunk of the population here are retirees, followed by established families, so young single people will find themselves in the minority. Luckily, San Jose and other neighboring cities with more excitement are a short distance away.

Despite the modest vibe around town, like other Valley cities the housing here is quite expensive. You'll mostly find single-family homes here: modest ranch homes line many of the quiet streets while farther up in the hills are large estates.

Saratoga is home to eleven schools catering to children of all ages and all of these schools are highly rated.

Saratoga has poor public transportation, so you’ll definitely want to have a car to get around. Although there are bus routes that can be feasibly used for commuting, the lack of train stations and VTA shuttles to the lightrail make public transit undesirable as a primary mode of transportation.

Saratoga is bordered on the north by Cupertino, on the east by San Jose, Campbell, and Los Gatos, on the south by El Sereno Open Space Preserve, and on the west by the Santa Cruz Mountains.