Saratoga, a scenic, suburban corner of Silicon Valley, is nestled into the Santa Cruz Mountains just 3-5 miles north of Los Gatos. It's an upscale town noted for great schools, fabulous shops & restaurants, and beautiful estates. Like most of the valley, this area was largely orchards 50 or 70 years ago. That was the heyday of "The Valley of Heart's Delight" and the San Jose area being known as "The Prune Capital of the World". In fact, the largest prune orchard in the world was once Hume Ranch (located between Saratoga and Los Gatos along Highway 9), which had 680 acres of prune trees!
My parents lived in Saratoga (3 homes, all with at least an acre of land) from 1973 until the mid 1990's - so I spent my teen years there, and I was indulged with a wonderfully rural ambiance. Some of my fondest memories are of walking through the fruit or nut orchards, which were expansive, quiet, and beautiful, or walking along a secluded creek, just chatting with friends from Saratoga High School. Horses and roosters were neighbors too and it was simply idylic. We enjoyed plays and concerts at the mountain winery (then called the Paul Masson Mountain Winery) and Montalvo, shopping in the village, and just hanging out. Saratoga is a little more built up today. There aren't as many orchards or horses now as then. But it remains a highly desireable place in which to live, a great retreat from the hustle and bustle of Silicon Valley.
The city of Saratoga is comprised of many great neighborhoods, from "the village" (downtown) to residential areas such as Prides Crossing, The Golden Triangle, The Plantinum Triangle, Montalvo, Glen Una, Peach Hill Road area and so many more. Like most of the cities and towns nearby, the school district lines do not follow the Saratoga city boundaries (the school boundaries were set first, when most of the area was still unincorporated), so there are several districts within the city of Saratoga, and this can be confusing when people relocate here!
If you'd like more information on Saratoga, its excellent schools or entertainment, please email me, or visit my website, where you'll find this article and several helpful links:
http://www.valleyofheartsdelight.com/l_welcome-los-gatos-saratoga-san-jose-california-real-estate.asp#saratoga
With best regards from Silicon Valley,
Mary
Mary Pope-Handy, Realtor, CRS, ABR, e-PRO, SRES, ASP, RECS, CNHS
Helping Nice Folks to Buy & Sell Homes Since 1993
Co-Author: "Get The Best Deal When Selling Your Home In Silicon Valley"
Intero Real Estate Services, Los Gatos, CA (Silicon Valley)
408 357-5760 (Direct); 408 204-7673 (Cell); 408 715-0201 (eFax)
www.PopeHandy.com (www.DelightHomes.com); www.ValleyOfHeartsDelight.com
emailto: Mary@PopeHandy.com
Please visit my blog: www.LiveInLosGatos.com
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