- Saratoga, N.Y.
The OG. Saratoga, N.Y., is one of those places along the East Coast that peaked in relevancy during 18th century colonial America. The town’s moment of glory took place in 1777 with the Battle of Saratoga, when the Continental troops won a first victory over British forces and turned the tide of the American Revolution.
The battlefield is still there today, but little else of excitement remains. Currently, it’s just another recreational field and hiking trail in an isolated town with a population of 5,141 in the New York wilderness, which is Saratoga, N.Y., lags behind the other Saratogas.
- Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Saratoga Springs is the second Saratoga that resides in Saratoga County, N.Y. As the name might suggest, Saratoga Springs is a vacation destination, but its mediocre attractions and mundane activities land it toward the bottom of this list.
Unless you are somehow infatuated with hot springs, there’s nothing worth going to Saratoga Springs to see. And even if you were, their springs don’t even make the top 25 hot springs in the U.S. And golf? The National Museum of Horse Racing? Sure, they might have a famous horse racing track, but there is no real reason to watch animals with one horsepower run a race when you can watch cars move with a thousand times that power.
It’s logical to conclude that the only real “tourists” who go to Saratoga Springs are probably New Yorkers too lazy to drive more than an hour from their homes on weekends.
- Saratoga, Calif.
You were expecting this to be No. 1, weren’t you? Well, there’s no denying that Saratoga — a city with a thriving high-middle class population in the heart of Silicon Valley — is a great place to live. It has a bustling downtown filled with cozy storefronts and a variety of restaurants with delicious food. The main problem is the cost of living, with sky-high housing prices. Yet even without any notable attractions, the city makes up for it with its academic institutions. Saratoga contains quite possibly the best high school in America, Saratoga High School, which more than makes up for the deficit.
And finally, the greatest ‘toga:
- Saratoga, Wyo.
What is there not to love about Wyoming? It’s big in acreage. And it’s almost empty, with a total population of almost 6,000 people. Saratoga, Wyo., is no different. With a population of 1,690, this Saratoga is by far the least populated of the four cities and affordable to boot: The average house costs under $300,000 compared to the outrageous $3.7 million in our home town.
We all know the saying: More money, more people, more problems. By that logic, Saratoga, Wyo., is undoubtedly the best.
Residing in the Sierra Madre Mountains and offering winter temperatures that rarely climb above freezing, Saratoga offers awe-inspiring natural beauty. Surrounded by snowy mountain ranges and streams filled with trout, it has no need for flashy tourist attractions or historical battlefields to stand out from the crowd. It lacks high-income, high-stress jobs but compensates in quality of life. The beauty of Saratoga, Wyo., lies in the absence of things. It’s peaceful there. It’s quiet. And that’s what makes Saratoga, Wyo., so special.
Just bring a warm jacket.
