For six weeks: a whirlwind of horses, dancing, live music and great food. Streets lined with talented performers, celebrities coming to visit and drink specials on the daily. That's 42 days of sundresses, floppy hats, betting and Shake Shack.
And for the rest of year, 300 something days waiting for those six weeks to arrive again.
That is the reality of living in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Yes, some people may consider this to mean Saratoga is a seasonal town, the kind of city that peaks during a certain time of year and then fizzles back into upstate towny-ness. But true Saratogians — we appreciate Saratoga for what it is — overpopulated with ducks (ha).
But more, much more than that. Most of living in Saratoga is wonderful, but there are some downsides. While tourists come and get their fill for a couple of days, we're stuck here year round with some serious toils. Here are the excruciating daily struggles we face.
1. Choosing where to have a drink.
Saratoga, if there's one thing about you that makes you stand out from the next town over (besides the track, of course), it's your bars. I mean, we have an entire street of just bars. We have a website dedicated to deciphering which happy hour is nearest to you at your exact physical location. Do I go to the Thirsty Owl for a Cabernet? Do I get a locally brewed beer at Druthers? Do I go to 62 Beekman, which apparently has pitchers of mimosas?
Life, it's hard I tell you.
2. Stopping your car in the middle of the road for five minutes to let ducks cross.
That overpopulated duck thing? It's real. Remember that time the ducks just walked into the downtown CVS? It's crazy. They're like a gang.
You think waiting for the horses walk across Union in the summer is bad? Nothing — nothing — compares to a family of 39 ducks waddling across Broadway back to Congress Park at the pace of a half asleep snail.
"Fly! You have wings!"
3. Walking past Esperonto and not getting anything.
If you walk up Caroline Street on any kind of semi-regular basis, you know the struggle. Heck, if you've ever gotten a doughboy ever, then you know the struggle. Resisting that doughy, cheesy, melty heaven for any period of time is truly exhausting.
4. Hearing people pronounce SPAC as "The S.P.A.C."
They don't know any better, but boy, does it sound like nails on a chalkboard.
5. Trying to snag a seat outside of Uncommon Grounds.
Do the people outside of Uncommon Grounds arrive at 6 a.m. and stay until dusk? I mean, if i had that kind of free time, I'd probably do the same thing, but it certainly does make it a battle to the death when you want to find a seat outside.
If you get a seat at one of their outside spots, it's a good day.
6. Making your walk twice as long because of all the dogs.
They're not in the way or anything; you just have to stop and pat each one (this dog was at Chowderfest, and she was awesome).
7. Accidentally spending three hours downtown.
How does this happen? You go downtown for a coffee, and three hours later you're in Congress Park feeding that family of 39 ducks. Or you go out for a casual drink at 8 p.m., expecting to get to bed early, and suddenly you're standing on Caroline at 3 in the morning. You can't go to Broadway without expecting to spend a few hours there, let's just face it.
8. Deciding what Tuesday night activity to partake in.
Legend says that all of the businesses and restaurants in Saratoga met up in 2014 and decided that Tuesday was going to be a weekly town-wide holiday. $6 movies, $2 tacos, $2 bowling, oyster nights and so much more. When you're indecisive, it's a nightmare. A wonderful, food and drink filled nightmare.
9. Refusing to eat at places without patios.
In the winter, any restaurant is fair game. It's fun to try new places and support new businesses. However, come May, goodbye to anywhere without outside seating until at least September. Unless, of course, there is trivia or drink specials available, in which case, I'll be back.
10. Never getting a relaxing weekend because something is always going on.
Something great (and tiring) about Saratoga is that something is always happening. In the summer, the live outdoor bands and track entertain us enough, but the winter has plenty of events too. Between Santacon, Chowderfest, First Night and others, it seems something is always planned. Sometimes it sounds nice to sit inside on a Saturday and not do much, but with all the activities available, it's hard not to get out.
On a related note, if you have ever contemplated life while in a 30-minute-long line for chowder outside in February, you're probably from Toga.
11. Counting down the days until track season.
Some Saratogians count down because they love track season. Some Saratogians count down because they hate track season. To be fair, yes, traffic does get awful during this time, and downtown is much busier, but track season is something that makes our town unique.
Plus, Shake Shack, 25-cent bets and some of the fastest horses in the world! How can you not love it?
12. Forgetting it's called "Saratoga" and not "Toga."
Saratoga is a great place to live — not the warmest and not the most affordable — but a great place to live. The struggles that we Saratogians are a blessing (minus maybe the parking situation). To live in such a lively, homey, yet exciting and touristy town is a rare find, and a wonderful experience. Once a Saratogian, always a Saratogian.
Team Toga!
