About

“What made you decide to move to Golden, BC?” a friend recently asked her new neighbour. “Happiness,” the neighbour replied simply. Yup, that pretty much sums it up. Happiness. Joy. Lifestyle. These are the sentiments many people have for how and why they ended up in Golden, ourselves included. Hi, I’m Stephanie. Welcome to thisgoldenlife.ca, a blog about living in Golden BC, as discovered through the eyes of one new resident -- me.

I, along with my husband and two kids, moved to Golden from Calgary AB in the summer of 2013. Like my friend’s new neighbour, we moved mainly for lifestyle. For joy. For fun. We wanted to quiet the pace of our lives, to get more in touch with the outdoors, to expose ourselves and our kids to the experiences of small town mountain living. And we chose Golden.

Skiing is what initially brought us to the area. We were winter weekenders for three years, driving the two and a half hours from Calgary to Golden every weekend of the ski season, until we finally decided to buy a home here. Buying our own place gave us our first taste of Golden’s four seasons -- hiking, biking, swimming, paddling, rafting, golfing, climbing, fishing, gardening, Summer Kicks, arts and cultural events, awesome patio dining, shopping…..But it wasn’t just the activities that drew us in. It was the town itself -- the amazing people we met, the wholesome relaxed vibe, the authenticity of the community. There’s something about this little town of Golden, we realized, that feels … well, it just feels so real. Golden BC had captured our imaginations and stolen our hearts.

The following summer we sold our house in Calgary and moved to Golden full time. I am fortunate to be able to work remotely, doing the same job I had when we lived in Calgary. I'm a research scientist by trade (my PhD is in sociology), and I work as a consultant for a national mental health organization. My husband wasn’t able to port his career to Golden. As an investment strategist for a large international investment company, he still gets on a plane every Monday to head somewhere around North America. While his commute to the airport is longer than it was when living in Calgary, the ability to call Golden home and enjoy all that it offers more than outweighs the accumulated road and air miles! His next challenge is figuring out how to stay home in Golden and put his global investment experience to use locally.

It’s been one year since we made our move. Our lives are simpler, as hoped. We’re definitely more relaxed. We’re enjoying new activities, making new friends and meeting so many new and interesting people. And the kids, now 13 and 14, are thriving. So here we are, a family of four of ‘outdoorsy lites,’ transplanted from Calgary and loving life in Golden BC, discovering its many hidden treasures and being continually awed and impressed – by its people, by its geography, and by its culture.

That’s what #thisgoldenlife is about. It’s about sharing my enthusiasm for Golden, this diamond-in-the-rough town that so many travelers pass through on their way to other places. My goal is to capture something of the spirit and culture of this impressive little mountain town; to articulate, in some small way, what it is that makes Golden BC so special, so authentic, so…..real.

Along the way, I hope that #thisgoldenlife will also become a source of information and a resource for others interested in considering a move like ours, or in exploring the town and the area around Golden BC.

Thanks for being a part of my journey.