Golden BC has a lot to offer as a place to live. Whether you're single, raising a family or retired, Golden has a special kind of vibe which very much seems to suit the people who want to live and spend time here.
To be perfectly honest, it took a couple of seasons spending time here before we really figured out the magic of this place. While much of Golden's appeal certainly lies in its beautiful mountain surroundings and world-class outdoor playland. But that's only part of it. The real magic of Golden is its people, its community.
Golden does have a bit of a diamond-in-the-rough look to it --we're not as shi-shi as some other mountain towns. Golden's deeper charms aren't always immediately apparent. But Golden is a laid back, genuine, super-friendly, completely un-snobby place. The community cohesion is strong here. And as I continue to meet and get to know more locals myself, I am stuck by how similar peoples' sentiments are for why they love living here. Most of the people I've come across who have chosen Golden as a place to live (or to have a second home), while they come from all kinds of backgrounds and ages, have have landed on this town for much the same reasons we did – for the chance to live closer to nature, for the outdoor lifestyle, and because the low-key-yet-positive-energy-vibe-and-realness of this place suited their own sensibilities.
Part of why I started #thisgoldenlife is because I wanted to try and capture this special vibe that Golden has, to articulate in some small way what makes Golden so special, so “golden.” I also built the site so others who were interested in Golden could learn more about it. How thrilling it is that this is starting to happen after only a few months of the site being live. I would like to share a letter I received from a visitor to the site, someone else for whom Golden has worked its magic. It is reprinted with his permission:
Hello Stephanie,
Thank you so much for sharing your experience in Golden. We moved from Montreal to Calgary one year ago to stay closer to the mountains where is easier to recharge energies and live somehow more self-connected. My wife is an energy healer and I am a consumed gallery director. Consumed also by the city rhythm that doesn't belong to us any longer so we have decided to move to a smaller community, where we can slow down the time and let Andy, our 19 month-old baby grow up more harmonic with nature. When we found your website and read your story we had confirmation of our intuitions about Golden's life. Thank you again for sharing and we hope to meet you in person in Golden soon.
Take care, Marco
I love stories like this. And I love that more and more people are discovering Golden and wanting to come here. Because as others like Marco and his family choose Golden as their new home, they bring with them their skills and ideas, their enthusiasm and energy, and their desire to build a life in this amazingly awesome mountain town.
This benefits us all.
Because at the end of the day the thing that's going to make this town live up to the potential we all know it has is not the tourists and visitors, but our residents; its the community itself -- the people, their businesses, their jobs, their skills, their involvement in the community, their visions and commitment to this town.
Thank you for your letter Marco. I’m thrilled to learn that people are finding this blog. And I’m thrilled to hear your story. We look forward to meeting you in Golden soon!
