Golden Colorado Q&A (Denver, Boulder: lawyer, new home, low crime)

[breer23]

I think we'd prefer something in the historic area of Golden, or even something a bit more "old school". Didn't think about Morrison just because it's a little further away, but wouldn't be opposed to it so long as it's a reasonable trip to CSM (i.e. bikeable) and reasonably close to a hospital...my wife is not big on timely commutes.

Speaking of which, I've read that there is a decent-sized hospital in Lakewood & one in Wheat Ridge. Anyone have impressions on either of those facilities, as an employee or as a patient? My wife currently works at the largest hospital complex here in St. Louis, and I think the pace is a bit too much for her liking.

And don't get me wrong, I don't mind chain restaurants and the like...but a few local places mixed in would be nice too.

Thanks again.

[2bindenver]

I am guessing that the majority of apartments to be had near Golden are actually in Lakewood, specifically Green Mountain area around 6th and Simms.

[Igetaround]

I suggest looking at the Golden area on Google Earth, to get a feel for the lay of the land. Golden is right up against the foothills, with the original downtown area tucked in between North, and South Table Mountains. The newer parts of Golden are on the outskirts. The northern section is mostly, if not all, private residences, but the southeastern section has lots of upscale apartment complexes that you won't be able to get for $700/month. Look for those in downtown Golden - maybe an older cottage or a small apartment in an older house. The outdoor activity options here are plentiful. In fact, the Colorado Mountaineering Club is based in downtown Golden and offers all sorts of activities. Lookout Mountain is in our backyard and has miles of hiking and biking trails. Hang-gliding is done off Lookout Mountain too. Right up the road, in Clear Creek Canyon, kayak or raft the springtime rapids. A little further up the road, in Golden Gate Canyon State Park, you and your wife can camp in a tent, an RV or in a sleeping bag backcountry-style. I've lived in the Denver Metro area for many years, and in the mountains west of Denver too, and Golden is the best I've experienced. Good luck! (I'm a nurse too, and your wife will have no problem at all finding a job in the Denver area.)

[breer23]

Thanks for all of your help - have a great holiday season!

[steveco.]

Actually Golden has some awesome historic homes around the university which are really cool. Its more up against the mountains so you have more of a variety of land types to choose from

[oberon]

Just one more thing to add.. Denver is a great beer town. There are literally dozens of breweries in the state and many pubs and restaurants serve a nice variety of beer. You can get Guinness at most places. The Coors brewery is the largest in the Denver area, but the New Belgium and Bud breweries in Fort Collins are similarly large. If they aren't your taste, you can always visit one of many microbreweries or breweries/restaurants in Denver, Golden, Boulder, etc. I particularly like the Wilderness Brewpub in Boulder, which sells its beer under the brand name Boulder Beer. You'll find lots of variety in beer available at many liquor stores. My personal favorite liquor store is Total Beverage at 92nd/Sheridan in Westminster. I also like Liquor Mart in Boulder.

[breer23]

Thanks for the beer info...I was actually kidding about the whole 'switching from Guinness' thing! I was lucky enough to stop by during a tasting at the New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins this past summer, as I had gotten hooked or Fat Tire's 1554 porter while living in northern Arizona. I'll definitely keep Boulder Beer in mind.

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by breer23

I think we'd prefer something in the historic area of Golden, or even something a bit more "old school". Didn't think about Morrison just because it's a little further away, but wouldn't be opposed to it so long as it's a reasonable trip to CSM (i.e. bikeable) and reasonably close to a hospital...my wife is not big on timely commutes.

Speaking of which, I've read that there is a decent-sized hospital in Lakewood & one in Wheat Ridge. Anyone have impressions on either of those facilities, as an employee or as a patient? My wife currently works at the largest hospital complex here in St. Louis, and I think the pace is a bit too much for her liking.

And don't get me wrong, I don't mind chain restaurants and the like...but a few local places mixed in would be nice too.

Thanks again.

Morrison is in the foothills. I personally would find the biking difficult, but I am not "hard core". You should come out here and take a look around.

There is a hospital in Wheat Ridge, Lutheran Medical Center. It is a very long-time hospital, started out (as many hospitals in the Denver area did) as a TB sanitarium. I worked there, but only in Home Health. About the only time I was in the hospital was to eat. LMC is now part of Exempla Hospital Systems, FWIW. It is a large community hospital (as opposed to a teaching hospital).

St. Anthony's Hospital is moving to Lakewood. I'm not sure when that is supposed to happen. St. Anthony's is a much higher acutiy hospital than Lutheran. I don't know much about it. St. Anthony's is part of Centura Health System.

[RobinInHesperus]

We moved out of Golden (the city proper) in the fall of 2004. At the time we owned a small Victorian cottage (which we lived in) that had a 2 BR upper flat over the two car garage. We were very generous landlords and the apartment rented for $500/month. We could have gotten more but we wanted folks who would stay for a while.

Going by that, I'm thinking $700 might be a stretch for something nice.

As for hospitals, I think the closest one to Golden is Exempla Lutheran Medical Center in Wheatridge (perhaps 5 miles from Golden center). I had surgery on my ankle there and as that was my first hospital experience as an adult, I suppose it was fine. There are a lot of good hospitals in Denver (Nat'l Jewish, a Denver Children's, and others) and really, in my experience, downtown Denver isn't all that far (as the car drives) from Golden (especially if you are on a non-rush-hour schedule which I assume most nurses would be).

Good luck to you... we loved living in Golden.

[Katiana]

The Children's Hospital (as they call themselves) just moved to Aurora along with University Hospital (U of Colo). East of St. Anthony's in west Denver, which is moving, the next closest hospital from Golden would be Denver Health, then there's Pres-St. Luke's and St. Joseph's in the downtownish area (I think the area is actually called uptown). Nat. Jewish and Rose are in east Denver. As drives go, from Golden, depending on where in Golden, they all could be a long commute. Most hospitals are on 12 hr shifts, 7A-7P and vice versa, with some permutations. So you would be driving in the early rush hour to work if you worked days, home if you worked nights.