Golden Colorado Q&A (Denver, Boulder: work, home, commute)

[mightygirl]

Is Golden a good town to raise a family?

My husband and I are specifically looking to transplant ourselves from Santa Fe, NM and do the following.

He wants to run a gentleman's ranch where he would attract hunters to some land and have nice accomodations for the guests and do bow hunting for elk, rifle hunting for birds with dogs etc.

I would like to teach French in one of the area's excellent public high schools where we can send our two kiddos, rather than pay for private school.

It's kind of a challenging mix but Colorado seems like the best place where we can be close enough to the mountains to do what he wants and there may be schools which offer french rather than JUST spanish.

Any good insight for us?

Thanks so much.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by mightygirl

Is Golden a good town to raise a family?

My husband and I are specifically looking to transplant ourselves from Santa Fe, NM and do the following.

He wants to run a gentleman's ranch where he would attract hunters to some land and have nice accomodations for the guests and do bow hunting for elk, rifle hunting for birds with dogs etc.

I would like to teach French in one of the area's excellent public high schools where we can send our two kiddos, rather than pay for private school.

It's kind of a challenging mix but Colorado seems like the best place where we can be close enough to the mountains to do what he wants and there may be schools which offer french rather than JUST spanish.

Any good insight for us?

Thanks so much.

My guess is the best place for the hunting ranch is in the high country. The eastern 1/3 of CO is flat grassland prairie and I believe the Elk are found in the mountains. Along the Front Range, we see Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park, near Estes Park, so there may be hunting along the foothills and farmlands up in the northern part of the state, not sure.

Being in Golden will put you in the Denver Metro Area and it's good schools and also it's about the last stop on the way west out of Denver and into the high country, though I-70 is problematic with heavy traffic in ski season.

We have quite a few members who are life-long residents and probably know about the hunting prospects.

Here is an old thread to check:
- Fly Fishing / Hunting
s/Mike

[Shuffler]

Golden is nice. Coors/Molson brewery is there. And...bonus...it will put you right in line with the I-70 Traffic Jam/Smugglers Corridor. Spanish will be going mainstream here in the not-too-distant future, so forget about French. Land isn't affordable, so bring millions of dollars for the hunting ranch, and expect adjoining landowners to make a fuss, so maybe bring even more money for a good lawyer. Your new land might not have any trees in a few years, either. Just sayin'...

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by Shuffler

Golden is nice. .... Land isn't affordable, so bring millions of dollars for the hunting ranch, and expect adjoining landowners to make a fuss, .... Your new land might not have any trees in a few years, either. Just sayin'...

Lots of truth in the land prices, at least for anything in the high country, since a huge amount of it is Federal / State parkland.

Pine Beetle is laying waste to millions of trees.... there could be disastrous fires in areas of dead trees.

Perhaps the hunting ranch could be more of a B&B with excursions into public hunting lands, that might be affordable.

Otherwise, hunting and speaking French may be a Cajun / Louisiana thing, or a Maine thing, or Quebec in Canada?....

s/Mike

[Shuffler]

I guess I'm questioning why you'd want to leave Santa Fe and come endure the madness of the Colorado Front Rage?? (pun intended) You may want to think about the Western Slope, although it's 'all the rage' now too, with rampant growth and the energy boom going full steam ahead....

[Fallingwaters]

I'm seeing a lot that I like about parts of Golden -- 80403 seems to have a few nice, new homes listed, on 1/2-1acre lots, good school district, low crime, not many registered sex offenders in the area, etc.

My main question: if you live up in the Northwestern part, getting closer to Boulder, it looks like you're topographically in the mountains (well, okay, the foothills, technically, I guess). Just to get an idea of whether I should even bother looking there, I telecommute; so the daily commute isn't too big of an issue, but how accessible are the roads, especially when it snows? Do you absolutely need 4wd to live up there? Until I get a chance to actually visit and drive up there, I'd like some advice from people who know that area.

[Shuffler]

If you're talking about the Coal Creek Canyon area sort of in between Boulder and Golden, or Lookout Mtn, Golden Gate canyon areas just NW of Golden proper, those are foothills and roads are mostly maintained by the county, but it's up to the homeowner to plow out their driveways etc. Best to have a neighbor or two with a plow or tractor, which is common. 4WD is nice to have, but if you have skills, you can get by without 99% of the year. Not having a daily commute would be key, IMHO. There are lots of inept drivers around here...I guess even the best vehicle technology can't overcome operator incompetence.

[Fallingwaters]

Originally Posted by Shuffler

If you're talking about the Coal Creek Canyon area sort of in between Boulder and Golden, or Lookout Mtn, Golden Gate canyon areas just NW of Golden proper, those are foothills and roads are mostly maintained by the county, but it's up to the homeowner to plow out their driveways etc. Best to have a neighbor or two with a plow or tractor, which is common. 4WD is nice to have, but if you have skills, you can get by without 99% of the year. Not having a daily commute would be key, IMHO. There are lots of inept drivers around here...I guess even the best vehicle technology can't overcome operator incompetence.

That is the area I was thinking of, thanks -- I was more worrried about unpaved roads, things like that. I believe that inept drivers are a worldwide phenomenon, thanks for the note, though.

[mightygirl]

well sounds challenging to get the right mix. Santa Fe is proving to be a very closed community for those with kids. If you aren't rich and retired and you are Anglo and want to raise a family here it is quite difficult. We moved to Santa Fe almost 4 years ago from the NYC metro area and love it here but don't like the people too much. Great outdoor adventure, great climate and we have a modest home we can afford but my professional pursuits have limited options here and the hunting ranch is possible further north but it would be too remote for my liking.

We thought Colorado might be a good place to find the right mix of great outdoor hunting and enough of a metro area to have schools which offer french. It sounds like there are a lot of growth problems in parts of Colorado and limited resources.



I find everyone's feedback extremely helpful-thank you.

[gorgona]

Can you all tell me if it would take an hour to commute from Golden to Bryant Webster school in northwest denver? Is there a rail being built from Golden to Denver?