Living in Golden (Denver, Lakewood, Boulder: rentals, condo, low crime)

[rvdweller]

Greetings all,


Considering settling in Co and someone mentioned Golden as a pretty good place to be.


Anyone who lives there or recently spent time there like to offer an opinion please? Pros and cons..


Thanks

[davebarnes]

Not enough info.

What is your budget? Rent? Buy?
What attributes do you seek in a potential community?
Golden, the city; or Golden, the post office address?

[NorthDenverGirl]

Golden is definitely one of the so-called "smaller towns" in Denver. You need a pretty good budget to live there these days. I am talking $500,000 up for a single-family home with 3+, 2+ bath. You can get a condo for less than this or if you are lucky a tinier house that needs a lot of work.

Golden has a lot going on with parades and activities, especially over December/Christmas and a few thrown in during the Summer months. It has some good breweries popping up if you like beer.

Crime is relatively lower there than in some other areas of Denver.

It offers great access to the mountains, I-70 and downtown Denver although traffic can get in the way of making those commutes super fast. Trails are also abundant around Golden.

What other types of info would you like to know?

[rvdweller]

Well,,,


Beer is good.


Low crime is good; saw that on city-data stats but good to here it from someone who knows the area.


I plan to rent; not interested in buying. I know rentals are expensive as well but not an issue. I am retired so owning a house is no longer a goal. I already own a "tiny" house but tired of traveling. Hoping there are decent rentals there...


Is it walkable at all? Public transit of any kind or is a car a necessity?


Is it a friendly, welcoming place or a snobby place? Highly conservative or highly liberal or somewhere in the middle? Live and let live or clique-ish? It is a small town after all.


Seasons, or just winter then summer?


I see you mentioned trails in the area so access to the mountains is a plus. Is there good skiing close, or will I need to travel? Other things to do unique to the immediate area?


Dog friendly?


Just a few thoughts since you asked....

[rvdweller]

And not sure what you mean by Golden the city and Golden the post office address...

[Willy702]

Golden is a pretty desirable place, sort of a cheaper version of Boulder. Transit is not bad and plenty of neighborhoods that are pleasant for walking, but doubt you will want to go car less. Light rail is barely inside city limits, the Golden station is blocks from Lakewood. Rentals are a little tougher to come by, I looked a long time for one before settling on a Lakewood location years ago when I had Golden as my preferred destination. As for drawbacks, it's pretty bad commute to most locations, something a retiree shouldn't care too much about. It snows more at times and the sun feels like it sets earlier due to the proximity of the mountains. And definitely it's not a "value" spot, you'll pay for the privilege of living there

[cowboyxjon]

The Golden Post Office serves quite a few areas, so there area unincorporated areas that have Golden mailing addresses, but aren't within the actual Golden city limits. Applewood, Genesee, Pleasant View, West Pleasant View, and probably other places have the 80401 ZIP code as well as part of the actual City of Golden. I live in one of those areas, although I'm not too far from downtown Golden.

To try to answer your questions:

Beer: there are a few breweries in town and obviously the Coors factory is there as well.
Rentals: you would be competing with School of Mines students, but it's not impossible to find a rental.
Walkable: for the most part, though downtown Golden isn't that big to begin with.
Public Transit: there are buses; one that goes along Colfax to downtown Denver and one that goes between Golden and Boulder, though only on weekdays during rush hour. There is also light rail, though it's not walkable from downtown Golden and no bus serves the light rail station, so you would have to use the Call-n-Ride service.
Politics: probably on the more liberal side, though it's fairly live and let live. My neighbor is a huge Hillary person and I'm not, and we get along fine.
Seasons: It has all seasons.
Skiing: You would have to travel.
Trails: There are mountain parks nearby, like South Table Mountain and North Table Mountain, as well as lots of trails around Lookout Mountain, Golden Gate Canyon, etc.

Hope this helps!

[rvdweller]

Time to explore I guess!


I'll have to visit Golden and several other places in the general area, but unfortunately just visiting for a day or two doesn't really provide great insight into what it would be like to live there.


Glad this forum exists-really helps with decision making.


Thanks everyone for offering your thoughts; good info!

[blindside]

yes there’s Golden that’s the “City of Golden” that’s usually 80401, and then there’s unincorporated Golden that’s 80403. If you live in the city, you get city services (water sewer trash), representation (city council) and discounts for the rec center (you are considered a resident). But you also pay city property taxes for this privilege.

Great place to live, if you can afford it. More pretentious than Boulder, it’s the home of the school of Mines,