Moving Across Country: The Pull Factors
Choosing where to move to isn’t an easy decision. Based on my criteria, I chose to move from Upstate New York to Golden, Colorado. Here’s why:
1. Close to Outdoor Recreation
When considering where to move to, living somewhere where the outdoors were easily accessible was a must. I’m a fairly active person and getting outside regularly is part of my lifestyle that I wanted to continue. In New York, I lived about 2 hours away from the mountains, and I often would talk myself out of going up north for a weekend hike because it was too far a drive. Golden checks all the boxes for outdoor recreation. Here, you could go hiking, biking, or climbing all within a 10 minute drive. There are no excuses to not be active here since my new home is basically on the edge of the Rockies.
2. Convenience to Daily Necessities
For me, proximity to shopping centers, grocery stores, and the gym was another influential factor in deciding where I ended up. In this busy world, time is valuable and I don’t want to waste the day sitting in my car. Golden is perfect because you don’t have to travel far to get what you need. The last thing I wanted was to be stuck in traffic just to run simple errands like getting groceries, gas, or running to the post office. If you live in the Golden area, you’ll be close to the Colorado Mills mall, grocery stores, coffee shops, and parks.
3. Small Town Feel in a Happening Place
I’ve always lived in mid-sized cities and I knew that living in the heart of a big city like Denver would be overwhelming for me. So my partner and I were looking for something that felt more familiar to us, and Golden hit the nail on the head. It’s the perfect blend of small town vibes with big city amenities nearby. We have everything we could possibly need in the immediate area and when we want to venture out to the city for a sporting event or a fancy restaurant it’s only 20 minutes away. There’s no shortage of fun things to do around here if you like live music, sports, comedy clubs, breweries, and being active.
4. Social Opportunities
The perk of living on the outskirts of a large city is that there are more opportunities to meet people. From rec league teams to hiking meet-up groups, there’s something for everyone in terms of finding a community that’s right for you. In the past, I relied on Bumble BFF to meet people one-on-one, but that requires a lot more work than just showing up to a group event where there are multiple people to connect with at once (it’s a much more efficient way of meeting people in my opinion). I’ve had the most luck meeting people at MTN Kids events and meet-up groups on the Geneva app. I’m also looking forward to meeting more people at Movement gyms which host weekly meet-ups for climbers looking to find new people to climb with. As time goes on, I’ll continue to share my experience meeting people in a new city.
5. The Weather
Last, but not least, the weather. As I mentioned in my previous blog, I was done with cold, overcast northeastern winters. The constant gloom negatively impacted my mental health during the winter months. In Golden and the surrounding area, there are an average of 300+ sunny days a year! And it’s noticeable too. Very rarely is it cloudy for more than two days in a row and it makes it so much easier to feel motivated and be productive. It’s only my first winter here, but so far it has been much more enjoyable than New York winters. There’s more sun, the snow melts quickly, and the temperature fluctuates so you’re not stuck in a cold spell for weeks on end.
