A piece of my family journey featured in the Golden Living Magazine (by Jennifer Seeley).
Jan. 2026 Cover -Golden Living Magazine. Photo credit: Paul Adams
I want to share something very special: my family was featured on the January 2026 cover and main story of Golden Living Magazine, here in Colorado, USA.
I’m not sharing this from a place of pride, but with deep gratitude and humility. This journey hasn’t been free of tears and doubts. Nothing about it has been “linear.”
Our journey from Santiago, Chile to Golden has been filled with brave decisions, adaptation, learning, and so much love as a family team. Seeing part of our story reflected in a local magazine is more than recognition… It feels like belonging. It’s the confirmation that this is no longer just the place where we live. It’s truly the place where we’ve built home.
Starting the year this way reminds me of what truly matters: community, human connection, and family.
Below it is the article by Jennifer Seeley:
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Some families build a life one step at a time. Others, like the Spichiger-Chang family, arrive through a series of unexpected turns, fast decisions, and little miracles that fall perfectly into place. If there’s one thing Sofía and Oscar can say about their journey to Golden, it’s that nothing about it was planned in the traditional sense. And yet, from the moment they set foot in Mountain Ridge with ten suitcases and three kids, they knew it was home.
Their story begins long before Colorado, long before Red Rocks Community College or Mountain Ridge or learning to pronounce “Coyote Court.” It starts in Santiago, Chile, in 2008, when Sofía and Oscar were just neighbors living in the same apartment building. One day, Sofía was reading by the pool when Oscar walked over and offered her a beer. She doesn’t drink beer, but she didn’t want to be rude. So, she took it. And just like that, over what became the first and only beer of her life, a conversation started that eventually turned into a friendship… and then a relationship.
A couple of years later, after the 2010 earthquake in Chile damaged Sofía’s apartment, Oscar opened the doors of his home to her. What makes the story funny is that just weeks earlier, Oscar had suggested they live together, and she replied that if that ever happened, he would need to move into her place. The earthquake forced her to move in with him instead. She laughs about it today, grateful for the timing, the safety, and the unexpected beginning of the life they’ve been building ever since.
Their paths to that point had already been marked by resilience. Sofía was born in Peru and moved to Chile at 16 because her parents wanted her far from the terrorist violence that impacted Peru in the 80s and 90s. After university, she returned to Lima to be closer to family but within a year, she was the victim of an express kidnapping. That traumatic experience sent her right back to Chile, seeking stability. She worked for government agencies in innovation and economic development, while Oscar managed his family’s forestry and fruit export companies. They built careers, built a life, and eventually welcomed three children: Laura, Milena, and Rafael.
In 2018, during a motorhome trip through New Zealand, they met families traveling long-term and homeschooling their kids on the road. That nomadic lifestyle wasn’t for them, but it sparked an idea: Why not live abroad for a year? The kids were attending a British school in Chile, but learning English in a classroom wasn't the same as living in an English-speaking country. Oscar had just finished a Master’s in Finance and was ready for a sabbatical. The timing was perfect.
What wasn’t expected was how fast everything would happen.
Sofía decided to apply for a student visa and enroll in Communications at Red Rocks Community College. They assumed the visa process would take a year. Instead, between March and May 2019, everything was approved. Suddenly, they had two months to pack up their lives and launch into an international adventure.
On July 16, 2019, they arrived in Colorado after a 16-hour flight, children ages 4, 6, and 8 in tow, ten suitcases, no U.S. credit history, no clear plan, and one Zillow appointment in Mountain Ridge. They drove straight from the airport to the rental showing, begging the kids to behave. The second the door opened, the kids ran wild, while Sofía and Oscar did their best to stay calm while checking out the accommodation. Ten days later, they received a yes from the owner.
The family was embraced instantly by the community. Neighbors brought cookies and another gave them a sofa. COVID arrived soon after, but nature, open spaces, and the warmth of this community softened the experience. When their rental ended two years later, they moved briefly to Table Rock before purchasing a home back in Mountain Ridge in 2022.
Today, the Spichiger-Chang household is full of activity, sports gear, community events, bilingual conversations, and the joyful chaos of raising three active kids. Laura, 14, plays softball and reads voraciously. Milena, 12, plays soccer and loves baking. Rafael, 10, throws himself into soccer, basketball, flag football, skiing, and mountain biking with enthusiasm.
Sofía shares that “Our children now speak English like natives, but at home we make a point of keeping Spanish alive. The dynamic is fun: Oscar and I speak to them in Spanish, and they answer back in English.”
Not to be forgotten in the household is Trufa, their 16-month-old Bernedoodle. She’s playful, affectionate, and the perfect fourth child. After resisting pet ownership because of traveling, they finally gave in and Trufa adapted immediately. This summer, she joined them on their 6- to 8-week U.S. camping road trip. She romped on dog beaches in California, swam in Lake Powell, and happily embraced life as the family’s “little sailor.”
Travel is a major part of this family’s identity. Since moving to the U.S., they’ve visited 45 states and Canada in their trailer, exploring national and state parks from coast to coast. What started with a small pop-up camper is now a beloved second home on wheels.
Professionally, both Sofía and Oscar have entered new seasons of their lives. After studying engineering and spending more than 20 years working in innovation and entrepreneurship, Sofía followed her long-held passion for human development. She studied Communications at Red Rocks, then completed multiple coaching certifications, including training through Harvard’s Division of Continuing Education. Today, she works as a bilingual Health & Life Coach, helping clients navigate purpose, relationships, career, wellness, and their relationship with money. “I love going through life with a beginner’s mind,” she says.
Oscar divides his time between managing the family businesses in Chile—forestry and fruit exports (grapes and mandarins sent to the U.S.)—and a U.S. technology startup called Liquen, focused on air quality innovation.
“This project opened a door we hadn’t expected: the possibility of applying for an investor visa. Because Oscar and the children hold dual Swiss and Chilean citizenship, we submitted the application through the U.S. Embassy in Switzerland, since Chile’s embassy wasn’t accepting those cases at the time. A few months before I completed my degree in Communications, we received approval. It was an enormous relief for all of us, granting the legal stability to continue living and working here after my student visa ended.”
When asked why they chose Golden, Sofía smiles. “We had the possibility of choosing almost anywhere in the world,” she says. “We dreamed of the beach. We dreamed of the mountains. And somehow—we landed here. We didn’t plan it heavily. But from the very first day, we felt this was exactly where we were meant to be.”
For a family who traveled thousands of miles to start over, Golden didn’t just give them a home. It gave them community.-
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