2 horse-poor girls thinking of moving to Tryon, NC. Anybody familiar with the area?

[arary]

So I got a call from my best friend the other day. We are both public school teachers and we both ride dressage. Clearly this is a problem already (expensive sport & low salary). Between us we own 5 horses, and one of hers is an international quality youngster that she pretty much sold her soul to afford to import. She needs some serious instruction for this hot, sensitive youngster and the local trainers in the area are not getting the job done. So she’s got it in her head to move to the Tryon/Columbus area of NC to work with a couple trainers there and wants me to move with her.

Now, I have no problem moving away from where I’m currently living. In this area, you ride Western or English, and all English is assumed to be huntseat. So our thought is to pool our resources and rent a small farm on the outskirts of the Tryon area, and we can trailer out for lessons and such.

Of course we would need to find jobs down there, but I’m wondering what the scene is like. Are things still affordable on the outskirts, or is the entire area all multi-million dollar homes? I used to work as a groom in Wellington, and I always could find as many side-jobs as I wanted to work. Where I live now, it’s impossible to find a horse farm job. So I’m wondering if anyone knows the job market in Tryon. If anyone has insight into the school system down there, we’d love to hear that too.

I know it’s a crazy idea to quit our jobs and move out of state just to be in a more horsey area, but then again all horse people are crazy anyway! Thoughts?

[StormyDay]

(Obligatory I don’t live here, just have visited several times) Tryon is great in that it has a really good show circuit all summer. However this time of year it kind of dies there. There are a few shows here and there. The price of property is pretty good in my opinion, however you may end up being in the sticks. You may want to be a little closer to asheville just so you don’t feel so isolated. There isn’t a whole lot of ‘stuff’ around there and depending on where you are coming from that may be a big culture shock for you.
Another place to look at is Southern Pines. It doesn’t have the show series but it does have a wealth of dressage trainers. And of course there is always NOVA.

[dudleyc]

why limit yourself to just Tyron?

i did a similar move 7 years ago - moving to get better access to dressage trainers. i chose Dutchess country New York. Also considered Wellington briefly, but really did not think Id like it - especially the heat of the summer.

[AKB]

What about Ocala? I don’t know about teacher jobs and salaries, but small farms are plentiful and cheap.

Someone suggested Northern Virginia. We live in Northern Virginia. The problems here are that everything is expensive, winter is long, and traffic eats large portions of each day.

[Margaret_Freeman]

I live in Tryon. Purchase price for small farms is still on the low side; don’t know about rental prices. My impression of the Polk County schools is good, but I don’t know about job availability. I lived previously in NoVA; NJ; Westchester NY; comparative prices here are definitely lower. Tryon itself is fairly lively culturally for a small town but not so much as you drift out, until you get to Asheville/Greenville. There should be plenty of hiring on farms. This could all change as things start to heat up for WEG. Weather is good (warmer in winter and not so very hot in summer – except last summer, but it was hot everywhere last summer). There are only four dressage shows planned here next year but there are active schooling shows. Aiken is great for shows (3 hours). Conyers is about 3 hours.

[2tempe]

A pitch here for Central Florida - I’m Orlando area. A fair amount of dressage activity around here, real estate prices reasonable in the “horsey” areas. We are NOT Wellington, though when this young horse is ready, its under 3 hours down the road.
Yes its hot in summer, but you get used to it. I’d rather show at 90 degrees than 50 degrees or less…
There is an extensive network of shows - I can go to one/month ex July and August w/out driving more than an hour. That doesn’t include Ocala, Jacksonville, Tampa, all of which are about 2 hours.
We have some very good trainers in the area as well.

[Manni01]

[QUOTE=2tempe;8978213]
A pitch here for Central Florida - I’m Orlando area. A fair amount of dressage activity around here, real estate prices reasonable in the “horsey” areas. We are NOT Wellington, though when this young horse is ready, its under 3 hours down the road.
Yes its hot in summer, but you get used to it. I’d rather show at 90 degrees than 50 degrees or less…
There is an extensive network of shows - I can go to one/month ex July and August w/out driving more than an hour. That doesn’t include Ocala, Jacksonville, Tampa, all of which are about 2 hours.
We have some very good trainers in the area as well.[/QUOTE]

I agree. I went to my first show in Orlando 2 weeks ago and really liked the area and the competition. Dont know about the prices of farms but seems to be a very dressage area.
I would recommend my area (Sarasota) as well, but it’s definitely pricey and although our Dressage scene is getting better and better, you have to know what you are doing. But our access to quality shows is very good. In the radius of 3 hours you have everything. Ocala, Wellington, Venice Orlando you could probably ride a show each weekend (if you can afford it…)

[JP60]

Instead of Tryon directly, may I suggest the Greater Greenville area. Depending on the type of farm size (and condition) you are looking for, you can pick up a good deal in areas between Anderson and Greenville, Fountain Inn and Greenville or Spartenburg and Greenville.

The city of Greenville is still growing, has a vibrant downtown, and while I cannot speak to public teaching options, there would be more there than near Tryon.

As to Dressage; I play on the dark side of horse sports (shhhh…eventing, It’s a blast), but know of two top notch trainers that live and work in the Greater Greenville area. Carolyn West and Carol Bishop. Both have competed to Gran Prix.

Cost of living is still manageable in this area, you have the opportunity to ride year round without needing an indoor (heated or air conditioned) and the overall population is friendly and welcoming. If you have more questions, PM me and I’ll pass along contact information for someone who knows a lot more about the area in regards to the horse/dressage world.

Good luck.

[Manni01]

I have taken lessons with Carol Bishop and really recommend her!!

[MysticOakRanch]

And another thought is Northern California - if you avoid the Bay Area, it can be pretty reasonably priced. AND our schools pay very well (California teachers are consistently in the top 5 for teachers salaries in the US), and the teachers’ union is very strong here. There are some excellent trainers in the Central Valley. Two of the champion young horse trainers from the YHC last year (at Lamplight) live in NorCal, and a few others who were in the top 10 are also in the region (Craig Stanley and Christian Hartung). And shows are available most of the year - December is slow, but they start up in January, and run through November. No snow in the Winter, no humidity in the Summer, and earthquakes happen on the coast, not in the Central Valley

[add_leg]

Another vouch for across the state line in Greenville/Spartanburg. Some good schools, some not as good, but the cost of living is amazing. Greenville would put you farther from Tryon/Landrum and 85 can be a bear, but it definitely has a more vibrant downtown and ‘things’. I’m in Spartanburg and while it’s not exactly a ‘hot place’ for young people, I have a crazy low COL, zero traffic, am in Tryon in 40 minutes, at any number of nice barns in the area in 20-30 minutes, at GSP airport in 20 minutes, Charlotte in an hour and 15. If I need something in Greenville, it’s 30 minutes way, but honestly, I rarely do.

And JP, I need to get with you! I want to event and can’t find a place to play!

[GraceLikeRain]

If you go for the move send me a PM!

Personally, I think the campobello area is pretty prime. If you need to trailer out you are only 30 ish minutes from everyone in the Tryon area but you are also only 30 ish minutes from Spartanburg/Greenville. Spartanburg has 7 school districts and 9 high schools in the county. I’m not sure about greenville but I imagine their numbers are fairly similar.

Cost of living is nice around here but you aren’t going to command the same salary as other communities. Since horse costs are pretty fixed you will pay less to rent a farm but proportionally more for day to day horse care on a lower salary. California you would probably make 1.5 times more but your cost of living would be astronomically higher.

With WEG and other developments I think that this is a wise area for someone who is in the industry if you are ready to deal with the small town feel for the next 5-10 years. Coming from the greater Atlanta area Upstate feels very very small but I recognize that is completely relative to the community you come from.

[MysticOakRanch]

[QUOTE=GraceLikeRain;8978944]

Cost of living is nice around here but you aren’t going to command the same salary as other communities. Since horse costs are pretty fixed you will pay less to rent a farm but proportionally more for day to day horse care on a lower salary. California you would probably make 1.5 times more but your cost of living would be astronomically higher.

.[/QUOTE]

So, I was kind of curious, and ran the numbers on Trulia:
https://www.trulia.com/real_estate/Tyrone-Georgia/

Then on Sacramento, California:
https://www.trulia.com/real_estate/Sacramento-California/

Sacramento is LESS then Tyrone. We just had an article in the Sacramento newspaper - average teacher salary in our state is about $77,000! You can live decently on a teacher’s salary if you avoid Bay Area (where no one can live decently unless they are a multi-millionaire) or much of Southern California.

There are many great suburbs outside of Sac - with several quality trainers. The show circuit is very active, with rated shows every month except December, all within an hour’s drive. Drive a few hours, and you can show almost every week (except December). There are several trainers within a few hours all directions that make the trek to Young Horse Championships and place in the top 10. There are also several trainers that show regularly at CDIs. Region 7 Young Riders usually have a few members that hail from the area too. And one of the Olympic Team riders is from the suburbs of Sacramento.

I’m not saying everyone should move here - we have plenty of people! But it is such a fallacy that you have to be rich to live in California. Everyone thinks California is San Francisco and Los Angeles - thank goodness it isn’t.

If I had an uber fancy young horse that was my current priority, I would look for a place with successful trainers (and probably a good show circuit). Then I would assess career opportunities and cost of living.

[Silverbridge]

[QUOTE=MysticOakRanch;8979217]
So, I was kind of curious, and ran the numbers on Trulia:
https://www.trulia.com/real_estate/Tyrone-Georgia/

Then on Sacramento, California:
https://www.trulia.com/real_estate/Sacramento-California/

Sacramento is LESS then Tyrone. [/QUOTE]

You have run the comparison on somewhere known as Tyrone, Georgia.

The OP is inquiring about Tryon, North Carolina.

[hfa86]

Well the good news is that as others have said land is cheaper (though I assume it will boom soon and things will go up) and there are lots of great trainers in the area. Polk county is also one of the better school systems.

The downside, is NC is 50th in the nation for education. Things might start to change in 2017, but teacher pay is abysmal, actually one of the lowest in the country. I worked as an OT in central NC, though not in the school system myself, but I had many friends that were teaching and barely making ends meet even without horses.

I would (if possible) open up your search to a variety of areas based on job pay and opportunities that would impact your ability to have horses. I have a super quality young horse and of all places ended back up in New England as I had a job opportunity that was career changing and as a result, though it requires some travel on my part, access excellent trainers. In the future, my location gives me the possibility of having my own farm.

[arary]

Thanks for all the input! So I think we want to stick to the east coast as it makes the move much easier, and want to find someplace a bit warmer in the winter where you can ride year-round without an indoor. We don’t want to ship the horses all the way to CA, though it does sound like a great place for a public school teacher!

I think my friend specifically picked Tryon because she wants to ride with a certain trainer in the area, but we would definitely consider other areas. The poor reputation of NC schools is definitely a factor that’s making me leery of the move.

A lot of people have mentioned NoVa, and I used to live there. So who is in NoVa in terms of really good Grand Prix trainers? I’m fairly modest in my aspirations but my friend is far more ambitious! Right now she’s making do with the occasional clinic but really wants to work more often with an international-caliber GP trainer. Sounds like Tryon is maybe not the dressage mecca she was picturing? I’m actually seriously considering this move but far from convinced.

[AirsAboveNC]

“The downside, is NC is 50th in the nation for education. Things might start to change in 2017, but teacher pay is abysmal, actually one of the lowest in the country.”

Things ain’t changing anytime soon after what our General Assembly and Governor did this week.

[J-Lu]

Tryon is an “up and coming” area in large part because of Coth’s Bellisimo investing in the facility. That said, there are some quality GP-level trainers in the area. Last I heard, Jennifer Baumert and Cloverlea was still out in that area.

If Bellisimo continues to invest in the area, you might really want to look into this area.

[Silverbridge]

Jennifer Roth, trainer and S judge is located in Columbus.

[MysticOakRanch]

[QUOTE=Silverbridge;8979223]
You have run the comparison on somewhere known as Tyrone, Georgia.

The OP is inquiring about Tryon, North Carolina. ;)[/QUOTE]
Hahaha, it looks like a nice area! Darn i thought it showed NC but I am on an iPad which isn’t the best way to review some of these webpages

I will look it up on the computer tomorrow :D. Otoh as several have pointed out, schools aren’t so great. Not an issue for many, but a major issue for school teachers. And I would guess teacher pay isn’t so great either. But - if Bellisimo is investing in the area, it. Is probably a good area to invest in!