Well, it’s getting to that time people! Finally in the last semester of my junior year of nursing school and starting to look at prospective places to find a job. I’ve missed horses so much while I’ve been on this break during university and I’m looking to pick it up again after I graduate. Where do you feel like the hunter/jumper scene is thriving and attainable?
Virginia, Tryon (NC), Kentucky…
There are others, but attainable is a tough one near bigger cities!
i am sorry i have no idea.
But congratulations on your graduation.
How do u feel graduating?
Will you be looking for a nursing job as well? Nashville has a level 1 trauma center at Vanderbilt Hospital. Lots of hunter/Jumper opportunities in the surrounding areas.
A big second for Virginia! Nova in particular has tons of jobs in healthcare, and an amazing local and rated HJ show scene. The cost of living is pretty high, but many of the good companies around here have caught on to that and pay appropriately.
It depends entirely on your budget and climate preferences, because you can find an active hunter/jumper scene in lots of places. And, given your profession, you can find a job almost anywhere. What parts of the country appeal to you most?
3 Likes
This is very subjective. What areas appeal to you, what kind of weather are you willing to deal with (ie: minimal snow but humidity ok, snow fine no humidity, sunshine year round, scenery important)? East coast, west coast, midwest, south… any preference towards which general area? Do you want to stay close to family or are open to absolutely anywhere? Are you looking for lots of AA shows, a decent amount of A shows and willing to travel a bit, regional and local association levels is fine, not interested in showing so not a big factor? Budget will also be a factor because there are some great places, but you’ll be paying a good amount to be there and just starting out that could prove to be difficult (and then add in horsey costs and your budget might be really tight). If you can narrow down some things a slight bit further then it will be easier for us to pinpoint areas to look into. You have chosen a good career that opens the door for many possibilities.
Well I also have to give props to the DMV area (DC,Maryland, Virgnia area) Northern VA and Maryland have a large equestrian community which encompasses many disciplines, H/J, eventing, dressage, reining, etc. On top of that it is an area which has a good hospital networks - we’ve got lots of hospitals in this area many of which are in suburban areas which would be an easy commute from work to barn or home to/from barn. Baltimore would also be worth considering as has a good horse and hospital scene. The hospital I work at is 9 miles from home and my barn is about 15 minute drive from my house- can vary depending on traffic and cyclists.
You might also want to look into an RN resident program too - many hospitals, include the one I work at, offer resident programs.
2 Likes
Whatever areas you decide to focus on, look at commute times, and don’t sign yourself up for a long one. It’s terrible to be able to afford the horse but not be able to get there to ride them!! For example, Atlanta has a very active h/j scene, but you would want to target Alpharetta/Milton or Marietta, not the midtown, Buckhead or Emory area, or you would be looking at at least a 45 minute commute each way to get anywhere, and often worse with traffic.
2 Likes
I live in North Texas and moved here after undergrad from Montana about 17 years ago to be closer to a horsey scene. If I were you and in your situation today, I’d move to the Tryon area or somewhere around Cincinnati/Lexington. The hunter/jumper scene in both places I mentioned is thriving, the cost of living isn’t insurmountable and there are jobs in those areas. An extra plus is that some of the fun and fancy shows aren’t terribly far away if you want to try to show at them or at least just visit.
You have the good fortune of basically being able to live anywhere as a nurse and I envy you that!
If you can make a list of a few places you’d like to live and try to visit so you have a basis of what it would be like to live there. Talk to the locals. Visit some tack stores.
Congratulations and good luck!
2 Likes
Depending on your weather requirements the Philly suburbs are pretty great. I just moved there and there are shows, and trainers galore. I like 4 seasons so don’t mind the snow, but ymmv.
1 Like
We recently moved from Colorado to North Carolina. I LOVE the horse scene here! So many riders, so many farms, so many shows. Affordable cost of living. Minimal traffic in my area. Four distinct seasons and hardly any snow. I’m loving it!
2 Likes
Just for some background, I currently live in South Dakota for school and Minnesota is where my hometown is. Needless to say, this sub-zero winter has been terrible. In the grand scheme of things, I don’t mind winter or hot summers, just really need to get away from this bitter cold where you can’t walk a block to class without your eyelashes freezing!
1 Like
Loma Linda University just built a new hospital near Murrieta and Temecula, California. Nursing pays well here and that area is fairly affordable.
https://murrieta.lluh.org/about-us
Welcome!! What part of NC?
How exciting, congratulations!! You’ll be an RN before you know it. UF Health is about 40 mins from Ocala - has every kind of nursing you can imagine, and you’ll have 4 days a week to enjoy all that horsey stuff just outside Gainesville! There are affordable places to board in every direction, as well.
Cincinnati/Northern KY. You have multipe quality local shows as well as the World Equestrian Center, Brave, and the KY Horse Park all nearby. It’s a pretty good hub and the cost of living is super reasonable. Cincinnati is a reasonably sized city, not too big and fairly easy to navigate.
1 Like
Colorado has a fairly steady H/J scene, a flourishing job market, and compared to the big east coast cities a reasonable cost of living and horse keeping. Our winters are very mild compared to the Dakota’s too 
Totally agree - @nurseequestrian, if you consider Atlanta, avoid anything inside the Perimeter. If possible, find work in North Fulton, live in Cherokee, and enjoy Wills, Chatt Hills, the GIHP, and relatively close proximity to Aiken, Ocala, Brownland, Gulf Coast, and Tryon. The Milton horse folks are awesome.
I say that, but I have a condo inside the perimeter (Midtown), a townhouse just north of the Perimeter in Sandy Springs, and I work at 75/285 ITP . So I play in traffic MWF. I WFH T/Th. Still worth the hour drive, though! We do have a giant covered that helps make it tolerable…
I second this! With WEC
opening in a couple
of years the area will have even more shows!
1 Like
