Around here, 30 mi north is still considered easy drive and the same area 
Iām always surprised at how much distances change from region to region. Iām lucky that everywhere Iāve lived in the last 25 years, a drive of an hour for dinner was nothing to blink at, even tho my daily work commute is 10 min.
well, since both towns are a couple hours from āthe cityā and in the midwest that means ruralā¦ 30 miles away is not through a continuous developed humanscape, but rather countryside. Thirty miles means a whole different town and family groups and rival highschool football teams.
I donāt think best climate and affordability exist!
To me N.CA ( where I grew up) has the overall best climate for year round riding and horse keeping.
Affordability is not even a word out there. I am in the Mid West now. Cold, wet Winter and hot, humid summers, but affordable.
I really donāt mind heat. I hate being cold and it gets worse every year.
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Youād do well down here, lol! It is more affordable, if you have a good pasture and donāt mind paying for supplements.
NOT cheap!!!
@Amym600 , it depends on many factors. How far away from an airport do you wish to live? NC still has some cheaper costs of living and many areas where you can land what you want. But this is typically in eastern NC and counties south and south/west of Raleigh. Pretty much nothing near Charlotte.
Iāve lived all over the US, including southern NM which is high desert. I LOVED the dryness of the desert and I loved the low humidity of the Bay Area of SF. Having lived in northern locales, I really dislike the cold and you need access to an indoor to ride year round.
I like NC. It has 4 seasons but isnāt too cold in the winter and winters arenāt usually disruptive to riding. Summers can be very humid, but I also lived in Houston where you needed a covered arena to ride year round without passing out. That was borderline unbearable humidity. At least in NC, if you ride in the mornings or at night on the hottest days in the summer, itās doable.
I think access to an airport might be your biggest factor. Midwest might be a great place for you if you can adjust to the cold. Could smaller airports that can fly you to bigger airports to make connecting flights be an option?
Oklahoma City or Tulsa would fit all your criteria but it is also growing very fast here. With bermuda it is very doable to have 2 horses on 3 acres and still have grass, maybe not lush but enough to nibble and avoid mud.
we are in Fort Worth on under three acres with Bermuda grass having three horses, three miniatures, one pony, six goatsā¦ and have grass nearly year round. The Bermuda is nearly indestructible with its deep root system.
And I see we will be in the 60s/70s this week while my son in Pennsylvania is to be at Zero
The support network here is well established and competitive. Feed costs are what they are everywhere. But hay since we went through several droughts in the last few decades is plentiful as the competition between suppliers has made the supply constant as all have very large stocks. The suppliers have long term purchase contracts with growers nationwide. Being in a centralized location in the country reduces the shipping of hay as the haulers is they want can easily get return loads of material (well also horses since we are at a crossroads of east/west transport)
Depending upon discipline your horses are used for that would be a deciding factor of just whee in north Texas one would look.
Soil conditions are one concern as the heavy clay soil should be avoided, while there are many areas of sandy based soil.
Be aware of flash flood areas.
Depending upon what one calls cheap/inexpensive this area still is affordable for most.
Also if needed, getting a job here is fairly easy with companies relocating from many western and northern states
