Can I afford to move to San Francisco?

[ladyrider]

[QUOTE=alternaria;7904314]

couldn’t get a sense of the options north of the city[/QUOTE]

I live/board in Marin county (eg, “north of the city”). While boarding in Marin is scarce, there are some nice places and beautiful trails. I currently board at a lovely, private mom & pop facility in Novato and pay $350 a month for full care (shared open area with shelters). Before that, I was boarding at a small mostly-for-trail-riders barn (stall with large padock), paid $425. Before that I was at an upscale dressage barn just on the outskirts of Novato, paid $400 for pasture board.

Before moving to Main, I lived/boarded in Petaluma for 10+ years. In Petaluma, I never paid over $300 a month for full care board. There are lots of boarding options in Petaluma and Sonoma county in general.

[norcalammie]

I have read through this thread and agree with some of it. I am a real estate broker in the East Bay and love the East Bay. I live in Walnut Creek near the Lafayette border and keep my horse out in Brentwood. While Brentwood is a commute for me - about 35-45 minutes mid day and weekends it would be a nightmare at 5! Board for my horse is $425 a month for a 12 x 12 stall with 12 x 24 paddock. There is also a mare motel and dry pasture board. The barn owner has chickens, ducks and there are peacocks and turkeys. Trails are close by but you need to trailer to them. On site is an event trainer but not mandatory. Lots of boarding options in the area and I am sure you could easily find a place for the donkeys and retirees close by.

I love the East Bay over South Bay, Peninsula or North Bay - less traffic, friendlier people, more reasonable prices and lots of housing and boarding options. Feel free to contact me if you want to consider the East Bay.

[foggybok]

You have heard a lot about East Bay and the peninsula. I’ll throw in a plug for the coast. I lived in Montara for quite a while. It was a 20 minute commute to my job in SSF and when I was working in SF (Mission Bay) it was 30 minutes. Easy peasy for bay area commute. There are a few properties with horse facilities for sale, pricey, but no more than Orinda or places like that. The riding is spectacular! The former POST land and Montara mountain are beautiful places to ride. http://www.coastsideceramics.com/sitebuilder/images/ResizesteveP1010025-486x358.jpg

There are 4-5 boarding places right in town as well. I LOVED it there. Some people don’t like the weather, but I loved it. It never gets hot. It can get foggy, but that’s no big deal. I would live there in a heartbeat, but like all places in the BA, you spend all your money living there… THat’s why we moved to WA instead. Now I am in East Bay because I refuse to commute and my job is over here. I’d much rather live on the coast…

[Appsolute]

Brentwood is FAR from San Francisco. Not doable for a riding horse (maybe retirees).

And yes Montara is nice (lived there from 1993 - 2000), then Pescadero (further down the coast) from 2008-2014. My parents still live there…

The coast nice, the weather is cool (but I don’t mind), its BEAUTIFUL, and the commute from Montara (or moss beach) is VERY doable (it was taking me about 45 mins to get from Montara - to Daly City BART - to FiDi in SF).

Real estate is expensive, but not nearly as bad as SF.

There are a number of small boarding barns scattered along the coast - BUT not a single covered arena for some reason, and most places do not have all weather arenas. Many do not have lit arenas - so training in the winter can be a bit tricky.

When I was a teen living in Montara - I kept my horse in Woodside for the facilities and trainers down there. My more recent stint on the coast I boarded at a number of places in the half moon bay area (board ranging from $400 for a self care paddock and small arena to $600 for slightly better facilities and cleaning / full care).

I am very happy that I know have an indoor arena with lights (since I moved to the south bay) makes riding in the winter a thousand times easier with my work schedule. Plus the board there (despite having MUCH better facilities) is cheaper.

Wish I could transplant my current barn to the coast - that would be heaven.

[foggybok]

[QUOTE=Appsolute;7904563]
Brentwood is FAR from San Francisco. Not doable for a riding horse (maybe retirees).

And yes Montara is nice (lived there from 1993 - 2000), then Pescadero (further down the coast) from 2008-2014. My parents still live there…

The coast nice, the weather is cool (but I don’t mind), its BEAUTIFUL, and the commute from Montara (or moss beach) is VERY doable (it was taking me about 45 mins to get from Montara - to Daly City BART - to FiDi in SF).

Real estate is expensive, but not nearly as bad as SF.

There are a number of small boarding barns scattered along the coast - BUT not a single covered arena for some reason, and most places do not have all weather arenas. Many do not have lit arenas - so training in the winter can be a bit tricky.

When I was a teen living in Montara - I kept my horse in Woodside for the facilities and trainers down there. My more recent stint on the coast I boarded at a number of places in the half moon bay area (board ranging from $400 for a self care paddock and small arena to $600 for slightly better facilities and cleaning / full care).

I am very happy that I know have an indoor arena with lights (since I moved to the south bay) makes riding in the winter a thousand times easier with my work schedule. Plus the board there (despite having MUCH better facilities) is cheaper.

Wish I could transplant my current barn to the coast - that would be heaven.[/QUOTE]

One indoor in Pacifica

But yes, all the Montara places have no indoor. I found I didn’t need it, our place had lights and a beautiful all weather arena. There were few days I could not ride if I wanted to (and I did live there the year we had 30 days of rain in March…) But I can see where you might like an indoor for the winter…

Prices have gone up a lot it seems… I paid 250 for stall with paddock (self clean).