Lexington KY

[B-burg_Dressage]

I’m not finding a recent post on Lexington, so thought I’d start a new one.

My husband and I are thinking of Lexington in the near or semi-near future. We both have very marketable jobs. Currently in rural Missouri and comfortably middle class. I have family in Knoxville and Dayton so thought Lexington would split the difference well.

In our 30s with one kiddo. Two horses on our own place (and would want to buy a small farm there as well).

I’d love to hear the good and bad from folks who live there or have lived there. Mostly interested in the COL, especially horse-related since those are harder to find online from other sources.

[Texarkana]

Bumping this up. We have a few people like @LaurieB in the area.

I used to live a few hours away and frequented the area a fair amount. I really love Lexington. If circumstances landed me there, I’d be ok with it.

At one time, there were still areas nearby where you could find very affordable farms (as opposed to the primo real estate close to the city). I don’t know if that’s still true in the post-covid market.

Coming from Missouri, it will probably be a pretty easy transition to Kentucky. They have a fair number of similarities, good and bad.

[Bobuddy]

I have lived in the Lexiington area for about 30 years - currently just west in Versailles - have lived in Frankfort also.

Great horse community here - land is hard to find that is affordable. We looked for three years before we found something we could afford. The prices around here have really gone up - unfortunately. If you can live farther out - the prices really come down.

Great vets here - many to choose from

Are there specific questions that you are interested in?

[B-burg_Dressage]

How far out do you mean for the more affordable prices? And which direction is best?

Love the idea of having vets and farriers so close. My vet is about an hour away. She’s great but that can suck.

What does a decent farrier cost for simple trim? What’s a bale of mixed grass hay (50lb small square). I feel like both of those things are good indexes for me. Farms are so hard since they could be a simple house and pole barn or luxury with amazing amenities.

I think our goal property would be 5-20 acres that we could move the horses to quickly so I wouldn’t have to board for long/at all, but the rest is very open to interpretation.

[ReSomething]

What’s your budget?

These are what’s out there right now https://www.bluegrassrealtors.com/index.php?submenu=FindaProperty&src=pages&ref=find-a-property&link=find-a-property. One of them has a barn, it’s 45 minutes away from the Ky HP and close to good trail riding at Shakertown.

I would never have called any of them affordable but prices here have doubled and flips are going for 3 and 4 times cost. Truly crazy, the local wages have never been very high to start with so recent pay rises just aren’t keeping up.

I live north of G’town, if it’s affordable up here it’s because the roads are paved but were laid out around the turn of the century, coming across a trash truck or school bus is hair raising.

[B-burg_Dressage]

I’ve heard nice things about Georgetown area.

I think our budget would be in the $600k range if we moved today.

[NoSuchPerson]

I’ve lived in Georgetown and Lexington at various times in my life. I no longer live in that area but my sister and her family still do. She says property prices have gotten really high and people are moving farther out than they used to to get affordable property. Last time she moved (downsizing), she ended up in Cynthiana because she couldn’t find any affordable small horse properties in Georgetown.

We first moved to Georgetown way back BT (Before Toyota) and every time I go there I’m stunned by the new growth and expansion of the urban area. It’s really the same story as so many other areas - farms are being replaced by subdivisions.

But, whining over property availability and prices aside, I love Lexington. I would probably still be there if a really good job opportunity hadn’t taken me away.

[ReSomething]

It’s moved up to the 6th largest city in the state due to the rapid growth and the infrastructure is barely keeping up. Two fatalities at one intersection and another close by, it’s not something that used to happen when we bought 15 years ago.

I never know what to think when someone lists a house with an “adorable” barn, lol but once you get past the house photos this one is affordable and close in https://www.bluegrassrealtors.com/index.php?submenu=FindaProperty&src=pages&ref=find-a-property&link=find-a-property on Russel cave if the link doesn’t work.

[B-burg_Dressage]

It even has a heated/cooled shop for the hubs. The MIL house is both a pro and a con. Added income as rental/airbnb could be great, but dealing with it could be annoying.

The barn and property/arena do look lovely for me!

[ReSomething]

Further west would be better but geez Louise, the prices. Park vet equine hq is outside of Paris, they are good, show venues for dressage are at the HP and Masterson Station, lakeside arena south of Frankfort used to have quite the variety of exhibitors.
Trimmers are out there, but they get big income from the TB breeders, spring yearling first trims are a hectic time. I asked my horse owning neighbor and got a referral that way though I’m not on top of prices any more.

Same with hay, we bought from a neighbor and he got a divorce so there went that. Hilander feed is in a corner in Georgetown, they have hay and local milled feed as well as fencing supplies. There’s a feed store in a corner in Lex, near the Y, another in Versailles and of course Southern States and TSC in Paris, Georgetown, Most large towns have those.

When we bought I asked the seller who exactly the service providers were cause there are different electric companies, different trash companies all depending exactly where you live.

Come out for a bit and check it out, it’s sort of more like the Ozark end of MO than the Mississippi end, lots of caves and rock strata right at the surface, gotta watch out for that when fencing.

[B-burg_Dressage]

I’ll be down at the end of the month for Land Rover. Hoping to scope out some of the area as well but we’ll see how much time I have that I want to sneak away.

We currently put up our own hay, so I think any price would be a hike for us but I know what friends pay for theirs and I imagine KY and MO would be somewhat similar…

What is the dressage scene like?

[keatssu]

We’ve been living and keeping horses in the area for 15 years. We are 18 minutes from the horse park, 25 from Lexington in unincorporated Scott county, on the edge of Georgetown. A trim is $35, 4 shoes $150. Hay depends on the year due to variable weather. Our last load of nice orchard grass, $10 for 50 lb bales. We have 25 acres, 2200sq/ft house, 5 stall barn with a tack room, and a 90”x180” outdoor arena. My trainer comes to the farm. $75 lesson, $50 training ride.
I think you could find something for around 600k, but they do tend to fly off the market.
We love it here.
I show hunters, but there are plenty of dressage shows and trainers in the area. Eventing is very popular here.