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Looking at relocating, affordable good horse areas?

Off Course
#21

There are less expensive places to live in California which have good public schools and access to boarding and horse sports. For example, the top three school districts in Riverside County are the Murrieta Valley Unified School District, the Corona-Norco Unified School District, and the Temecula Valley Unified School District. All of those areas have housing which is more affordable than Northern California (of course it depends on where in Northern California you live). They are all nice areas to live in and offer a lot, including the milder weather you are used to. Without knowing your housing budget it’s impossible to know what your definition of too expensive is.

There are also great schools in northeastern LA County (Pasadena, Altadena, etc.) and also in Orange County, but those areas are more expensive for both housing and horse boarding.

2 Likes
#22

Dunno about school/kid stuff, but we have eventing and jumping around my area, I have friends who are teachers, and I’m living fine on one professional income (with horses). No tornadoes here, and The Big One sometime in the next 300 years :lol:. No/not much snow/mild weather.

#23

Too bad winter is a hard pass, otherwise Michigan would be perfect.

But I can understand, somedays I wonder why I live here!

#24

most of the bridges crossing the Ohio River are now tolled
 which may or may not be of a concern for OP

https://riverlink.com/tolling-rates/

Louisville (along with North Texas) is getting an ATT 5G network installed in the next few months

#25

Another vote for Louisville. I purchased my house out in Oldham to get the better school districts, although some do choose to stay in Louisville and pay for private schools. Most of the horse scene is in Oldham County anyway (NE of Louisville), so it was closer to barns, events, and even the KHP. There is a decent Dressage and Eventing presence and a growing H/J scene. There is a MASSIVE Standardbred community here and even some fox hunters and western barns.

It does snow here, but more of a dusting now and then vs. the FEET of snow I used to get in the North East. Basically, you get 2 miserably hot weeks in the summer and 2 miserably cold weeks in the winter. Most people just give their horses time off when this happens, or at least take it easy.

#26

The housing is definitely cheaper in that inner valley down south, but state taxes are still crazy, and I actually have several friends in Temecula area that have long commutes to get to good job locations. We are really looking to just get out of CA. We could even do central valley in Northern CA and be cheaper for housing, but doesn’t solve several of the other problems. California weather can’t be beat, but just time for a change.

#27

Sounds like you’re looking for a conservative area, too. Somewhere in the Phoenix valley may be a good option for you. Certainly less expensive that where you are, though higher than Texas. No real natural disasters happen in most of the area (fires in some outskirt areas can be a concern, but rare in that area.) And Phoenix is loaded with trainers. Overall, it’s also a more conservative area. Scottsdale is the center of the Arizona dressage world, but there will be trainers available to you all over.

I live in and much prefer Tucson, but it’s also the blue bastion of the state - and I suspect you’re not interested in that. We are cooler with lower housing costs, but not as thriving a job market.

I’m not trying to make this a political thread, just giving you additional info I suspect is relevant you don’t even need to respond to. I’ll happily answer other questions about the area, though. :slight_smile:

#28

I think you will find what you are looking for in other states, except for the commute. And the weather. Unless you are working from home, most cities with a robust work economy are also going to have crowded roads. A friend of mine had a great job opportunity in Carlsbad. He tried it out but ended up quitting the new job and staying in Houston because of housing prices. Ironically, his commute in Houston (at his previous job) was much longer than the commute in California, both time-wise and distance-wise. Several people on this forum have discussed the long and increasingly slow commutes around Dallas. So if you can find work in a smaller city you might have better luck with the commute. But then there is the problem of finding good schools


It’s a puzzle. I hope you find a good place.

#29

I live in New Castle County Delaware but I keep my horse in Oxford PA. It’s more of a drive than I wanted but the BO lost her lease on the farm where we were before (owners found a much more lucrative client who wanted a place close to Fairhill training center). I love the people and the care so I drive the extra 20 minutes.

The public schools in PA have a pretty good reputation. If schools are important my suggestion would be to stay out of Cecil County MD. I have no direct experience with them but know several people who have or had kids there and their experiences aren’t very good for the most part.

Lower Delaware and Northern Delaware are culturally vastly different.

Neither North nor South tends to get a lot of snow, but I remember a few bad storms, one of which brought down a large indoor arena (no one was in it at the time).

I’m a native. Feel free to ask me any questions.

1 Like
#30

Hello former neighbor! I lived in Newark and Hockessin but kept my horse near Fair Hill.

The northwest corner of Delaware (between the Newark and Wilmington metro areas) is actually pretty nice, with lots of different shopping and restaurant opportunities. You’re right along the I-95 corridor, putting you 30-45 minutes to Philadelphia, 2.5 hours to New York or DC, and 1.5 hours to Baltimore. Southern New Jersey is right over the bridge, and the Delaware beaches are 2-3 hours away depending on the time of year. Newark’s a college town with the University of Delaware campus, but also lots of opportunities with the big banks in either Newark or Wilmington. The public schools are hit-or-miss, but there are LOTS of private schools to choose from. (If you want to avoid that, Kennett Square and Chadds Ford to the north have much better schools and are very horsey - somewhat more rural though). I loved living in New Castle County and had I not had to take a job that would have made the commute unbearable, would still be there.

Only downside is there’s not a big horse scene in northern New Castle County specifically, almost all the horse farms are in neighboring Chester County PA or Cecil County MD. Cecil County is home to the fabled Fair Hill International, which in addition to its CCI*** in October holds starter trials and cross country schoolings throughout the season. Plantation Field is in nearby Unionville, and also offers starter trials. Unionville/Cochranville/Kennett Square is an eventing hub with a high concentration of upper level riders and trainers (Phillip Dutton, Boyd Martin, Lillian Heard, the Schramms, etc), and offers a lot of boarding options. It’s also absolutely beautiful to drive through along Rt 41.

Middletown is further down in New Castle County but is building up, and has become a destination for young families looking to buy a house and settle down. It’s somewhat more rural down there then the rest of the county but has a great school district.

Kent and Sussex counties (“Slower Lower”) are definitely culturally different, much more rural and “Southern” than New Castle which may as well be annexed into SE Pennsylvania. Sussex County has the beaches and is becoming popular among retirees who build huge million dollar homes and golf courses. The area does have a lot of poverty though, lack of good hospitals and all of the nice attractions are at the beach which is a pain to get to from May - September. Kent County isn’t much to write home about in my opinion, the capital city Dover is located there and it faces many of the same downsides as Sussex without the attraction of the beach towns.

The snow is not terrible - there may be a handful of days each winter where we get a major storm, but as others have said most of the time if it snows in the morning it’s either gone by the afternoon or at the very least the roadways are clean. It does get much colder than California but it’s manageable.

#31

Coastal SC/NC doesn’t have much winter. And right now you could probably get a great deal on property!:lol:

4 Likes
#32

What about northern FL? Gainesville, Jacksonville, Citra, or Ocala. I just moved here (from NYC), and even on my grad school budget, I can keep a horse at a nice professional facility. If you live closer to Gainesville, you can take advantage of everything that comes with a university town. We ride even in the summer heat (if you find a place with a covered arena, you are golden), and it never get’s as hot as south florida. If you ride in the morning or evening, it’s beautiful. And of course, the winters are perfect. If you live in the central part of the state, hurricanes are less problematic than on the coast.

Properties are very affordable, no state income tax, and it is HORSEY here. Seems like just about every major company in this area is constantly hiring, as well as UF.

#33

If you look near Ocala, make sure you’re not near the proposed highway right through horse country. Not only would it stink to get a place, and have to sell or get eminent domain applied, but often better roads leads to development, which equals subdivision neighbors.

#34

I was born in raised in PA (the aforementioned Oxford, right on the MD/DE/PA line), then lived in VA,TN, TX, and now back in MD. I have spent a lot of time in DE. I have also spent a lot of time in KY, which has been mentioned a bit.

You cannot beat the mid-Atlantic for horse stuff. There is soooo much activity and it extends throughout the region (as opposed to being confined to a small area like some other horse meccas). Competition keeps the prices of horse stuff low, especially considering how much there is to offer. And in general, the states and locales are very liveable with lots of good amenities and a reasonable cost of living.

2 Likes
#35

You can use: www.zillow.com It’s a site that lists homes for sale and recently sold. Just punch in a zipcode and scroll around if you’re interested in a particular area.

#36

I’m a NorCal native, who lived in northern Va for 13 years. I don’t want to be Debbie Downer, but honestly? Anything in the mid-Atlantic is going to be too snowy/cold. Before I moved I was assured by so many people from the east coast how “not snowy” it was. Lies. At least for this California girl. Also, for us west coast natives, the humidity is a little slice of hell all it’s own. I can do 105 in ca easily. 80 with 85 percent humidity? Not so much.

I moved back to Ca for a variety of reasons, but weather was honestly a huge one. Facing down my 13th winter, I cried every day. I turned to my husband and said, if I have to do one more winter of ice and snow in either going to kill myself or kill you.

I don’t know much about Texas, but from your stated weather preferences? I’d chose it hands down.

2 Likes
#37

winter here in north Texas is usually January 3rd through the 5th with a relapse the opening weekend of the Fort Worth Stock Show (around the Jan 19th) for one day usually just the Saturday morning of the largest non motorize parade in the country (all things are pull by stock, mostly horses, some long horns and whatever else the locals can harness)

Other “one time winter weather events” are scheduled any big national event that is to be held in north Texas such as the Super Bowl

4 Likes
#38

We got out of California as well. Used to live in Central Valley but got tired of the heat, dust, rising cost, high taxes, drought, etc.

We ended up moving to Western Washington and loving it!

Got nice green pastures for the horses, very little dust, no state income tax, good schools, good dressage trainers, lots of local horse shows, only about 45 mins from Seattle, and decent wages.
Not missing CA at all, I actually love the rain. The summers are super nice, warm and dry but not too hot. Water is not in short supply here so I just irrigate the pasture. Love that there are 4 seasons, where we are we do get a tiny bit of snow, maybe a couple of days a year, but my inlaws that live 15mins away never get snow


Pretty sure we will be retiring here!

#39

Do you mind elaborating on Michigan winters? I have somewhat of a pipe dream of relocating to the Ann Arbor area
 I am also a CA native like the OP!

#40

I don’t really mind the cold and snow so much as long as the sun is shining. The problem with Michigan winters is that you get endless days, weeks, even months of cloudy and overcast skies. I grew up in Michigan and it tops my list of best places to be in the summer and fall. But I remember one year my Grandma was complaining that they hadn’t seen the sun in nearly 90 days (the local TV station kept count of the number of sunless days and announced it on the evening news every night). I can’t hack that. :slight_smile:

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