Can’t comment on the riding scene in any of the cities mentioned on this thread, but my cousin and his wife, both non-horsey and working in tech, spent a couple of years living in various cities around the US to decide where to settle down and start a family, including SF, LA, and Miami and chose … Greenville SC.
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Meh… anyone rich enough to be in this conversation can buy her way out of this problem, as was also true before 1973. Not that I agree with the ethics of the situation…
I live in Aiken and checked out Tryon and Southern Pines before choosing my landing spot. I have lived here for 3+ years. Prior to that, I had lived in the SF Bay Area (0-end of college), Central NY college town, NYC and Westchester County, Southern CT, Western Oregon (another college town) and Aiken. That’s all just to contextualize my impression of Aiken. It would not be my top pick for you.
Closest airports will be dinky ones like Augusta (40 minutes or so). Personally, I like traveling in and out of those since parking and getting into the whole air travel system is cheaper and easier than at a major airport like SFO or LaGuardia. To me, once you are in the system, traveling is all the same. Charlotte, about 2.5 hours away, is the closest big airport. Parking can be a problem (seriously: make your parking reservation when you buy your plane ticket) and you will have to contend with commute traffic around Charlotte at the wrong times of day. I found that trying to leave from Charlotte either made my day horribly longer or meant that I’d pay for a hotel room (and farm-sitting) on top of the cost of travel.
I would not call Aiken “cosmopolitan” though it does well for the size of the town it is. The infusion of people from all other parts of the country helps with that. But Aiken County is a red one in a red state. And for some reason, people who live outside of Aiken do things like dump their trash on the road… which confuses the snot out of the rest of us who think it would be universally obvious why one wouldn’t want to “shit where they eat,” so to speak. IMO, too many people who have come here from elsewhere have done that as carpet baggers. I’m that person as well: I am priced-out of having horses in a more civilized place. However, I’m not a fan of the way lower taxes (but higher insurance) screws the local population who makes someone like me be able to live in relative luxury. I believe this point-of-view puts me in the minority. My point is that you might not find the city and or county here to be overly enlightened.
To me, the same goes for the school system here. But you can see where I have come from, so you can guess my bias. You get what you pay for, so if you are tax-averse and wealthy enough (for this area) you can just about buy your way out things like poor public education, Aiken (more so than a slightly more expensive and progressive state like North Carolina) would work for you.
The exception to rule about personal wealth insulating you from the effects of Southern poverty, however, is health care. You can get better by going across the river (about 30 minutes) to Augusta or up to Columbia (the state’s capitol and about 1 hour). But Aiken’s little regional hospital has a poor reputation.
The horsing here is great. I think you can find the quality of vets, trainers and farriers that you will want… at just about any level. The tippy-top pros (the dressage- and hunter/jumper kinds you’d find in Wellington or eventing hotbeds in Pennsylvania or Westchester County, NY) will be fewer here in Aiken, but I believe that you can find some of them who travel to Aiken. E. g., there is a shoer who works for Rood and Riddle who does a beautiful job (for a high price) that travels to Aiken on a schedule.
Some of what will make Aiken or somewhere a bit bigger like Ocala work for you will come down to what you can afford in terms of real estate. Of course Florida has no income tax, so that might be a reason to go there. I can tell you about farm prices in Aiken.
The people you will meet in Aiken are genuinely nice on a personal level, regardless of what they do in the voting booth. Everyone in your family certainly be able to make good friends here. It’s a great place to come visit, so you ought to come down and get a taste.
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We removed most of the political tangent that developed. Feel free to continue the discussion (without the name calling) in Current Events if interested.
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Why Ian May Push Florida Real Estate Out of Reach for All but the Super Rich
I don’t recommend going under contract in Florida any time soon…
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Ugh there’s a paywall
Wow! That’s a pretty big recommendation, honestly.
We ended up considering Greenville because it has a good airport and around 70,000 in population. My partner has lived primarily in big cities so I wanted to make sure he has the amenities he’s used to. It’s also only 40 minutes south of Tryon, so I was thinking if we end up north of the city it’s a reasonable commute for lessons and to get my fill of all things horsey. They also have a ton of very reasonable farmettes in that area, so I’m hoping it’s as good as it seems!
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Greenville is a great city! Riverbend Equestrian Park is there and a lovely public riding space and the city itself is fun, great restaurants and easy to navigate.
Question—even if you don’t choose to live in Aiken, would you all still travel there for shows and events? I wouldn’t, because I’m in TX and don’t have the resources to travel and show, but just curious.
Stable View is rapidly establishing itself as one of the best eventing facilities in the country and Bruce’s Field is doing the same for dressage and H/J. Plus, loads of other very nice venues and options from totally relaxed and small schooling to FEI. A lot of people travel to Aiken for shows for sure.
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There are also some cute little downtown areas springing up in the suburbs like Woodstock and Canton. Not much farther out of the hub of Atlanta, but with a lot going on in their own right. I rarely go INTO Atlanta anymore to do anything - I can find any entertainment I want outside the perimeter.
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When you narrow down where to live, please come on here and say what city. I’m sure someone on here will know about areas of the city that might be a better fit for both of you.
A few years ago a co-worker and her husband were moving to Atlanta. Another lady we worked with had a husband who was born and raised there, and insisted on going house hunting with them. They were an interacial couple, and even now the other lady’s husband said that some areas would not be a safe option, especially since they wanted to start a family soon. I asked a couple of friends who lived in the area their whole lives, and they said that for a safe, welcoming neighborhood, that some communities would be much better than others. Realtors aren’t allowed to tell you anything that might be opinion about an area, since it used to be used to keep other races or religions out of neighborhoods. Having a referral to a great realtor is important, but talking to a knowledgeable local can really help you find a good area for schools, and for your future happiness.
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Locals can tell you SO MUCH MORE about a property. Someone bought, and way over paid for a building lot neighboring us. The old fart that owned the whole property since forever ran a sawmill there. The lovely landscape is a mound of sawdust. Dig a little deeper for those footings. And good luck with your septic field.
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Any update on where you chose? Making a move soon and am considering some of the places mentioned.
