What do people think about northwest Georgia (keeping in mind that I would not plan to be there in June, July and August)? I realize the culture shock from the Northeast, where I have lived for 40 years, will be significant, but, in terms of the horse scene (good vets, good trainers, friendly trail-riding community), could this area be a contender? Need to be within one hour of a good-sized hospital, a bookstore or library, and a university.
I would not consider this good “horse country.” It’s pretty mountainous (as Eastern locations go). Pretty location. Well watered. The big city would be Chattanooga. There is a UT Campus there but I don’t know anything about it. There are a number of smaller colleges. I’ve always been told the “horse scene” is pretty weak. Not much direct knowledge, though. GA has an income tax on wages. There is a tax on non-Social Security retirement benefits but there is a $65,000/yr. exclusion. Sales tax runs 4%-9%. GA is slightly lower than average on property taxes. GA gas prices are higher than TN or AL.
If you are thinking about this area Knoxville is a better bet. Lots more equine activity, UT Vet. School clinic is there, UT is there, as well as a number of other smaller schools. There is both a hunt (TN Valley Hunt) and an active dressage and jumping comunity. The Big South Fork area is less than an hour from me, west of Knoxville. Land is not expensive and the TN Valley is better for housekeeping than the GA mountains! Knoxville has adequate air connections. TN is among the lower states in property tax. Sales tax runs high, however. Gas prices are lower than most of the surrounding states. It costs me $29/yr. to register my 3500HD Chevy dually. Some counties have $50-$100 “wheel” taxes. No personal property tax. The small tax in investment income is being phased out. Good freeway access; about a day’s drive to the DC area. Also well watered.
Here is the FB page for Knoxville Area Equestrians. https://www.facebook.com/groups/806986989497275/
If I can answer any specific questions please ask!!! 
G.
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I’m halfway down the state from there (near Columbus) and also don’t think of NW Georgia as a horsey area.
As @Guilherme said, the nearest veterinary college appears to be Knoxville, so that’s probably a better bet for the area.
All of northern Georgia is fairly hilly - beautiful, but hilly. For more horse-friendly areas, you’d be better off going south, toward Atlanta, but staying north of or south of the city - but lordy, I wouldn’t wish the traffic down there on anyone. Or go north into Tennessee - Knoxville and the surrounding areas are lovely. Or south of Nashville (Franklin, Murfreesboro, Columbia, Shelbyville… (lots of horsey areas in Middle TN). If you’re looking for warmer weather, Memphis fits the bill. Very flat there, much warmer than the rest of TN year round.
As stated, no income tax here, but we do pay a very high sales tax. I’m a Tennessee native and have lived several places in TN for more than 40 years. If you have any questions, just let me know.
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Well, it depends on where in northwest GA you are thinking of. I am in south Cherokee county, not all that far from the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, but close (1/2 mi) to the Milton line. That puts me about 33 miles north of Atlanta, and this is pretty much the best area for horses I have ever found. You can do a search here for Atlanta or Alpharetta horsey communities/trainers etc and find a ton of info.
I am originally from the northeast and moved here in the late 90s. It was definitely different, but the greater Atlanta area is quite a destination community and almost everyone I know here has moved from NY/NJ/CT or nearby. The Alpharetta/Johns Creek area has become a tech corridor and there are lots of people who move here for work; the economy is doing quite well and there is a very active equine community.
The amenities you would expect in the northeast suburbs are similar here; there is plenty of cultural activity, great restaurants, and recreation. The Alpharetta Dover Saddlery is routinely one of the busiest, highest volume stores in their chain, and there is also a fabulous independent store called Atlanta Saddlery that has been an institution here for decades, along with a lovely consignment shop called the Snooty Fox. There are lots of vets, farriers, trainers and so on in the area. Probably the closest vet hospital is the one at UGA in Athens, which is a bit of a drive (an hour and a half for me) … but I have a privately owned surgical facility less than 2 miles away. There are quite a few veterinary practices and farriers to choose from, one of the largest GMOs in the country and also very active H/J and eventing communities.
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We moved to the NC mountains very close to northern Georgia, however it’s really not northwest GA, more on the northeast side. If this is the area you are thinking about, I would say no. No horse culture at all. It is absolutely beautiful, but the majority of people who own horses here have a totally different mindset, they’re recreational trail riders with gaited horses. Not that that’s bad, but there are no shows, no vets, no farriers, no trainers. Well, there are plenty of folks who think they are farriers. It took me 3 years here to find a good vet, and 4 to find a farrier. We are considering a move soon, and this has definitely been a learning experience for me. I’ve been researching available boarding barns, checking for show calendars, trainers, etc. in each of the towns we are considering. Good luck with your move, whatever you decide!
NE not NW
just above Atlanta thru Madison to Athens
the vets at UGA vet school are great
It is encouraging that it is better for housekeeping, as I have not been the greatest at this, here in Massachusetts.
(I am just teasing. I know you what meant, and I thank you).
I figured there was some reason that adorable farms were so affordable in northwest Georgia!
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@G… I have a specific question. How many acres of pasture are needed to graze four horses in order to avoid as much use of hay as is possible? I’m being specific to the Big South Fork surrounds.
The short answer is no, I don’t believe that northwest GA meets your needs. If you just want to be in that general part of the country…
If your goal is to escape the worst of winter weather, don’t plan to be there during the summer, and aren’t set on living in the mountains, I suggest looking closer to Atlanta, as Lucassb suggested.
If you’re set on living in the mountains, then I suggest following G’s advice.
I’m in far western North Carolina, down in that corner next to both Georgia and Tennessee. I love it here, but it doesn’t offer much of what you’re looking for.
NW GA is beautiful and if all you want to do is trail ride, then you should be fine but if you’re looking for upscale boarding, shows and training, you won’t find it there. You’ll need to be more towards Atlanta for that. Popular areas are the Alpharetta/Milton, Canton, Cumming, Athens and South Fulton (Chattahoochee Hills), Newnan and Columbus areas.
You do get more bang for your buck land-wise, buying on the South side and you can be in downtown Atlanta in an hour. Atlanta area traffic though is truly atrocious. Again, it’s not so bad in the burbs on the South side but getting to and from there and Atlanta, can be challenging. I live in Newnan but work in Sandy Springs (Northside of Atl) and some days I spend 2 hrs each way commuting my 62 miles each way. Why do I live in Newnan and work in Atl? $$$. I make easily double working in Atlanta than I would in the burbs but in Newnan, I could afford almost 20 acres, whereas in the Canton or Milton/Roswell areas, I would have been lucky to afford 5 acres. Full care board runs about $800 a month in the Newnan area though. You have to go quite a ways out to find a break on that. West GA might be a happy medium cost vs. access wise.
The summers are swampy hot from a humidity standpoint but the winters are mild if pretty muddy.
FatCat gives a good summary. I live in E TN between Knox and Chattanooga and I cannot recommend it if you are seriously horsey. I used to live in the Carolinas and E TN (and even Nashville) is a backwater in comparison. However, if you just want a cheap farm and like trail riding, it is fine.
The good thing about northern and even western GA is that you would be closer to some fine training and equine service opportunities available closer to Atlanta.
Another thing I like about N Georgia is that the amount of trash on the roads (compared to Tennessee) immediately decreases when I cross the state line into GA.
This is a very difficult question to answer without a lot of hedging.
There are some guidelines on stocking rates. The standard measure is an “animal unit” (AU). It is nominally defined as one adult cow and one calf with a combined weight of 1000 lb. A horse is usually rated at about 1.25AU. Just how many AUs a given patch of ground can support is very specific to THAT patch of ground. In East TN most folks follow the “one cow, one calf, one acre” standard. If you’re grazing thin soil on hillsides that might be too much. If you’ve to good, well watered bottom land with a good stand of grass you might go more.
Sooooo…“it depends.”
Here are three references you might find interesting:
https://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex1201
http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/fs187e/fs187e.pdf
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs144p2_002433.pdf
Now that I’ve answered your question with a novel (or at least a short story 
) what is the answer? That area is fairly mountainous and from what I’ve seen the soil is no better than average, and probably below in terms of quality and depth. That means your grass stand will be not be overly robust. Using the average I’d go a minimum of 5 acres usable (4 horses x 1.25). By “usable” I mean flat/gently rolling and fenced and cross fenced. Being a conservative, old codger I’d likely go at at least 50% more, and maybe all the way to 10 acres. But, again, that will very much depend on the specific piece of ground in question.
G.
Thank you so much, G. That answer actually helps quite a bit. It reinforces what I already suspected, that ten acres would not be too much!
I think you would find all of that in North East Ga, close to Athens. Great town, great college, close to lots of parks and trails. A really strong horse scene with lots of good trainers and local show circuits. Good vets and farriers. Athens Clarke- county is very small and mostly owned by UGA so there isn’t a lot of property available within the county. However, it’s very affordable in the rural counties around Athens and there is very little traffic getting to and from town.
We are a couple hours from Aiken, a hour or so to Atlanta and an easy drive to NC/Tryon.
http://simpleeconomist.com/athens-ga-best-town-in-the-world/
EventingChase is correct in pointing out the Athens/Clarke County area. For what you are after, it may just be the type of area you’re looking for. Athens, being a college town is pretty vibrant without some of the headaches of big sister, Atlanta.
Agree that outside of Athens is very nice!
Yes. I looked at the Athens area when I was trying to decide where to move to, but I don’t snowbird, so I summer in place. I decided I needed more elevation to get cooler summer temps. Otherwise, I would have looked seriously around Athens.
I lived in Cherokee County for a few years in the 90s, about 30 miles northwest of Atlanta. Unless you plan on riding before 8:00am or after dark, it’s way too hot and humid to do anything but trail ride at a slow walk. It is sooooo humid down there. The only horse farms I could find to ride at were already being seriously encroached on my development. I can’t even imagine what it’s like there now. If you’re thinking further north toward TN, yes it would be a nice trail riding area, but nothing else. Also you will suffer major culture shock if you move to a very rural area.
I agree with other who have suggested the NE side, at least an hour from Atlanta toward Athens and the SC border. Much more options in terms of different disciplines and a lot more northern transplants to play with at least in the winter months.
I am about 100 miles from Big South Fork to the west, just off the Cumberland Plateau, and I have 3 horses out on about 15 acres of pasture. I feed hay December-February typically. We also make one or two cutting of hay of this field as well.
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