hi folks,

i've been a lurker for a few years and have been accumulating info along the way. i have a huge file on trails to make sure we visit and places to avoid,thanks to you all.  i'm also an avid reader of trailrider mag and save every copy,though all other mags get donated.

anyway,the time has come to retire and move to a more temperate climate. since i'll be moving with my husband and our best friends we have a rather large criteria to fulfill. most important(to me and my girlfriend at least!!) is finding land with direct access to a forever trails system that will allow us to waste our days on horseback in the woods and fields. we love rolling landscapes and four seasons,though we're aiming for a more temperate climate than northern vermont!

we'd also like to be within an hour of a large town/small city with decent restaurants and a health food store or farmers market.

so far we've decided that we like best the gettysburg area,for climate and topography,though it's too pricey and densely populated for our tastes.

we've just come back from a scouting trip to the ashevill,n.c. area and i found it to also be pricey and too populated. the higher elevation for climate and the restaurants were pretty great however,so we may go back and broaden our search.  any other areas or niches we should check out? husbands aren't big riders,but they do like privacy and a paddle on their kayaks to be close at hand. they really do appreciate fine dining,so a nice restaurant or two would be handy.  kids are grown,jobs are getting done,so schools and employment not so important anylonger.(thank goodness!).

thanks,i appreciate your responses!

suz.

Have you ever visited the Black Hills in South Dakota? It is beautiful with rolling hills and lots of riding. It doesn't get extremely  cold but does get snow in the winter. I just love the area.  If you are looking for a temperate climate all year this might not be what you want. Rapid City would be the nearest large town. Close to Colorado and Wyoming which is a plus. You might visit without horses to see what you think because you live so far from this area. Don't know what real estate is selling for...

We are in the same predicament and have seriously thought about this area.  I like it better than the Rocky Mountains.

KY, TN and southern IL.  Western KY has some really nice riding and a couple of big lakes.  Paducah, KY is a big enough city to provide any type of "citified" activities you might want.  Southern IL has some of the best riding in the country.  And of course TN should just be renamed trail riding heaven and there are tons of places to go kayaking from mild to wild.  If family roots were not so deep here in KY, I'd be headed south myself!!

RIDE ON!

ps...you won't see much snow in TN - winter temps in the 30s and summers boast the dreaded "triple H" --- hazy, hot and humid.  But the spring and fall seasons are SOOOO beautiful!             RIDE ON!

I think you would like the Brown County Area in Indiana, more trails that you can ever ride. True four seasons in southern In. also About 1 hour north of Louisville, 1 hour south of Indianapolis, And Columbus Indiana is a nice size town it's within 10-15 mile of the trails. We ride up there about once, twice a year. I think the home prices are resonable, make sure you have access to the National Forrest though, shouldn't be hard to find a farm with access though.

Congratulations on your upcoming retirement!

Where ever you choose to retire, be sure to thoroughly investigate the prices of things like real estate tax rates for the area you want to live, "community fees", license plate fees, wheel tax, special county or township taxes, C.O.L.A., does that particular state tax personal property (a few states still do that), etc.

Buying into a place because it meets all of your "wants" without first seeing if you will be able to afford your "needs" on your fixed retirement incomes can oftentimes result in a shortage of money for the fun stuff

Mr. PAWalker and I semi-retired 4 years ago.  He is a Type A hypertensive kinda guy so still works full time - lol lol.  I am happy to work part time to help support my four horses.  Even with "building in" and taking into account the rise in C.O.L.A., things can still get tight when extraneous repairs or vet bills arise.

I have also seen no less than three couples retire to my area from California and Florida that way over-spent on either building a home and a barn or remodeling a home.  It was as if they said "Ya-hoo!"  We are finally getting exactly what we want, no matter what the cost, not realizing to what degree "no matter what the cost" really meant

I am not trying to poke your retirement balloon, just want to explain some of the not-so-fun stuff once you get there

Hello,

I'm new to this site and saw this thread.  I have been living in the Tulsa OK area for about 31 years and started back into horses about 14 years ago when my daughter spoke her first words "I want a horse!" 

 I discovered that Oklahoma was really set up for trail riding for campers and riders. We have several state parks that have special equestrian campgrounds and many miles of trails.  Go to Oklahomahorseonline.com and click on places to ride in Oklahoma.  The SE part of the state has a real nice Federal equestrian park, called Cedarlake. They have pens for your horses and nice electric sites, wash pads. But, it is an old mountain range and there is a lot of rock.  I started riding over in western Arkansas south of I-40 near Clarksville, in the National Forest.  I liked it so much I started looking at land for a future 2nd home for trail riding out my back door.  The trails are nice in the low places, some rock on the peaks (Ozark mountains)  Our winters are mild, you might get some ice and snow but it doesn't stay.  Arkansas taxes aren't real bad and the land is running around $2,500 an acre.  I like my location because I can be in Southern Colorado in 13 hours or go east to Missouri, Arkansas.  We are planning a drive to Shawnee in October which is a 9 hr drive.  But with gas prices (and I am in the oil & gas industry and they will never go back down) I'm like you, want to saddle up and ride off on a National Forest and not trailer.

But that is my experience in this area and I'm sure there can be plenty nice areas in other parts of the country, too.

Nothing like the TN MTN's,  We have plenty of places to ride and great views.

circleeguestranch.com

's

Hello, writing you from Trail Riding Heaven.  Yes we found it.  Its right here at Big South Forn National River and Recreation Area.  Check out our websites: www.bigsouthforklodge.com and www.bigsouthforkrealestate.com and you will see what I mean.  The cost of living is still reasonable, taxes low and great climate.  Here you can live in a horse community with trails that link directly into the park that has beautiful trails, overlooks, water crossings, etc., etc.