where should i live?

CA is a good place if you want to consider paying upwards of a half million for a 3bd.2ba. tract house or well over $1,000 a mo. for a decent apartment. The cost of housing here is out of sight. If it's just warmth you're looking for, maybe Florida? Or Arizona?
 
Joyce

I want at least 50 acres...the more the better though.

 
[sm=lol.gif]  Unless you're independently wealthy, I wouldn't even give a glance at California.  Homes & land are out of sight here.  I have to agree with Gina regading Austin though.  Austin's an area that I thought I could really enjoy living in.

In San Diego county, Lakeside and Ramona is considered horse country and is still relatively inexpensive to buy.

What about the north west?  Oregon, Washington coasts?  They rarely get snow, it's always green, etc.  We're planning to move to Oregon some day.  Salem in particular.  []

I've never been to the northwest...doesn't it rain a lot there? I'm not really a huge fan of rain...i mean, i know you need it to keep everything green but i hate excessive rain (i'm big on the outdoors)
 
Cathy, I've been looking around and cali is quite expensive. Here, when i get out of school i should be making a little over 100k/year. I don't think that's really enough to buy lots of land and upkeep 4 horses in california. I'm getting pretty excited about Austin now. I'm thinking of trying to find tickets to the elton john show in el paso in february so if i go down there i might stay awhile and check it out.

Cathy, I've been looking around and cali is quite expensive. Here, when i get out of school i should be making a little over 100k/year. I don't think that's really enough to buy lots of land and upkeep 4 horses in california.

 
Sacramento and outlying areas aren't even as high as other areas of Calif., but we have a modest home (1900 sf) on .26 acre (large by Calif. standards) and the home would probably sell for about $600K.  Fortunately, we bought it before the market took off cause I'd choke if we had to pay that now.  Anything nice with acreage is much higher too.
 

In San Diego county, Lakeside and Ramona is considered horse country and is still relatively inexpensive to buy.

 
If I had my choice of where to live in California, it'd be down near San Diego.  I'd prefer some land right near the ocean...but I'm guess that's a little pricey, huh? []


 

Tired of the winter? The Keys in Florida are nice, not Key West but the others, or.....since you are finishing school....There is a TON of work in Hong Kong, the coldest it gets in the winter is around...50ish....No snow!!!! HOT HUMID summer, the big city, the countryside a 10 minute ride away, housing is reasonable, or free if you get a company to sponsor you plus a ticket or two home a year.... LOW taxes!! You only have to pay US income tax if you make over 150K or so. Night life? Try...BEER AT 9AM THYPHOON PARTIES!!!! free shots if you can make it to the bar!
And a very dog friendly place, no quarintine if the vet records are cool...
I should be a travel agent....
Just a thought though....

i personally love ky, but i love winter. i would actually love to move north toward maine. i love the maine outdoors and i love winter and the snow. too bad our winter is mild like today was 60 degrees. i want some snow.

i do get your point about ky. its boring. let's face it. if you like hills, uk basketball, and bourbon its the place for you. other than that its pretty lame. i say go west....i have never been to far west (texas being my limit) but why not.

I've never been to the northwest...doesn't it rain a lot there? I'm not really a huge fan of rain...i mean, i know you need it to keep everything green but i hate excessive rain (i'm big on the outdoors)

Oh yeah, it rains alot!  Last month we set a new record for the rainiest month in Washington state history. The previous record was 15.33 inches of rain set in 1930 something and last month we got 15.63 inches of rain! It is really hard to walk the dogs every day. We get very wet. But it is absolutely beautiful here!

I've lived a lot of places, I'll give you my take on them. Remember, it's my own personal opinion, so no offense to anyone!

Kentucky:  well, you know all about Lexington already!

Texas:  We lived in Austin when I was a very young kid, but I still have family there and around Dallas. Too hot for me, and when winter does come, it's ice, and I'd much rather have snow than ice.

Northern CA: specifically the North Coast, Arcata & Eureka. Wonderful! Where the Coastals meet the ocean. A small college community, very hip, some of the best times I've ever had. But to buy there is expensive. A good bit of rain, lots of fog, rarely snows and rarely gets over 80 degrees.

Oklahoma: I hated it. It's hot, it's windy, it's flat. Tulsa is called Green Country, and it might not be too bad, but Norman is the pits.

TN: Memphis. In summer the humidity is so high you can't tell the difference between the river and the air. Lots of crime. Winters can have a few rough days, mostly because nobody knows how to drive in snow.

Virginia: Specifically, Northern VA, or basically the DC suburbs. Expensive, crowded, but a lot to do and the weather is a little better than KY. We still have cold and snow, but fewer days and not so bitter. Summers are also a little milder. We now live an hour or two outside DC and absolutely LOVE the little rural community we're in.

If I had the money, I'd move back to Northern CA, but I also love VA too!

Sorry that you want to leave! As for Kentucky it has alot to offer...if your into Basketball! Just kidding, the cost of living is great, my husband and I are both huge history fans and there are few places you can go here and not feel the history.
 
Have you ever lived in a huge HUGE city area? I have, I was born and raised in Chicago and lived in that area most of my life. But it is really not for me, Louisville works because I need a job, pays well, and has huge open area's I can visit,  but we also own land in WV and plan to build there, I love being out in the middle of no where. I love peace and quiet, and doing all those "old fashion fuddy duddy" things my sister teases me about. Good luck deciding!
 
Dawn

Dawn, i would hate to live in a big city. I enjoy visiting and i would like to live close...but i enjoy the country. It seems like KY is trying to keep me! It's gonna be in the 60s until next thursday...i was riding down a 55mph highway yesterday with my windows down! i would definitely stay in KY if i could find a farm in Versailles that was affordable, but that would never happen! Everything there that's over 50 acres is over a million!
 
Oh, thirdday, i do like hills UK basketball and bourbon! lol
 
PS: i read yesterday that lexington was #10 on a list of braniest cities in the US, meaning tenth on people with bachelors degrees...i was surprised.

I wish tacran would chime in.  She's from Salem, OR and we went there last spring to visit with friends.  They said that while it does rain, the rain doesn't typically last long and in between is sun.  Not like Seattle area where it rains and rains and rains and rains....  []  We drove up to Seattle while we were there and it did rain and rain and rain and rain. lol...

I have had a few friends now move to MO and they love it. Cheap land, mild winters, very farmer friendly, and convenient to city life if you move to the right place. There's a little humidity in the summer but honestly, you want to raise horses, want cheap land, but want a perfect climate? If you want to live in the US I hate to say it but all the rich people have pretty much found all those places. [] You may have to compromise on something!

Well, I might as well chime in here.
 
I have lived in Alaska, NJ, Texas, Mass, Virginia, Colorado, Nebraska, Indiana and Illinois.  I have also lived in Germany, but that commute might be a bit too long for you.
 
I would move back to Colorado in a minute.  I liked VA too, but that was mostly for the history stuff.  NJ and IL suck.  NE ain't far behind on the suck-o-meter.