|
Post by herdbound on Jun 1, 2010 18:25:27 GMT -8
I was very happy to find this forum! My husband & I are planning to move to the greater Spokane area later this year, along with our 3 horses, 1 mini donkey, and 2 cats. We currently live in the soggy side of the state and really want open space, a dryer climate, and lots of trails to ride. I started doing Trail Challenges last summer and want to continue doing those as well. My hubby is interested in driving, and I've done a bit of dressage here and there, but my big desire these days is to get out in the mountains and ride ride ride.
We'll be putting our house on the market in August; hopefully it will sell quickly! Cheers, Helen
|
|
|
Post by 20xsweetcowgirl on Jun 1, 2010 21:40:46 GMT -8
Nice to see you on here Helen, I hope I get to meet you in person. Is there a certain part of Spokane that you guys are looking at?
~Katie~
|
|
|
Post by highwayoflife on Jun 1, 2010 22:52:40 GMT -8
Hi Hellen! Look forward to riding with you over here on the East Side. Are you going to buy a home over here in Spokane?
|
|
|
Post by herdbound on Jun 2, 2010 6:26:20 GMT -8
Hi Katie & Highwayoflife, Yes, we're planning to buy a house over there, although we might rent initially so that we can house hunt more easily than we can from over here. My husband went and looked at some properties around Deer Park and liked that area (and met a real nice horseperson there), so that's a strong possibility, but we're not committed to a specific area yet, and that's one reason I joined this forum, to find out where the good horse areas are from the people who know. We'd love to be adjacent or within riding distance to some good trails - which areas would you all recommend? I look forward to meeting & riding with you too! Helen
|
|
|
Post by RideHappy on Jun 2, 2010 6:35:00 GMT -8
Hi. I moved here three years ago, and this is how I met other horse people, too. It's probably a good idea to rent first and get to know the area. We didn't do that, but it turns out that we're very happy with the area we did get. We based our decision on proximity to work--so ended out on the West Plains. I think it's a VERY good idea to look for a home adjacent to a riding area. Riverside State Park is a very large equestrian area around here. I live near Palisades Park (another equestrian area which, hopefully, will soon be connected to Riverside), but not adjacent, so I can't really ride from my house unless I take the road--those homes don't come up very often. There are a lot of GOOD housing deals right now though with the market being slow. Good luck with the move!! Linda
|
|
|
Post by FlyingCowgirl on Jun 2, 2010 6:57:44 GMT -8
Hi Helen,
I'm a west side transplant. I moved here 3 years ago, although I've lived over here during other times of my life. I prefer the West Plains, since I have easy access to I-90 but don't have to deal with city life. There are lots of horse people up North too.
Where on the west side are you now? I was from the Puyallup area. I just had a dream this morning that I had to move back, thankfully that is not a reality!
|
|
|
Post by highwayoflife on Jun 2, 2010 11:49:59 GMT -8
Hi Helen,
There are a lot of riding options available. But the terrain depends on where you are. South and East of Spokane, you get more rocky-desert type of terrain. Near Cheney there are more trees, but head further East (Sprague) and it's wide-open land. But there are a lot of lakes out there.
I live in Mead, WA... wanted close access to the city, but out in the Country a bit. From here, we are about 25 minutes to the base of Mt. Spokane, where they have trails, although we've not ridden them yet. The further north you go, it starts getting more rural.
Deer Park is an excellent location. There are a lot of Horse Ranches over there. During the summers, we would sometimes ride our bicycles for over 20 miles every day, north of Green Bluff. I hadn't realized just how many horses were out here until we did that. Nearly every bit of acreage north of the Bluff has horses. From Deer Park, you have a lot of options. The Colville National Forest is HUGE and has literally thousands of miles of trails that you could ride on. Colville National Forest is going to have a lot more topography than south or east of Spokane, a lot more mountainous terrain. From Deer Park, you have pretty good access to Newport and the trails over at Ferragut State Park, (Idaho/WA border area). You can also go up to Springdale where you will find an endless supply of trails.
Keep going north, to Chewelah and further to Colville, which is much further from Spokane, but you’ll get a lot more trails and new terrain to ride. Again, very mountainous out there. You might not find much flat land out there like you would find in Deer Park. Real estate prices are going to get more affordable the further from Spokane you are, Deer Park has really good terrain and very affordable properties.
- David
|
|
|
Post by cowgurluponfox on Jun 2, 2010 15:22:00 GMT -8
Hi Helen, It's nice meeting you. The Spokane area is a wonderful place to live. I've loved horses all my life. Ever since I was a tiny toddler I've loved them. I got my first horse when I was nine years old. Right now we currently have four horses and three ponies. Our horses include two Arabians and two Quarter Horses. One of them which is an Appendix Quarter Horse and the other one is a Foundation Quarter Horse. We have one pinto Shetland Pony mare and one sorrel Shetland Pony gelding that has a flaxen mane and tail. The third pony is just a baby. She's a yearling Shetland/Welsh cross filly. On the east side of the state, there is scenic hills and mountains to look at and it has lots of places to trail ride. Some of the parks include Riverside State Park, Pend Orielle County Park, Mt. Spokane State Park, and lots more. I would love to meet you sometime.
|
|
|
Post by herdbound on Jun 2, 2010 21:19:41 GMT -8
Thanks everyone, this is just the kind of information I was hoping for!
We live in Kitsap county and before that in Issaquah. We've got a retired TB gelding, an unsound Appy gelding, and a sound (yay!) Paint mare. Sometimes I feel as though I'm running an inadvertant rescue. Once we've gotten moved, we'll be getting a good strong sound trail horse for my hubby. Our little donkey is a total character and I hope to get a pack for her to carry on trail rides. She loves attention and is quite a brat.
I really look forward to meeting everyone in real life once we're over there!
Helen
|
|
|
Post by StillPlayswithHorses on Jun 3, 2010 10:48:20 GMT -8
Welcome! Good luck with the house hunting, there are so many beautiful areas over here, it can be hard to choose. We have family that tied us to the north side. We're in Spokane County, but I wished we were in Stevens County, because of less taxes, and no emission testing! That said I do love our place we have now! If I could just pick it up and transplant it in the middle of 40 or more acres I would be in paradise!
|
|
|
Post by herdbound on Jun 4, 2010 6:52:49 GMT -8
It sounds like it's going to be a tough decision, there's so many cool sounding areas! After we scope it all out, it might boil down to where the best property we find happens to be located. ;D
Of course, where we find jobs will also have a big impact!
I hadn't even thought about taxes yet, so Stevens is cheaper eh?
|
|
|
Post by FlyingCowgirl on Jun 4, 2010 17:43:52 GMT -8
Lincoln County is good too. That is West of Spokane (Reardan/Davenport/Edwall) area. I live one mile east of Lincoln County in Spokane County
|
|
|
Post by herdbound on Jun 13, 2010 19:14:53 GMT -8
Are the taxes pretty high in Spokane county? I've heard some areas get a lot colder & icier than others. One of those areas is Clayton. Have you all found this to be the case?
Today we moved our geldings to their summer pasture, always a nice feeling to see them out there with all that grass and room to roam! We're really hoping to get a much larger piece of land over there than what we have here. The pasture doesn't belong to us but someday we'll have one like that!
Cheers, Helen
|
|