Speak to me of the Lexington, KY area

[LR1976]

My husband and I have been tossing around the idea of moving down there for a little over a year now but always second guess oursleves and decide to stay put. Well, I lost my job last week and my husband isn't terrible happy with his anymore either and we really feel we need a change. The job market around here is terrible but looking on-line it seems to be pretty good down there still. I found 6 or 7 jobs that pay well that I am more than qualified for. So give me your thoughts on the area and the economy down there. We've been there twice in the last year snooping around and looking at properties but that's not as good as hearing the pros and cons from someone who lives there. Oh, and if we move...I'll need friends! :D

[FoxChaser]

I think I PMd you just about everything I possibly could some time ago ;) Come on down- we'd love to have you!

[DiablosHalo]

IF my husband ever leaves me...that's where I'm headed! (he will NOT move away from where we are now. ughhhhhh!).

[Jersey Fresh]

We love Lex too. I'm a H/J person so I can't help you much there but I am not sure the economy is any better/worse than it is anywhere else. I guess it depends on your field. I'm really happy in my job but my BF just got laid off for winter (he's in horticultural). PM me if you have any specific questions etc.

[dressage.life]

I live in Lexington!!
It's a nice place!!
And you have the Horse Park in your back yard!!! What could be better?:D

[LR1976]

I think I PMd you just about everything I possibly could some time ago ;) Come on down- we'd love to have you!

Ya you did! I saved it...I think. ;)

[ddashaq]

I moved to Lexington in May and I LOVE it! My horse is happier, healthier, and sounder than he ever was in Iowa mostly because there are more boarding options. I love the fact that I can ride outside pretty much all winter, in fact yesterday I had on my Carhartt (which would be a requirement in the midwest in January) and roasted my butt off. During the summer there were all kinds of show and horsey stuff in close proximity every weekend. The only negative for me right now is that there are layoffs going on at my work and we just don't know who will be next. I don't know if that is consistent throughout the area, but others who have lived here longer can probably tell you more difinitively.

[pinkdiamondracing]

I moved here 5 years ago from Idaho, and I can honestly tell you I have been trying to figure out a way to get Tuppysmom and the rest of my family out here!!! Heaven on Earth for horse people!!!:yes::yes:
I brought my now 24 year old OTTB out here with me just a mere 45 days after he had colic surgery, and I am fairly confident in saying he would not be here today if it weren't for the climate. He is healthier, fatter, and happier than he has ever been on the entire 16 years I have ownd him, and I am certain living in Lexington has been instrumental.
Unfortunately, the same did not hold true for my BLM mustang that I also brought with me.:no::no: He was NOT happy here, got so bad I could not catch him, and just generally hated "Life in the Bluegrass". I sent him back to Idaho for my couin's 15 year old daughter to ride in Pony Club (he will pack a kid over a 2'6" jumper course) and he is once again a happy pony.:D

[DLee]

I don't think I realized you were related to Tuppysmom! I lived in Idaho Falls for almost thirty years, so it's cool to see another former Idahoan! Did you live over in the Boise area?
Years and YEARS ago I put on the Mountain River Horse Trials. Diana

[onthegrd]

I just moved to Campbellsville which is about an hour 20 minutes south of Lexington....
can anyone recommend a farrier who can do performance horses? I'm afraid I am just going to find backyard shoers in this area.....

[pinkdiamondracing]

I am not only related to Tuppysmom, but she is my mom too!!!LOL:yes::yes: That makes Sara my sister, and I am El Primero's Auntie!!!! (Very proud of that)
I grew up in Kuna, went to high school there. I miss Idaho but it was next to impossible to make a living in the race horse industry in Idaho, so after moving around a lot, I decided to make Kentucky my home. Now I work at one of the premier clinics here in Lexington, and I love it.

[ddashaq]

How cool pinkdiamondracing!! Which clinic are you at? I was going to try an equine tech job, but got a job with one of the associations in the KHP instead.

[tommygirl]

Lexington IS the best place on Earth. Even my husband loves it more than Ireland (where he grew up and lived most of his life). Carhartt jackets are a must and are very toasty. The vets here are abundant and the green, rolling fields can't be replaced. I lived in Texas for 10 years after growing up in Ky. I am soooooo glad I came back!

[TheOtherHorse]

I moved here this past summer and LOVE it. It is horsie heaven, especially for eventing. There's so much to do, all the time. Having Masterson here to school XC anytime for free is amazing.

Compared to Michigan: horse related expenses (board, hay, land) are more expensive, but still within reason. Salaries seem slightly less, gas is less, groceries are comparable. Not sure how it compares to Iowa though.

The economy here isn't that great (but much better than MI, well anywhere is..). It took me 3 months to find a job (and I had to settle for one that I'm over qualified for and am now under paid), but I'm in the social services field which seems to be flooded here. My hubby (electrician) didn't have as much trouble finding work. Still, I wouldn't say that the job market is booming by any means.

Come on down though! It is wonderful here. Both of my girls love it, though my IR mare is more sensitive to the grasses here than she ever was in MI, so I do have to be more careful about that. My TBx is actually a fat easy keeper on the grass here in the summer, which she was never like before. I think they're enjoying the mild winter too. I know I am! :yes:

[2ndyrgal]

Just haul up to Haygard or Rood and Riddle. Either clinic has great farriers for sport horse folks and they also keep lists of farriers in the surrounding areas. Some they will recommend, some they will just say are "close".

[tuppysmom]

The day will come when we may relocate there, but now is not the time. DH and I both have elderly parents and we need to be here for them. Besides, I have a 2 yr old grand D that needs to get on the pony, (that would be Tuppy), and start jumping.

Pinky, Mike L. is in Lexington this week looking around for property. He was also going to go to the sale.

That will make two of our bestest horsey friends moving to the land of Bluegrass.

I think Ky would be an ideal location for an eventer like little DD. You can get to just about any event east of the Miss. R. in 12 hrs or so. That would be soooo nice!

[tecumsea]

I would say move down here. But the job market is not the best. I was just released from my job, and I am bitter about it. They claimed down sizing, but, I am the only one in my department, and they kept an employee who had not only never done insurance before, but who only had their license since December 08. And to boot he makes more than me.

Ya, got stabbed in the back by that one.

Ok, back to Lexington, great place, jobs are like anywhere else, but were are a friendly bunch!

[Holly Jeanne]

Sounds like enough relatively new folks that we need a gathering to meet each other. ;) I'm celebrating my 10 year anniversary in KY this month!

[Mariequi]

My 10 years was a couple of months ago - September.

[Mariequi]

Mild winter, TOH? Maybe not right now. Maybe close to 0 the next few nights. 40 mph wind tonight... Not to give you bad stuff, but we seem to have a lot of rain throughout the winter. Heaven for TB types. My easy keeper I have to watch with the grasses here. I'm working temp for a previous employer for a short while. Out of work since July. So do check that out closely. It's bad everywhere, I know. The classifieds have a column and a half some days and part of that is filled with papers blurbs to fill up space. Of course, if we had to depend on jobs to only be in the paper, where would we be?

[Zephyr]

Sounds like enough relatively new folks that we need a gathering to meet each other. ;) I'm celebrating my 10 year anniversary in KY this month!

My 10 years was a couple of months ago - September.

My 10 year anniversary in Lexington will be this August!!!

Soooooo glad I came here; wouldn't trade it for anyplace. The job market depends on your industry, but it sounds like you'd be in good shape. The pastures are gorgeous and there's LOTS of eventing!

[cstina]

Still in the very early planning and possibilities stage though. Anyone have any suggestions of a good area of town for recent college grads? On the cheaper side since well at this point I doubt I will make much more than "just enough" to get by. I'm not an eventer but I am friends with many in the NC/VA area so I think I could navigate my way through the community KY quite well and it's about damn time I get out of NC for a change!

THANKS

[Junie's Mom]

I just moved to Campbellsville which is about an hour 20 minutes south of Lexington....
can anyone recommend a farrier who can do performance horses? I'm afraid I am just going to find backyard shoers in this area.....

Good Luck! I moved here 2 years ago from NY, and I had a bugger of a time finding a blacksmith that was to my satisfaction, my only criteria being A) must show up, and B) must know how to shoe! I went through 3 before I found a good one. You would think the horse capitol of the world would have a few blacksmiths hanging around...
BUT - other than that, I LOVE KY!! Best move I ever made. I am abt 30 mi. from Lexington. DO IT - you WILL NOT regret it!

[FoxChaser]

Hey cstina! If you don't mind a slight commute and would rather not deal with so much traffic mess (Lexington rush hour traffic is a bear!), I would recommend Georgetown (Scott Co.). Anything outside of Fayette Co. is on the cheaper side housing-wise if you're looking to buy. Jessamine Co. (Nicholasville) is good too, but the commute takes you down Nicholasville Rd. which is as bad as it gets traffic-wise, especially anywhere around Christmas when the mall is rally hopping. Feel free to PM me :)

[pinkdiamondracing]

Cstina-- Paris is also nice, rent is cheap here ( we paid $450 for three room house, wasn't the greatest neighborhood, but we were safe) and the commute to greater Lexington is about 15-20 minutes

[Trakehner]

I've been looking (lurking) at the Lexington area for a possible relo/retirement area...sure is cheaper than Northern VA.

How friendly a horse area is it? The fun of locating from where I've been almost forever to a new area is a little daunting. Any carriage driving down in Lexington?

My wife's been making noise about Idaho...from what I've looked at on the internet, there sure isn't a lot of horse stuff going on in Idaho.

[DLee]

I've been looking (lurking) at the Lexington area for a possible relo/retirement area...sure is cheaper than Northern VA.

How friendly a horse area is it? The fun of locating from where I've been almost forever to a new area is a little daunting. Any carriage driving down in Lexington?

My wife's been making noise about Idaho...from what I've looked at on the internet, there sure isn't a lot of horse stuff going on in Idaho.

I lived in SE Idaho, it pretty much seems all the stuff we used to do is dead. We lost a lot of XC courses in that area (Idaho Falls, Jackson, Sun Valley).

I don't know how much driving there is around here on a regular basis, but I was painting one week at the Horse Park and they were having a convention of some type, carriages of all kinds everywhere!

[FoxChaser]

Actually, there is a fair amount of carriage driving here. You can drive at Shaker Town http://www.shakervillageky.org/recreation/equestrian/ and the Gala Driving Center has lots of clinics and shows http://www.gayladrivingcenter.com/ As DLee said, the KHP sponsors a carriage weekend or two a year plus there are numerous driving and combined driving events held there. You could drive at Masterson too if you wanted (Masterson Station is a city-owned public park, sporting an indoor arena which may be rented on an hourly basis, 4 dressage rings, a couple of hunter rings with jumps, a x-c course with starter-prelim fences, plus soccer, roller hockey, model airplane, picnic grounds, etc. all free and open to the public). As for horse-friendly, I can't imagine a part of the country which was more equine-oriented than here :)

[LewEventer]

Lexington is the best! Everyone in the eventing community knows everyone else... I don't know if this is ALWAYS a good thing :) haha. But I've lived a few other places and run boarding facilities there and I will say the incidence of colic here in my experience is MUCH lower than other places I have been. KY is great for horses, there is just a good amount of room and good grass. (well when we don't have a drought two years in a row followed by arctic winters!) Let me know if you need a Realtor we have a great farm finder in our barn!

[Holly Jeanne]

to be an hour or so away from the horse park, there is still very cheap land to be found.

[LR1976]

As far as real estate goes we've been looking all over the internet. The come2ky website seems to have about everything that is for sale listed. Yes??? We've got 6 horses and my husband loves to hunt so we've been looking at places with at least 25 acres...barn and fence are a huge plus. There is what looks like a very nice place by Winchester. 50 acres, 6 stall barn, good fence, older house but looks quite nice from the pics. Any suggestions on where else to look that I may be missing? We aren't rich by any means so it needs to be on the reasonable side. :lol:

[DLee]

I used www.lbar.com . Good luck!

[tuppysmom]

There is some driving in Idaho, especially if you have mini horses. That club seems very active. There are also some combined drivers here. I don't know where they go to compete. There are a number of parades in the summer that tend to have a lot of horse drawn vehicles. Everything from Ore wagons and mules to buggies and Morgans.

We have an active dressage club and quite a few H/J people. The eventing is limited to derbies, though, so we travel.

The western scene in huge whether it's roping, cutting, reined CH, or barrels. There is a gymkana of some sort about every weekend. The Backcountry Horsemans group is busy all year. We have access to some of the most spectacular wilderness in the US. There was a polo group, but I don't know if they are still active. Lots of family oriented riding clubs. 4 H and Pony Club are both available for the kids. About everyone keeps their horses at home.

We have a great Eq. hospital and lots of vets who still make farm calls, We have plenty of good farriers, and no you can't steal them. Good hay grows all around. Development has slowed so they are not building houses on every hay field anymore.

Did I tell you about our mild climate? At least in the Boise Valley.

[Mythology]

We LOVE KY! My hubby and I moved 30mi west of Lexington about a year ago and are so happy. We came from Monterey, California and though the weather here takes some getting used to we have actual pasture space for the foals!!!:lol: A very rare commodity in California, at least on the coast. Oh and the grass- It just grows!!! You don't have to plant it, then set up an elaborate sprinkler system, then have a heart attack when your water bill comes, then keep the horses off of it so it doesn't die, then pray and do little "good luck grow grass" rain dances to keep it alive! It just grows out of the ground!!! This is so amazing! Who knew?!?!
My hubby was a hunter/Jumper trainer in Ca and we had to have a barn of 20 full time showing horses just to make the lease payments. Here we can do some private training and make enough to breed and show our own horses! And since we've been here my hubby has fallen in love with eventing! He's taken his Grand Prix horse over to masterson station and they both enjoyed it so much he did a few training level events last fall, enough to move up to prelim, and he says he wants to show on the eventing circuit this year, with his sights set on Rolex in 2010.
Kentucky is awesome! I love it here! And so do our horses!

[Mythology]

Oh, and did I mention the grass? :D

[DLee]

[QUOTE=Mythology;3810536]We LOVE KY! My hubby and I moved 30mi west of Lexington about a year ago and are so happy. We came from Monterey, California and though the weather here takes some getting used to we have actual pasture space for the foals!!!:lol: A very rare commodity in California, at least on the coast. Oh and the grass- It just grows!!! You don't have to plant it, then set up an elaborate sprinkler system, then have a heart attack when your water bill comes, then keep the horses off of it so it doesn't die, then pray and do little "good luck grow grass" rain dances to keep it alive! It just grows out of the ground!!! This is so amazing! Who knew?!?!

QUOTE]

:lol::lol::lol: My sentiments exactly, moved here from Arizona!