[caballero]

Auburn, There's a HUGE difference between what NE Ohio gets and was SW Ohio gets. Heck, sometimes Cincy gets more/worse than we do here in Dayton.

For us here, the break seems to be I-70.

Agreed. Ohio is far from monolithic in its weather patterns. Cleveland/Akron may as well be in a different planet, weather wise, compared to Dayton/Cinci.

[SLR]

I think within the parameters you have set, you would probably be best to stay in California Unfortunately, any place with an eventing "scene" is most easily found on the East Coast. Delaware Valley, MD, VA, there are some younger pros who have set up shop in NJ. Aiken, Southern Pines, a little in Tryon, and Ocala. I think there is also a smattering in GA. Many of the Pros are now spending 5-6 months in the Ocala area.
Ky does have the Horse Park and another grouping of eventers, but even there you don't have availability of BNT's as readily as the East Coast.
It all depends on how much or how little of a "scene" you can tolerate, and your tolerance for the weather.
North Carolina ( Southern Pines/Aiken) is lovely, but can be as hot as Ocala or hotter, whereas it can also be cold, which is more rare in Ocala. Plus Ocala is within an hour or so to the ocean or gulf.

[fibbermaggee]

Did you mention what you or your husband do for a living? Your first consideration might be that. If you cannot make a good living you cannot do horses anywhere. If you have alot of capital you might be able to establish yourself in your own facility, otherwise, best to pick an area where the job market is good. I am in the PNW. Not alot of eventing here as we have no footing Nov.-April. But the events we do have are well run and well attended. For the winter I board at a very nice facility with an all weather outdoor jumping ring. I like to think of it kind of like being British. Take a few months off in the dead of winter, bring them back early spring. It works and theres alot to love about this part of the country! (seen Portlandia recently?)

[runNjump86]

Thanks all!

Trust me, we are considering job scene. He's thinking of pursuing law enforcement if he doesn't do career military, and I am pretty flexible considering my background is in bar/restaurant management.

Ironically enough I started pestering him about the "No east coast" comment, and he responds "I mean military-wise!" :eyeroll: So apparently the east coast is back on the table. LOL.

We definitely are not fans of super cold weather, or rain, so PNW is not an option. I think Oregon is beautiful, but I have no desire to live there.

*zips flame suit* I really don't want to live in the South. I know it has a lot to offer, but (and I realize I'm generalizing here) I find the mentality to be too much for me. I am far too liberal, and Confederate flags send me into a rant. I LOVE it out here in SoCal and probably won't find a place that has a close-range eventing scene. However, we realize that parents and grandparents don't live forever, and being closer to family will be important.

Moving is, thankfully, at least a couple years off, hopefully more. I'm just trying to brain storm, get ideas, and see what is out there.

[RedLetterSales]

Kentucky's the place! I came here to intern here for a summer and just couldn't leave. That was nearly seven years ago! It's not huge in the way of upper level eventing locally but we have events every month at the KY Horse Park, and many local venues that are within a couple hours drive. Plus Aiken and north Ga events are easy day drives away as well.

[Auburn]

As far as BNT's in KY, the Lexington area has Cathy Wieschhoff, Dorothy Crowell and Allie Slusher. Louisville has Susan L. Harris, Martha Lambert and Lauren Lambert. All of these BNT's have produced riders who ride Preliminary to Advanced.

However, if you cannot deal with a "red state" mentality, then you should probably go look on the mid to upper east coast. KY is a "red state". My liberal DH gets frustrated from time to time because we do live here. I love the equestrian scene so much that I just ignore the other stuff. WalMart watching is one of the fun things to do here in Dry Ridge.

[eventer_mi]

*zips flame suit* I really don't want to live in the South. I know it has a lot to offer, but (and I realize I'm generalizing here) I find the mentality to be too much for me. I am far too liberal, and Confederate flags send me into a rant. I LOVE it out here in SoCal and probably won't find a place that has a close-range eventing scene. However, we realize that parents and grandparents don't live forever, and being closer to family will be important.

It sounds like you've REALLY limited yourself - you don't want humidity, heat, cold, or rain. If you want to be in a high concentration of eventers, your best choice is the East Coast, but you said you don't want to live here. Staying out west sounds like the best bet for you, if you're willing to travel to events, so how about Northern California? You get the dry air and no extreme weather. Everywhere else you'll run into extremes of some sort, methinks.

Btw, Fort Bragg (Southern Pines area) is not what it used to be. I know the rumors, and it's changed quite a bit. If you can deal with the humidity in the summers (and we all acclimate), it would be good for him if he stays in the military or even if he leaves (in terms of contract jobs), and good for you for eventing. Prices are quite high around here, though - my barn owner just paid $8/bale for timothy/orchard mix from New York, and that was considered DIRT CHEAP.

[ellemayo]

So these are the places/climates that you have said are off the table-
Midwest
Pacific Northwest
East Coast
South
Texas
North Carolina
Chicago
Cold climates
Humid climates

The humidity pretty much rules out Florida, which I wouldn't really consider east coast or southern, even though it's technically both.

I would guess that the cold rules out Vermont, since it starts getting chilly in November and doesn't really warm up until May.

So you're left with
Arizona
Nevada
Utah
New Mexico
Wyoming
Colorado
California
Pennsylvania

I vote Pennsylvania.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

I would guess that the cold rules out Vermont, since it starts getting chilly in November and doesn't really warm up until May.

So you're left with
Arizona
Nevada
Utah
New Mexico
Wyoming
Colorado
California
Pennsylvania

I vote Pennsylvania.

A lot of people consider Pennsylvania east coast even though there really is no coast

But PA is a great location for eventing....as well as lots of places were you can make a living. Summers are not too bad. There are seasons...and I'm not a fan of winter but it really isn't too bad.

Honestly...I've personally lived in a lot of locations. I grew up in Hawaii...and you can't get better weather than there (my family and friends are bitching about it being 60 degrees--as a low....they are freezing). I've lived in CA, up and down the east coast, and a few places in between.....there are pros and cons to just about everywhere but you can almost always find good people and things you like to do.

[ellemayo]

A lot of people consider Pennsylvania east coast even though there really is no coast

Lol I know, but I was working with the literal since I was interested to see which places were actually left after all of those areas were ruled out.

[runNjump86]

Yeah...limited ourselves a bit, eh? Yes, yes we did.

I can take heat, but 100% humidity is NOT good for me. I gave myself a mild heat stroke in VA and have been sensitive to it ever since. We can also take cold, but really don't want to freeze for 8 months out of the year.

East Coast is back on the table. SC sounds pretty good to me. I LOVE our area in SoCal and want to stay here as long as we can. I am open to living in KY or St. Louis area. But, like I said, we're a ways off.

[deltawave]

I think you'll be OK. There are darned few places on the planet with steady 100% humidity and/or 8 months of freezing cold out of 12.

[FairWeather]

What you're looking for doesn't exist, unless you co-locate.

And I will say that a hell of a lot of liberals live in North and South Carolina, and no, there aren't giant displays of confederate flags waving about.
Southern Pines and Aiken are filled with people who have relocated from other areas, many from up north.
i had a conversation with a gay couple that stated they couldn't see living in NC because of the recent legislation, and my comment was that nothing was ever going to change if people who want to fight discrimination don't live here.

[yellowbritches]

I'm pretty much as liberal as they come, and I LOVE Aiken. Actually, I find the conservatives in the Middleburg area far more irritating than any of the ones I run into in SC (could be that the SC ones are more like what I grew up with so I at least understand the mentality, if not agree with it)! Of course, you have to have a sense of humor about it all and not feel like it is a personal attack on your beliefs.

I still think your best bet would be to job search first and find a good job. The rest will fall into place. You won't be able to afford to live in a lot of these areas and event without a good paycheck.

[deltawave]

Yeah, the liberal thing. Beware of painting huge chunks of geography with the same broad brush. I live in a dark red corner of a dark blue state, and more precisely 3 miles away from a vibrant gay community and 7 miles away from the epicenter of the Dutch Reform Church in the US. If you're very far off to either end the bell curve, you will find fellow thinkers pretty quickly.