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I currently live in Fort Collins, Colorado and there are many plusses here for horse owners. I own my home in a horsey subdivision, which includes a 6-stall barn with electric and heated waterers, an uncovered arena, and a five-acre grass pasture. One of the best equine veterinary schools in the US is 20 minutes away, and the veterinarians here are top-notch. Hay is moderately priced and usually available.
My spouse and I are healthy, quiet, people on the liberal side. We don't come to new States or communities with the intention of changing them. We are retired and appreciate good schools, libraries, good medical care, access to the internet, and at least some non-chain restaurants. All of that is available here. We have a great Governor in Colorado, and a well-run State that is strong from an economic perspective.
What I'm increasingly concerned about is water and drought. Moving to Washington has been on my mind for 20 years and if I'm going to do it, sooner seems a better idea than later. My target price for buying would be in the neighborhood of $1.5M. I might be able to be persuaded, but the eastern part of Washington State seems to have less precipitation, hotter summers and colder winters. If I move to Washington, I'd like to be of the western side, I think.
I've come to this forum before and asked for advice, but my Colorado native spouse was dead set against moving. Even he is getting worried about our climate change and arid conditions, and cracks are forming in his need to remain in this State. Personally, I would love rainy, dreary, foggy, wet weather, though I think my husband would need to buy some of those therapy lights.
Please tell me about Washington in general -- the good, the bad, the ugly. I always dreamed of living on Whidbey Island, and I've belonged to a Whidbey Island Facebook group for many years, which has left me with mixed emotions if I'm to believe everything that is posted. My husband is not in love with the idea of living on an island, as he envisions a tsunami approaching while he is towing 4 horses in a trailer, waiting for a ferry or backed up on a bridge. But he's kind of a worst scenario kind of guy. So anywhere in the western part of the State is OK with me.
There's a lot of great horse country here. And riding opportunities in what I think is some of the beautiful scenery in the world.
I do think Eastern WA won't be a lot different in climate or environment than where you are.
And I think if your goal is horse property, an island wouldn't be my first choice either. I suppose you'll have to drive it and see it for yourself and decide, but it makes everything harder and more expensive. You'll pay a premium in land cost and availability, and all-to-often, severe limitations on water availability and drainage. If you're going to be on an island, better to be into waterfront living, not horse acreage, unless you can afford both.
I live and work and have horses, goats and a farm in SW WA south of Olympia, and I wouldn't live anywhere else.
People complain about the weather, but I haven't seen a climate anywhere else that I personally would like better. I find our weather to be pretty moderate, predictable and seldom life-threatening. That's a good thing, on a planet with a lot of life-threatening weather. We have a thread here with daily weather reports mostly kept up now for over a year. scroll through it. I intended it to be a bit of a study in the "truth" of our weather, even if anecdotal, compared to the "reputation". If you read it, even through winter, I think you'll see it doesn't rain all the time. It's often grey, but we also see lots of sun breaks in it.... if not every day, frequently. You just have to stop and notice and appreciate them when they happen, for the five minutes or two hours they last. Because the "day" will be reported as rainy and cloudy.
You sound a little like some others I know who didn't end up loving it here. If your hubby is going to be bothered by rainy days, he'll find plenty to be bothered about and that will be a problem to work through and decide. If it didn't rain plenty, we wouldn't have the big tall trees and lush undergrowth that makes us beautiful. We'd look like the dry places. I love evergreen forests and green ferns. That makes the rain worth it to me. It may not do it for everyone. Come visit in November or January and bring him with you, would be my suggestion.
What is true and a real issue for horsekeeping is mud. It does rain enough from October through May that most of us deal with at least some mud, but if you can choose your property wisely and invest in a bit of good footing and drainage, you can make it a lot better. For your budget, you can definitely find yourself a nice property out of any flood zone with good draining soils, and you can probably find a pretty nice place with an indoor arena if you don't want to live in the highest priced areas. So the rain and mud don't have to keep you from riding in winter if you don't want it to.
I assume there will be other chapters but that's long enough for one post. I'll let others do the ugly
Last edited by Diana Holbrook; 08-27-2022 at 04:43 PM..
Whidbey ISLAND for horsey trailering??!!?! You need to learn about the constraints inherent in getting off and back on the island if there is limited access without loading trailers onto a state ferry. Also, find out how bad the waits can be if you have to drive over a bridge that often rises to allow tall vessels or Navy subs through.
This sounds like panic over climate change. Don’t jump from the frying pan into the fire.
I liked the climate in NW WA, which came as a bit of a surprise regarding winters there. (But almost no snow or frigid weather, so it’s a tradeoff.) My husband and I had no conflict over that, either. We left WA for reasons having absolutely nothing to do with grayness or drizzle.
BUT we heard many, many people complaining about the winters there—sometimes from local-born residents who were used to it. You have to accept dreary grayness for long stretches, lots of moss/mildew/fungi, saltwater spray on windows and siding even without being right at the water’s edge (the wind blasts it everywhere), and a kind of constant underlying sour or depressed mood from many residents. I think there’s a fair amount of negativity and passivity that is considered “normal.” It is NOT normal to those who have lived in other parts of the country.
It’s a good thing that people come in all flavors. You can tell who loves the climate and would not want to live elsewhere. One Seattleite described it this way: “I can only tolerate a very narrow band of temperature—between 50 and 70.” That range eliminates most of the US!
You might struggle to find as good of a horse set up in Western WA and have to downgrade your expectations. Horsey subdivisions are few. Bridle Trails used to be a nice one but the properties were bought out by non horse owners over the years and it's not what it used to be.
Whidbey ISLAND for horsey trailering??!!?! You need to learn about the constraints inherent in getting off and back on the island if there is limited access without loading trailers onto a state ferry. Also, find out how bad the waits can be if you have to drive over a bridge that often rises to allow tall vessels or Navy subs through.
This sounds like panic over climate change. Don’t jump from the frying pan into the fire.
I liked the climate in NW WA, which came as a bit of a surprise regarding winters there. (But almost no snow or frigid weather, so it’s a tradeoff.) My husband and I had no conflict over that, either. We left WA for reasons having absolutely nothing to do with grayness or drizzle.
BUT we heard many, many people complaining about the winters there—sometimes from local-born residents who were used to it. You have to accept dreary grayness for long stretches, lots of moss/mildew/fungi, saltwater spray on windows and siding even without being right at the water’s edge (the wind blasts it everywhere), and a kind of constant underlying sour or depressed mood from many residents. I think there’s a fair amount of negativity and passivity that is considered “normal.” It is NOT normal to those who have lived in other parts of the country.
It’s a good thing that people come in all flavors. You can tell who loves the climate and would not want to live elsewhere. One Seattleite described it this way: “I can only tolerate a very narrow band of temperature—between 50 and 70.” That range eliminates most of the US!
Whidbey ISLAND for horsey trailering??!!?! You need to learn about the constraints inherent in getting off and back on the island if there is limited access without loading trailers onto a state ferry. Also, find out how bad the waits can be if you have to drive over a bridge that often rises to allow tall vessels or Navy subs through.
This sounds like panic over climate change. Don’t jump from the frying pan into the fire.
I liked the climate in NW WA, which came as a bit of a surprise regarding winters there. (But almost no snow or frigid weather, so it’s a tradeoff.) My husband and I had no conflict over that, either. We left WA for reasons having absolutely nothing to do with grayness or drizzle.
BUT we heard many, many people complaining about the winters there—sometimes from local-born residents who were used to it. You have to accept dreary grayness for long stretches, lots of moss/mildew/fungi, saltwater spray on windows and siding even without being right at the water’s edge (the wind blasts it everywhere), and a kind of constant underlying sour or depressed mood from many residents. I think there’s a fair amount of negativity and passivity that is considered “normal.” It is NOT normal to those who have lived in other parts of the country.
It’s a good thing that people come in all flavors. You can tell who loves the climate and would not want to live elsewhere. One Seattleite described it this way: “I can only tolerate a very narrow band of temperature—between 50 and 70.” That range eliminates most of the US!
Where is this raise/lower bridge you speak of? Nothing like that on Whidbey.
Thanks for the feedback so far. Mud -- yes -- I understand that can be a problem, and I imagine worse where the annual precipitation rate is higher.
As for "panic" over climate change, I've been thinking about moving somewhere greener for 20 years and that desire remains. (My husband is an engineer and thinking about worse cases is his forte.)
While I like Whidbey, I do think the negatives, such as ready availability of hay, and getting horses to the hospital quickly, outweigh the positives. And with regard to us humans, my understanding of the medical care is that it can be limited and there are problems with the hospital on the island.
When moss/mildew/fungi is mentioned, can you please explain how that affects residents of Washington and to what degree? Does it matter where you live? Does it affect everyone?
On your last paragraph it means you can’t store leather outside in an unheated space. If you have a tack room in the barn you’ll want a little bit of heat in it or you will want to keep your saddles and bridles in the house. They will mold over winter - that’s what the damp does.
There’s ways around it but you’ll only leave your good bridle out in the horse trailer once. :-)
On your last paragraph it means you can’t store leather outside in an unheated space. If you have a tack room in the barn you’ll want a little bit of heat in it or you will want to keep your saddles and bridles in the house. They will mold over winter - that’s what the damp does.
There’s ways around it but you’ll only leave your good bridle out in the horse trailer once. :-)
Thanks -- I can deal with that. I was thinking maybe everything got covered in mold and you had to have your house power washed with Clorox.
Well, if you're very treed in, you might have to do that sometimes! There is a sort of a green mildew that develops on the cars over winter....
It helps if you just choose green paint in the first place.
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