Country side living within reasonable distance to Plano? (Dallas, McKinney: rental, houses)

[SnakePlisken]

I have been asked to consider taking a 2 year contract working in Plano.
Only been there once before for a week and only in Plano so I have no clue what the surroundings look like.

As we today (in Sweden) live on the country side with our own horses, it would be no option to move into a city like evironment.

What options (for renting) are there let's say half an hour drive (possibly more) from Plano?
The possibility to have horses in the same place would of course be a big plus.
What can I expect to pay for such living?
Would it be hard to find?
It is not a huge fancy place we are looking to rent since we are only two that's going to live there.

//Snake

[momof2dfw]

I HIGHLY recommend Parker but your not going to have much luck finding something to rent there. It borders Plano on the East and is a very nice area w/ nice estates and they allow horses. Right next to Parker is Murphy and Lucas and both have areas that horses are allowed. You will probably have better luck finding something in Murphy or Lucas to rent but the lot size might not be large enough for horses. You might have to settle on finding a house in that area to rent and keeping any horses at a nearby stable.

[LQQKOUT]

What options (for renting) are there let's say half an hour drive (possibly more) from Plano?
The possibility to have horses in the same place would of course be a big plus.

What part of Plano? Plano is very large so having a more central location would help with the 30 min drive...however the drive might be more like 45 min during regular business hours.
West Plano (anything West of 75) not much open range for horses, North Plano - you have McKinney but that is a long commute then 30 mins your asking- East Plano, you have Parker, Lucus, Murhpy, (way East for horses) Rowlett, (way East for horses) Rockwall....then you have Lavon, Royce City, Greenville...but those add longer commute times as well. So your choice is limited with that commute and wanting horses on your property.

What can I expect to pay for such living?
Depends on what you want in regards to land and how many horses. Renting (which will be hard to find for what you want) can range from $1200-$4000 per month

Would it be hard to find? Difficult for renting with horse, Rowlett has a stable...I am sure other areas have those as well.

Good luck to you! And Welcome to Texas

[DaveG99]

Im curious about something? Are you bringing your horses with you from sweden?

[Big G]

I was wondering the same thing. If you're not bringing your own horses, you might be happier just finding a stable to rent horses from on a regular basis. There's not much about Texas that is really "as seen on TV", but it truly IS a horse-happy state.

I think your best bet is to look straight east of Plano - the area on the west side of Lake Lavon might have what you're looking for.

The difficulty you'll have arranging this from Sweden is that a lot of the rural property rental is done by word of mouth, or by folks putting a sign up in the local gas station. You won't find much on the Internet.

[SnakePlisken]

I have just checked the price for bringing our two horses and it's about $30.000 both ways and that does not include the domestic transport in US!!

So, if we decide to go it will not be with our horses, but still we want to live more country like where you can go out hiking, animals arounds and where you can possibly rent horses.
So we still want a place in an area outside town, where the houses are not five meters apart.

Oh, there is one more thing. She is not a western rider, but competing is show jumping.
How common is that in Dallas/Texas?

[ChristieP]

Yes, transatlantic horse shipping is horribly expensive. And then there is the quarantine, etc. You'll unfortunately be better off leaving the horses in Sweden for this trip...

Show jumping is fairly common in Texas. We call it "hunter/jumper" so look for stables where this is the focus. I know there are several in the Flower Mound and Aubrey areas. Unfortunately, those areas aren't close to Plano...but they are not terribly far and you could take lessons on the weekends.

If you want to enjoy hiking, I'd recommend living near a large park. Most land in Texas is privately owned, so you can't just go hike on someone's property without permission. Parks, however, are free and there will be plenty of opportunities for hiking there.

Do you happen to work for Ericsson? :-)

[SnakePlisken]

My girlfriend probably would want to ride on a more regular basis than just weekends so a combination of that with a distance not too far from Palno would be ideal. Today I have 80 minutes of driving to get to work but it's a bit tiresome.

Maybe hiking is not the right word from my side. More a place where you can go walking for excersice daily without walking around in a park with planted trees.
Since we live with the forrestnext door, well more or less live in the forrest, with my closest neighbour 400 meters away it is something not too far from that we are looking for.

Ericsson? Yes :-)

[Big G]

Are you looking for something like this?

North Texas Equestrian Center

This stable is on the west side of Lake Lavon, in a very rural area about 30 minutes from Ericsson's Plano offices.

[rosscountry]

try Prosper or Gunter, TX