Fort Hood overseas relocate with horses!!!! (Killeen, Temple: car rental, rental, movers)

[barnwife]

My family is relocating to Fort Hood in mid Sept/early Oct from Mannheim, Germany ( GO ARMY!) . We have one horse currently, and can board her till we find a place. We would prefer to rent a property and have her close to us since she is very young still!!! We do not want to buy a house until we know the area and husband can see it (he deploys within 3 months of our relocation)... and so our dilemma. We are trying to find a rental/lease home for 1-3 years with pasture if possible. We are able to put in fencing and put up a shelter/small barn with the right lease/landlord.
We have spent HOURS and HOURS searching for rental/lease properties...we know we want something NOT south of Fort Hood, preferrably close to Gatesville. The only rental agencies/agents we find are for Killeen area!! WAAAY too city for us! Does anyone know a reputable agent or know where I can find listings for this kind of rental property? We have searched the local newspapers online at least once a week for a couple of months now. Thanks in advance for your advice!!!

[NOTAM]

yep highly recommend Gatesville area for affordable country living with horses. have you checked Craigs List? also Gatesville Messenger.
hate to say it but the best way is to drive around, i know its not possible for you.
thats the reason why i didnt move to Gatesville, i had to find something over the internet. now that i have been here almost a year, i will be moving there this fall-it will be much easier to find something now that i am able to drive around, and know folks in the area e.g. the cowboy church in town etc.......
good luck!!
best advice is to post an ad on Craigs List! and contact ALL realtors in Gatesville
another option-Belton/Temple...some good areas there as a second option. my girlfriend has 15 acres in Temple with horses and it's REALLY nice......

[barnwife]

Thanks, Bell! Honestly, it was looking at many of your posts about the area that turned me towards Gatesville in the first place, then I checked it out online...its like my little bitty amish township in Ohio, only Texan-flavored! I have since met several families who had been stationed there...mixed reviews...but those whose views of living closest matched mine said "go north!" ... I will be posting a Cragslist ad later today! Being in Germany...I had forgotten this valuable service!!! THANKS!

[NOTAM]

you are welcome! craigs list has a "killeen/temple/waco" section. make sure you post your ad in that section!!!
keep me updated on your search! i pray you find what yall need.
you wont be sorry-you will love the area.

[barnwife]

I LOVE craigs list!!! Thanks. Belle!!
I think I was born in the wrong state...I am SO excited to move to Texas! Noone, seriously NOONE in the Army wants to move there...I am absolutely ecstatic about it!!! I have always wanted an excuse to move there!! I don't like that I will miss my big family back home, but this is God's own land!! Not ot mention horse country!
I looked on craigslist earlier today and FOUND almost exactly what I was looking for!! I called the guy and (oops, I forgot the time change and called at about 6 am...he said he had to get up for work anyhow eeek!) he didn't want to hold it for us for a couple of months even though I offered him more than he asked for rent and deposit to be sent in two weeks (the time it takes for the mail to get from here to there). Grrrr!!! I'm kinda praying noone else wants it till then, or that God has something better in mind for us! Sometimes the days don't go by fast enough...I have already packed EVERYTHING I can till the movers get here (in 7 weeks) away securely in footlockers and plastic bins etrc etc.
Did I mention I am excited about this move? I'll be able to play with my own horse again, instead of crazy German horses who are tall like draft breeds and tempermental like thoroughbreds and arabs (daggone warmbloods!!)....not to mention the bit of a language barrier. So, thanks for helping!

[121804]

Originally Posted by barnwife

I think I was born in the wrong state...I am SO excited to move to Texas! Noone, seriously NOONE in the Army wants to move there...I am absolutely ecstatic about it!!! I have always wanted an excuse to move there!! I don't like that I will miss my big family back home, but this is God's own land!! Not ot mention horse country!

My dh & I were both active Army & stationed there. Not by choice
Different strokes for different folks. My husband came back from Baghdad with 10 fingers & 10 toes, so I really try to curtail whining

You will find the area does really suit your needs if you are into horses & the sort of living central TX has to offer. Gatesville was a great suggestion.

I am originally from NEOH & am quite familiar with areas such as Wooster & Sugar Creek & we go to amish country quite frequently. Gatesville will, to an extent, remind you of it.

If your dh will be deployed shortly thereafter, no need to stick around Killeen. The surrounding cities & areas are a much better choice for those who want to live the TX lifestyle.

Best of luck!

[NOTAM]

you will find something. if this one slips underneath ya, believe me, you will find something. when ya git here, let me know-would love to meet ya! i will be living in Gatesville/Pidcoke/Evant area probably late Sept/October, but am only 15-20 min drive away right now, and go there often. you should try the cowboy church-lots of horse people, team roping and barrel racing-the church has its own team roping arena, and they have team roping/bible study on thur nites. services are in a pole barn with stage of haystacks and burlap covered walls, and lots of country music-complete band with fiddles and all.......great folks.

[barnwife]

We found a place (and got it!!! YAY!!!) in Copperas Cove...but I need to know how to pronounce it. My husband, daughter and I all have our own opinions. My eight yr old insists it must be Copper--az Cove (bless her innocent heart), hubby says it with a new englander twist, and I'm a midwest lady trying not to screw up a Texan name lol.

We will be moving/flying in the last two weeks of September, our horses will be with us by late October (banning any complications). No hotel for us...straight off the ten hour flight with fifteen hours of jet lag to the car rental place, then to HOME....as if we always belonged in Texas!! I can breathe easy now, knowing I don't have to wait for a hotel/motel to approve my dogs, a great dane and a beagle, before I can rest for the day!! YAY!!!

Stretch our legs, wake up and run around in our jammies on our couple acres without thirty different families' homes staring straight at us...coffee outside on the porch watching the horses...heaven. No listening to sirens all day, and thumping radios (bless their hearts, they do such an excellent job puttin the sound systems together...i just dont want to hear music i didnt turn on)

Just heaven!!! Plant my own food again, jump in the saddle and ride down the road to warm up for the day before starting my daughter's schoolin for the day.....I have a peace coming over me just thinking about these things. I am SO much more at peace! Thank-you belle, for your prayers!

[NOTAM]

welcome neighbor! thats where i live,but way out on the outskirts, near the Lampasas County line, near Kempner. its great! i bet you found some place near me, cuz this is the area with lots of wide open space!

Originally Posted by barnwife

We found a place (and got it!!! YAY!!!) in Copperas Cove...but I need to know how to pronounce it. My husband, daughter and I all have our own opinions. My eight yr old insists it must be Copper--az Cove (bless her innocent heart), hubby says it with a new englander twist, and I'm a midwest lady trying not to screw up a Texan name lol.

We will be moving/flying in the last two weeks of September, our horses will be with us by late October (banning any complications). No hotel for us...straight off the ten hour flight with fifteen hours of jet lag to the car rental place, then to HOME....as if we always belonged in Texas!! I can breathe easy now, knowing I don't have to wait for a hotel/motel to approve my dogs, a great dane and a beagle, before I can rest for the day!! YAY!!!

Stretch our legs, wake up and run around in our jammies on our couple acres without thirty different families' homes staring straight at us...coffee outside on the porch watching the horses...heaven. No listening to sirens all day, and thumping radios (bless their hearts, they do such an excellent job puttin the sound systems together...i just dont want to hear music i didnt turn on)

Just heaven!!! Plant my own food again, jump in the saddle and ride down the road to warm up for the day before starting my daughter's schoolin for the day.....I have a peace coming over me just thinking about these things. I am SO much more at peace! Thank-you belle, for your prayers!

[barnwife]

Well, then, we most likely are neighbors!! The house is close to 116, and the base has an offshoot just to the NE of where it is...I looked on a google map and it shows a nice empty space for about the width of a mile (more or less) between the house and the base fenceline and very few neighboring homes. HEAVEN! **wish I was there already**

Yeah, that's right. I am living in Europe, less than 2 hours away from the alps, 9 hours from the french riviera, paris, amsterdam/holland, denmark, italy, spain, poland, etc etc etc., the autobahn (no speed restrictions) to get everywhere, a short train ride from so many many many historically pertinent beauties...and I am wishing with all my heart that I were in Texas.

You can take the girl out of the country....

So, what should I be looking for first when I get off the plane, go to bed, wake up and realize I haven't had time to buy a coffeemaker (or coffee, or creamer, etc etc)?