Can anyone recommend a nice area for horses? (Kent, Olympia: sale, house)

[Diana Holbrook]

LOL - talking about junk in the yard, I can't invite you over yet, and I know we once talked about doing that one of these days. Our place is under construction, has been all summer. We have piles of lumber and rolls of fencing and ladders and demo junk to go to the dump all over the front yard. I hope people who drive by don't think we live this way all the time.

I am getting tired of the junk. Carpentry and final painting should be done in the next couple of weeks, at least outside. Then we'll look tidier.

[Taz22]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

Yeah - I have spent summers in AZ. I know they don't have personal fireworks like we do here. The good news is, I think personal fireworks limits and bans may be coming here... lots of people no longer like them. And the fire danger is real so that's enough reason too, IMHO.

I would suspect most of the "gunshots" you're hearing on the week of the fourth are in fact, fireworks of various kinds. No real reason people would be shooting guns more on the fourth, when there happens to also be a lot of explosives readily available. I've spent a lot of years hearing both, and we're not far away. I might expect you might hear gunfire occasionally, but more often during hunting season than in summer.

People have guns in rural Washington, that's true... but most of them you'll never know or see. That's not only true in Tenino... It was probably also true in rural AZ. They have very similar gun law to here. I would not expect gun law to change either place. But most rural gun owners are no threat to anyone.

Security... I believe in good security systems, as do a lot of people, not so much because there are a lot of threats, but because help is further away in the country. Such systems are not expensive now. No reason not to have them.

I've been thinking a lot about you. I really hope you can find some peace. I'm just afraid all of the things you're unhappy about, you'll find someplace within a mile, anywhere in most of Western Washington, or anywhere in rural America for that matter. Some people have a bunch of crap laying around and yet, the messiest person on our road, is probably the nicest and most harmless. It's the guy who mows his yard all the time who is the bad neighbor, for us. Can't always tell from appearances.

As for the fourth, I hope in addition to looking for better places to live, you also give some thought to at least being more prepared for it next year. At least next year it won't be a surprise.

We put ours inside for the fourth, our barn is pretty well insulated for sound. For you, it would depend on whether your direct neighbor shoots off fireworks? If he does, I might switch to the tactic I used to use in town, of standing out in the pasture holding on to my lead horse. If the leader doesn't run, neither did the rest. I'd sit out there and watch everything and give them hay to keep them with me. Seemed to help. At least with the horses. May not help with the hubby at all. :/

I'm pretty sure that we heard a good mix of guns and fireworks, because the sound is different. As far as people with trash in their yards, I don't buy the fact that they are harmless. Just the fact that they are willing to live around junk piles, implies something going on headwise. Of course, a well kept house might have a jerk living there, but our next door neighbor farms, has a lovely property that he clearly takes pride in, and warned us to put the animals up for a few days around the 4th because he knew how things get. It seems much of the fireworks/gunshots sound comes from directly behind us. The horses were penned up and the dogs stayed in the house, so they did ok. Hubbs was freaked out and got pretty upset and more so as it went on for days.

I'll be looking for an area where the houses are kept up, and hopefully, professional neighbors who work. Around here, a bunch of cars midweek in front of a run down looking house is fairly common. Now, these people can do whatever they want. If they want to paint themselves purple and howl at the moon, I'm fine with it. Just not anywhere close. We'd like neighbors who are at least, reasonably normal and kind of share our values. Job, mortgage, pride in house, I'm not asking for the moon, but this area has been hard to take.

[Diana Holbrook]

I know.... I'd think about at least considering a gated, HOA community. There are some, many actually, which are horse properties. That's how people protect their peace of mind and their property value when these issues are important to them. Not all of them cost a lot of money in dues. Those that do, usually do because there are shared facilities like a boat launch or a park to maintain. What they can provide though, is rules about how places will be maintained... and some security. It might give you, and hubby, some peace.

[ndcairngorm]

Which is the more important to you - a place for the horses or no crime? I can provide you with the name of a place that has no crime - that's right, no crime - but it may be hard to find enough room for 6 horses. I haven't looked at the market, although there are horses in town here, so there might be a boarding situation. The name - Point Roberts, in Whatcom County. You can google it and see if you think it might be a fit. A bit quirky but those who live there love it.

[Taz22]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

I know.... I'd think about at least considering a gated, HOA community. There are some, many actually, which are horse properties. That's how people protect their peace of mind and their property value when these issues are important to them. Not all of them cost a lot of money in dues. Those that do, usually do because there are shared facilities like a boat launch or a park to maintain. What they can provide though, is rules about how places will be maintained... and some security. It might give you, and hubby, some peace.

It sounds good, and I can look into it. My thoughts are if you drive through an area and it looks kept up, it's a good start. Some of the more relaxed HOA's might be feasible. Even I don't want someone telling me what color to paint the house or that I can only have one crabapple tree out front. As an avid gardener, that wouldn't work.

[Taz22]

Originally Posted by ndcairngorm

Which is the more important to you - a place for the horses or no crime? I can provide you with the name of a place that has no crime - that's right, no crime - but it may be hard to find enough room for 6 horses. I haven't looked at the market, although there are horses in town here, so there might be a boarding situation. The name - Point Roberts, in Whatcom County. You can google it and see if you think it might be a fit. A bit quirky but those who live there love it.

Lol, thanks for tip. I did google it and had never heard of it. An interesting place, although I get that there is crime everywhere, and the main thing is prevention. And my take is this..in the neighborhood I'm in now, I'm more likely to be ripped off because I live in one of the nicest houses around, which makes me stand out and become a target. In a neighborhood of consistently nice houses, I'm less likely to be a target. My neighbors would all have jobs and be more interested in keeping what they have safe, than in eyeing my house. And since they work, they'd be too tired to be out roaming at night.

[MarciaMarshaMarcia]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Even better, when you find a home, neighborhood you like: knock on some doors close by and ask the neighbors the good/bad/ugly. They have nothing to hide.

Don't count on what neighbors say...they may have a hidden agenda for wanting you to move into a certain house in their neighborhood, & the agenda is to help themselves, not you, & could be very detrimental to you.

This can happen anywhere, but it happened to us in Washington.

My best advice is, if you're interested in a certain neighborhood, visit it on all days of the week, at all times of night & day, as frequently as you can.

And don't trust the neighbors.

[Ultrarunner]

Fox Hall is one of the association that maintain bridle trails in the Olympia area...

Foxhall Community Association

[homesinseattle]

I disagree Marcia. If you ask gently probing questions with enough neighbors, and also visit the area you think you might want to live on different days and times of day, you can learn a tremendous amount.

[Taz22]

Originally Posted by MarciaMarshaMarcia

Don't count on what neighbors say...they may have a hidden agenda for wanting you to move into a certain house in their neighborhood, & the agenda is to help themselves, not you, & could be very detrimental to you.

This can happen anywhere, but it happened to us in Washington.

My best advice is, if you're interested in a certain neighborhood, visit it on all days of the week, at all times of night & day, as frequently as you can.

And don't trust the neighbors.

Thanks for the advise. Any hidden agenda from neighbors around here, would be to encourage someone to move in, so they could rip them off.

I do intend to walk/drive around any potential neighborhood in the future, to avoid the unpleasant suprises I discovered after we first moved here.

You don't say what happened to you, but you're welcome to share your story.