Can anyone recommend a nice area for horses? (Seattle, Vancouver: to rent, HOA)

[Taz22]

The situation is that we moved here a few months ago. I was looking forward to living here and this state is beautiful! The downside is that we are not living in a great area, which is in a small town outside of Olympia. I thought we could get a nicer property in Thurston for the horses and this is true. The house is very nice, but most of the surrounding homes are not. Several neighbors have trash strewn in the yards, confederate flags, the 4th was a nightmare. Constant gunshots and fireworks going on for several days. My spouse was totally freaked out.

I did a through search on Google earth and didn't see these houses as they were hidden by trees. I thought we were surrounded by farmland. It was a case of being in a new area for a few days and trying to find a house. I wanted to rent first and get to know the different areas and should have insisted we do that instead of rushing into buying. If I'd seen these houses, I'd have run, not walked to another area.

Anyway, we don't like this location and don't have much of a warm and fuzzy for Olympia either. This house is a fixer and with my new job, I plan to put money into needed repairs and upgrades and get it on the market in the spring of 2019. That's not far off and in the meantime, I'd like to familiarize myself with the western part of Washington.

Can anyone recommend an area from Clark county up to Watcom? We both work from home, so that makes easy to be flexible. I'm looking for a horsey area with neighbors who take pride in their home. My spouse is very corporate, he enjoys being fairly close to nice restaurants and a more upscale area, and dosen't like the shoot em up country lifestyle. He also dosen't care for an HOA neighborhood.

I was looking online recently and saw the perfect property in Arlington, a house and barn with five acres and the ariel view showed nearby neighbors all had nice houses and yards, no trash piles, confederate flags flying, and probably a quieter 4th. The price was around 500k which is within our price range. Doesn't have to be Arlington, I'm open for suggestions and now that we live in the state, can go check the areas out in person on weekends. The main thing is being in a nice location not too far from amenities, yet still having some land for the horses and dogs.

I'd greatly appreciate any suggestions.

[homesinseattle]

Arlington is nice, Stanwood and Camano Island may be options too.

[PS90]

If you are looking in Western WA, the two "horsiest" areas are around Vancouver and around Monroe.

[perigee]

I like Arlington, it has lots of amenities, close enough for a day trip into Seattle, but every time I talk to a local about buying they get the exact same look on their faces and tell me not to do it. They all agree the area around the freeway is great, but they tell me that once you get a little further out the crime issue is very bad. Most of them are trying to get out, which I don't get because every time I pass through the city there are more cars on the road and more construction.

That being said, as Seattle pushes further and further north and working families are forced out they may help with the gentrification of the area.

Skagit and Whatcom are going to be hit or miss there are some areas that will look amazing and others which will be exactly like the situation you are currently in, but if you want to see pride of ownership, drive through Lynden, though don't blame me if you fall in love. It was a little Dutch town, though it's been growing and diversifying, and handling it surprisingly well. Lots of horse events at the county fairgrounds.

I suggest getting a couple of listings for both counties and then go up for a weekend, I know not the easiest thing to do when you have animals that need daily care, if you don't have a trusted neighbor maybe call your vet to see if they have anyone they recommend.

Cute hotel option:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1523172...0wa&s=TQMLIo8O

[Taz22]

[quote=homesinseattle;49376550]Arlington is nice, Stanwood and Camano Island may be options

Totally agree about Stanwood, we looked at a house there but it was all 70's inside. Loved the area though. We'll check out Camino Island too, thanks.

[Taz22]

[quote=PS90;49377395]If you are looking in Western WA, the two "horsiest" areas are around Vancouver and around Monroe.[/QUOTE

I didn't know that, two more places to check out, thanks! Being around Vancouver might be nice, but spouses home office is located in Portland and his boss might decide that he needs to go into the office everyday.

[Seacove]

I was going to suggest Snohomish but if the budget is $500K, further north is probably going to be necessary.

[Taz22]

Originally Posted by perigee

I like Arlington, it has lots of amenities, close enough for a day trip into Seattle, but every time I talk to a local about buying they get the exact same look on their faces and tell me not to do it. They all agree the area around the freeway is great, but they tell me that once you get a little further out the crime issue is very bad. Most of them are trying to get out, which I don't get because every time I pass through the city there are more cars on the road and more construction.

That being said, as Seattle pushes further and further north and working families are forced out they may help with the gentrification of the area.

Skagit and Whatcom are going to be hit or miss there are some areas that will look amazing and others which will be exactly like the situation you are currently in, but if you want to see pride of ownership, drive through Lynden, though don't blame me if you fall in love. It was a little Dutch town, though it's been growing and diversifying, and handling it surprisingly well. Lots of horse events at the county fairgrounds.

I suggest getting a couple of listings for both counties and then go up for a weekend, I know not the easiest thing to do when you have animals that need daily care, if you don't have a trusted neighbor maybe call your vet to see if they have anyone they recommend.

Cute hotel option:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1523172...0wa&s=TQMLIo8O

Wow, that's something to consider about Arlington. I didn't know about the crime, definitely something I'll look into further, especially if we look more into that area.

I've read on CD about crime and confederate flags in parts of Skagit, and thought to escape that in a location close to Olympia. Hah!

Watcom might be a possibility. I've read mixed things about Bellingham and Lyndon, but have never been, and those places are worth a look. We might swing a day trip, or I could go and scout around the area and report back. If we could find a reliable pet sitter a weekend would be fun, and even more so, knowing that it might lead to moving away from here which will put a huge smile on my face. Thanks!

[homesinseattle]

Seacove, you can sometimes pull off that price point in rural areas east of Lake Stevens/Machias, also in the Fobes Hill area that straddles the Snohomish/Everett border (though that can be more expensive than east of Lake Stevens). Quite a few of the areas east of Lake Stevens and north of Hwy 2 as you head out towards Monroe have Snohomish addresses. Taz, if I were you I'd set up a radius search and focus out there. It's really pretty and very horse friendly.

[Taz22]

Originally Posted by Seacove

I was going to suggest Snohomish but if the budget is $500K, further north is probably going to be necessary.

Sounds like it might be a place to look at. We can go higher, but I'm interested in a fixer anyway. I'd rather live in the worst house in a nice neighborhood than the nicest house in a neighborhood that's not kept up. Thanks and I'll check out Zillow to see if Snohomish is a possibility.