Rob, I'm lucky because all of the land near our barn has been zoned agricultural and I live on the edge of the city, so it still only takes 15 minutes to get there. The urban sprawl right to the edge of the city is alarming. We can see apt buildings looming in the distance as we ride. But, they can't come any closer. Hooray! The number of boarding barns that were sucked up before the city put in the zoning laws was alarming. Finding a place for your horse means an hour drive now for most people. Luckily, I've been with this barn for 10 years so I'm pretty safe.
Today I am organizing a space in my basement because tomorrow I get my Grace-type frame and quilting machine! It is a B Line quilt frame (Made in Canada) and comes with a Husquvarna Viking Mega Quilter. I know this type of set up has limitations to it is a place to start in the world of long-arming and I figure this will show me whether I really want to take that plunge.
So, I've invaded my son's "man cave" and pushed all his furniture down to one end, swept and put up lights and now I wait. Tap, tap, tap. Maybe I'll cut some backings and batting so I have something ready to practice on. And review some Youtube videos so I have some idea how to load the thing.
Watson