Who has retired in Arkansas?

[Kitty]

I would like to meet someone who has retired in Arkansas.
I would like to know where and what do they think of it now that they have retired there. I would like to discuss the cost of living, and what it is like to live Arkansas.

Kitty

 

[wildcat]

I can only give you the short list based on several trips throughout the state. Ark is cheap pretty much any place you go. The state is very different. Got the delta area and then mountains, i.e. small mountains compared to West. Dislike the delta region immensley. Fayetteville would be the cream of the crop. Not bad in terms of recreational activities (hiking and quite a few nice lakes in the area). People were friendly, welcoming and outgoing. Very curious about me and asked a lot of questions. Fayetteville tri-city area is growing fast but still very rural once you step off the busy roads. New airport would allow you easy access to flights for vacation & you no longer have to go Little Rock. Four distinct seasons of weather. U of Arkansas sporting events are pretty fun. However, the place itself is not real close to any cities if that bothers you as I like to go to a real city every now and then. Constant Wal-Mart reminders throughout the area can get old. Blah Blah is built courtesy of Wal-Mart or Sam, Helen or Bud Walton. But if you want a decent place with low cost of living it is up there. I think you can find better or at least based on what I have seen. I know quite a bit about some Midwest areas and Southeast if you have any more q's or want any more recos.

 

[Kitty]

I like the city about once or twice a year. the hustle and bustle, push and shove of urban living does not agree with me.
I am looking for a place that is rural in character, a home with ten or more acres, barn, pond, garden, fruit trees, a porch to sit and sip iced tea in the afternoon while the dogs take a nap. Then a long slow walk to see what is in the mailbox with the dogs of course. Then if the mood strikes me I take the fishing tackle and go down to the pond and catch a couple of fish for dinner after dinner sit and watch the deer share the pasture with the horses before dark.

I know it is not everyones idea of retirement but it is mine.

Kitty

 

[wildcat]

I would say it is a good spot for based on what you want. You can still buy large parcels of land for a reasonable price and be close to all the ammenities. I like the fact that they have an airport (easy to get in and out). Most smaller cities ya have to drive an hour or more to catch a flight and all the hassles that go along with it. Lakes are top notch and hiking is good for the area. Like I said it gets rural real fast outside of the Fayetteville area. Best place in the state by far.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

I like the city about once or twice a year. the hustle and bustle, push and shove of urban living does not agree with me.
I am looking for a place that is rural in character, a home with ten or more acres, barn, pond, garden, fruit trees, a porch to sit and sip iced tea in the afternoon while the dogs take a nap. Then a long slow walk to see what is in the mailbox with the dogs of course. Then if the mood strikes me I take the fishing tackle and go down to the pond and catch a couple of fish for dinner after dinner sit and watch the deer share the pasture with the horses before dark.

I know it is not everyones idea of retirement but it is mine.

Kitty

Perfect! But, not in Arkansas

JG

 

[Kitty]

If not Arkansas where?

I am willing to concider other areas what the state is named is of no importance.

Kitty

 

[wildcat]

Be a little bit more specific as to what you want. Weather? I presume you want low cost of living. I presume you want to be in the eastern half of the country? Recreation? Size city or max/min size? Then I can come with something.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

If not Arkansas where?

I am willing to concider other areas what the state is named is of no importance.

Kitty

I may be too hard on Arkansas. I know it has a lot of what I would look for. (Not too crowded - good hunting and fishing-
gun tolerant). It's a personal thing. Winters are cold and wet
and the state lacks really big water. Warm weather and big
water are 2 musts in my case. And after all, it's not
North Dakota

JG

 

[wildcat]

JG, Table Rock (still pleny of waterfront land availabe too) is a pretty big lake but I guess the Great Lakes are your benchmark. Bull Shoals isn't bad either. Fayetteville was not as bad as I thought it would be.

JG, I am guessing you are in N IL correct? I spent 5 years around Gurnee if that is familiar to you. Enjoyed it except for winter.

 

[Kitty]

I thought I had been specific oh well,
Just to let you know Arkansas is not considered to be eastern. I do care about cost of living almost anything on the eastern seaboard will be expensive. There are parts mostly in the far north of Maine still reasonable but the winters are soooo long and the summers beautiful but short.
Also taxes are not always reasonable and change quickly.
The growing season would be a challange also.

Forget ND the winters there are brutal and long I hear summer didn't happen once!

So I guess we don't have anyone on this board who lives in Arkansas

 

[wildcat]

Just to let you know Arkansas is not considered to be eastern

Just to let you know anything east of Colorado is the east to me. Stuff starts to look the same. Anything Colorado and west is the west to me.

like the city about once or twice a year. the hustle and bustle, push and shove of urban living does not agree with me.
I am looking for a place that is rural in character, a home with ten or more acres, barn, pond, garden, fruit trees, a porch to sit and sip iced tea in the afternoon while the dogs take a nap. Then a long slow walk to see what is in the mailbox with the dogs of course. Then if the mood strikes me I take the fishing tackle and go down to the pond and catch a couple of fish for dinner after dinner sit and watch the deer share the pasture with the horses before dark

I thought I had been specific oh well

Not very specific to me. Can almost describe any rural area in the US.

Forget ND the winters there are brutal and long I hear summer didn't happen once!

Yeah wasn't on my list of top retirement areas anyway.


No I have not lived in Arkansas but I have been to see a friend that is in the Phd program there at U of Ark several times and I have stayed in other parts of the state. You may like Fayetteville. Catch a flight there and stay a couple of weeks to see if you would like to live there. As I said Table Rock Lake is very nice and the area has several others.

My parents moved from the Chicago area to Lexington, KY. It really is a nice area of 250,000 people (yet maintains a slow pace) and it is famous for its horse industry. Best horse farms in the country are located there. Cost of living is very reasonable. Utilities are very low. Food prices are also very low due to all of the competition. Taxes are so so. Weather is 4 season and cold spells come but don't last too long. Area is full of transplants from OH, IL and Michigan. I guess b/c it is not too far south, weather is better and the cost of living is lower. Land surrounding the city is still available and reasonable. Any place far to the east or west turns a bit too country for me. Bad part is you have to drive an hour or so to do anything recreationally, i.e. lake or decent hiking. Lexington has a nice & convenient airport with fair prices.

Oxford, MS (pop 15-16,000 or 30,000 or so with students) is another place that is brought up frequently as a best place to retire. It is not bad but very hot & humid and much more small town/rural than other areas. It does kind of have a Norman Rockwell feel to it. Have to drive to Memphis to travel. Ole Miss & the 'Square' are the big draws. Real estate is moving higher b/c it is gaining popularity but I think the areas outside of town aren't bad. Problems is that it is too full of 18-21 drunk kids & they account for about 50% of the population. Rich southern kids Recreation is fairly low...flat b/c it is close to the delta.

I still put Chapel Hill, NC as one of the best areas. Very diverse mix of people and nice culture. More pricey than the others but you can get a pretty nice yard with your house in that area. Again popularity is driving prices up.

Don't like much in Alabama

Others I have been to but can't write much on
Clemson, SC - old South but close to the mountains, Lake Hartwell & SC's horse industry

Athens, GA - nice and prb one of the nicer college towns; 1 or so hr from Atlanta

Chattanooga, TN - ok, close to the mountains and they have done some things to spruce up the city, cheap land around eastern TN.

Columbia, MO - I think it is better than Fayetteville but not as close to the recreation; weather doesn't get real bad in the winter

If you like horses, Ocala, FL is big but not as big as Lexington. Not on the coast so not too pricey but easy drive if you want to go.

I don't know what else to list. I have been to quite a few places. All should be low cost of living and I tried to put your interests into each one. Most are small-med college towns with something to offer & moderate to warm weather. I like the West though

 

[charlie]

Kitty, my Mom lives in Hot Springs. It is a great retirement
area with lots of rural property nearby.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

[Kitty]

Thanks for the replies.

I think I will just go for a visit and see for myself.

Hot Springs I hear is nice and I want to visit Bull Shoals Lake area and Mountain Home Arkansas.

I have driven through the state several times but that is no way to learn about the place your just passing through and just trying to get to the next town or motel.

Kitty

 

[azanon]

North central and Northwest Arkansas is just gorgeous, peaceful.  I personally live in West Little Rock. 

I've lived in the state all my life with the exception of 2 years of Biloxi and 2 years of Miami (neither of which I loved even close to as much as I do Arkansas).  Personally, I have a hard time thinking of any negatives.   

>You get a true 4 seasons (very hot summers, can usually count on a couple snows in mid-north arkansas in the winter, etc). 
>cost of living/housing is very low (my house i bought only cost me $147K for a 2K square foot house built in 95' in a nice subdivision of W. LR (nicest area of LR)), - i bought it less than 2 years ago btw, so that price reflects most of the recent run-up in real estate.
> There's not a lot of people here and driving even in LR is "nothing", compared to big cities (like Miami).
> People are very friendly and relaxed (as compared to uptight, and short tempered jerks in Miami).
> It is truly the natural state;  lots of greenery and plenty of water, beautiful mountains.   Eastern Arkansas is flat and uninspiring though (where i grew up :-(   )
> The state feels "unified" because the major network newstations (CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX) out of little rock cover news for the whole state.   You are addressed as an Arkansan.   The state, generally speaking, rallies behind their college team (if you're into sports).  The Razorbacks tend to be very competitive in all the major college sports.
> Did i mention the cost of living is very low?    A little money will take you a long way here.


Don't believe any of this.  Dont want too many people showing up!   

Azanon

 

[wildcat]

The Razorbacks tend to be very competitive in all the major college sports.

Except when they play my alma mater

People are very friendly and relaxed

Very true

Northwest Arkansas is just gorgeous, peaceful

Very true & IMHO it is the best

and I want to visit Bull Shoals Lake area and Mountain Home Arkansas.

Gotta see Table Rock Lake

 

[Kitty]

I've lived in the state all my life with the exception of 2 years of Biloxi and 2 years of Miami (neither of which I loved even close to as much as I do Arkansas).  Personally, I have a hard time thinking of any negatives.   


Well, I guess I have to go visit Arkansas for sure now.

I like things a to be a little bit small town like or better rural I would like to have a small place in the sticks. If I had my pets, garden, chickens, was away from all the city noise and hustle, pushyness, sirens, train horns, screeching tires, gun shots in the middle of the night, I might calm down and enjoy  life again.

Kitty

 

[lets-retire]

I've thought about it and have to agree with Kitty. Except I currently deal with the boneheads who are shooting in the middle of the night. The last thing I want is one of the boneheads coincidentally moving to the same place I choose to retire and attempt to settle a 10 year old grudge. The farther from civilization, if you can call a city civilized, the better for me.

 

[Don]

I've lived in Arkansas most of my life, so I can tell you there are some really nice places to retire. But like anywhere else it really depends on what YOU want. We have lots of lakes, hills, cheap land, nice people, mild temps, 4 seasons. Our Big town is Little Rock, but we're not far from Memphis on the east, Bransons/Springfield to the north, and Dallas is a few hrs SW.

Some of my favorite areas are around Hot Springs, Hot Springs Village, Mountain Home, Eureka Springs, and Mountain View. Lakes Norfork, Bull Shoals, Greers Ferry, and Ouachita are all really nice. If you want a beautiful drive thru some laid back hill country try HWY 7, up from Hot Springs to Bull Shoals lake.

The eastern delta part is mostly flat farm land, I prefer the hills myself.
HTH
Don

 

[treypar]

Don
What are some of your favorite lake locations? I have been to Lake Greeson and really enjoyed the area. Retiring in Arkansas is definitely something that I am considering.

 

[pbrane]

I recently received a sales flyer from www.hotspringsvillage.com

..seems like a nice place on paper, except maybe for the 99 degree summer avg. temps

oops...

I thought I saw an average high of 99 somewhere, but I just checked Yahoo weather and it was only 94 (ha) for July and August.. And the lows were lower than where I lived in Sarasota, so it might not be too bad.