[MyCitySearchName]

I've spent several months looking at places to move and finally picked one.....but I have a few concerns about it and I am just snooping around for other areas to compare it to.

I chose Floyd, VA.....but the taxes and government intrusion there scare me a little, otherwise it meets all of my requirements. I don't know much about Alabama, but Mentone sounds kinda nice. Anyone on these forums familiar with it?

looking for:
*low cost of living
*small government, mostly conservative.....with LOW TAXES. I'm wanting to make my next move permanent.
*low crime rate
*gun friendly
*pet friendly
*pretty scenery, with low cost acreage available near near water...MILD climate....not extreme either way.....I do like to play in snow occasionally and prefer rolling foothills near mountains. I also like hunting, kayaking and rock climbing.
*rural, yet vibrant community with artists, artisans, self-reliant homesteader types and musicians....within a 30 min. drive of a larger community (30k to 150k people) for business/shopping purposes
*access to organic produce, meat and goat's milk
*no big box stores or blacktop jungles. I like a town with some character, slow pace of life and interesting architecture.
*a decent hardware store and a nice restaurant or two.

Choices so far have been:
#1 Floyd or Boones Mill, VA
#2 Townsend, Tullahoma, Clarksville or Johnson City, TN
#3 Mountain Home or outskirts of Fort Smith or Fayetteville, AR
#4 Corvallis, Coos Bay, Roseburg, Astoria, Seaside or La Pine, OR
#5 Florence, Rock City, Gadsden or Mentone, Alabama
#6 Coeur D'Alene, Idaho
#6 Poteau, OK

Any other recommendations would be welcome.

Not sure of all that Mentone offers, but it sounds nice.

[harry chickpea]

I'll interleave my responses.

"looking for:
*low cost of living

That fits other areas of AL better than Mentone.

*small government, mostly conservative.....with LOW TAXES. I'm wanting to make my next move permanent.

Then most of Alabama fits. Alabama has minimal governmental overhead, the taxes on property are FAR lower than I've seen elsewhere, and people who understand the tradeoffs love the concept.

*low crime rate

Most of the rural areas fit. Crime is more an urban phenomenon in the Bible Belt.

*gun friendly

Err, Mentone? Sort-of. Art and guns rarely mix comfortably.

*pet friendly

What kind of pet? Animals are treated as animals in a lot of the state.

*pretty scenery, with low cost acreage available near near water...MILD climate....not extreme either way.....I do like to play in snow occasionally and prefer rolling foothills near mountains. I also like hunting, kayaking and rock climbing.

Forget low cost acreage in Mentone. As for climate- mild and snow are mutually exclusive. All of AL gets hot in the summer. This IS the south. Lookout Mountain is different than rolling foothills, but very nice. The sports are all nearby.

*rural, yet vibrant community with artists, artisans, self-reliant homesteader types and musicians....within a 30 min. drive of a larger community (30k to 150k people) for business/shopping purposes

OK, time to get real. Mentone has some artisians. There is a pottery shop on the way up the mountain from Valley Head and there are other artists around there. However, Chattanooga is over an hour away. Some like Chattanooga, I don't. The "vibrant community" around Mentone is in conflict with the more conservative community.

*access to organic produce, meat and goat's milk

Health food in the south is as rare as hen's teeth. Good luck unless you grow your own.

*no big box stores or blacktop jungles. I like a town with some character, slow pace of life and interesting architecture.

The Mentone Inn is an amazing structure on a par with the hotel on Catalina Island. Other "interesting architecture" in Alabama can be 1960s trailers. AL does not have a lot of restrictions on land.

*a decent hardware store and a nice restaurant or two."

The Little River Hardware Store in Mentone is a treasure. FWIW, the owner owns a trailer park and is from New York, but understands the area better than many natives. Some of the Mentone restaurants are for sale if you want to try your hand.

We looked very seriously at Mentone and Ft. Payne, but found that it was already overpriced and had all the great property taken. However... there is a mountaintop property just outside of Ft Payne we looked at that had a good price and interesting location. Until we realized it was too small, we were considering it. PM me if you are interested in contacting the broker we were using.

We found what we wanted in a different area of the state, but we'd have to kill you if we told you where.

[MyCitySearchName]

thanks so much for that....very helpful.

I've noticed Alabama has great housing prices. I'm willing to spend a little more to get what I want (water on property).....I just don't wanna go broke. If Mentone is more expensive, but reasonable....I'd still consider it.

By pets, I mean dogs.....I take mine everywhere, and they are well behaved.

I don't consider artists and creative types as necessarily exclusive from conservative Christian types, although its prolly the norm...I happen to be both.....Its a shame these 2 groups can't co-exist peacefully more often.

snow and mild aren't necessarily exclusive either.....Floyd gets about 15 inches....yet the average low for the winter is 27 degrees.

health food...again, Floyd has this in spades....not saying Floyd is Nirvana, just saying this stuff is out there if you look, and I love Floyd......just the previously mentioned issues worry me.

please PM me with any relevant info you have....

Properties interest me.....but I need to make sure I have the right community first. Mentone certainly sounds interesting.

[harry chickpea]

Water on the property can mean a lot of different things. Small farm ponds dot the landscape, but year round running water is harder to find and much more expensive. Be aware that there are municipal water pipes on just about all the major county roads. Drinking water is not a problem.

"Brow view" lots are the big thing. Drive north out of Mentone and you'll see a large part of the brow of Lookout Mountain that is set to become a "millionaires' row."

Health food will come to the area eventually, as the rich continue to move in, but I have not seen a Whole Foods or Wild Oats in Alabama - even in Huntsville and Birmingham. You might have to consider driving to the Atlanta area for heavy shopping like that.

[MyCitySearchName]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

Water on the property can mean a lot of different things. Small farm ponds dot the landscape, but year round running water is harder to find and much more expensive. Be aware that there are municipal water pipes on just about all the major county roads. Drinking water is not a problem.

"Brow view" lots are the big thing. Drive north out of Mentone and you'll see a large part of the brow of Lookout Mountain that is set to become a "millionaires' row."

Health food will come to the area eventually, as the rich continue to move in, but I have not seen a Whole Foods or Wild Oats in Alabama - even in Huntsville and Birmingham. You might have to consider driving to the Atlanta area for heavy shopping like that.

I prefer to remain "off the grid" as much as possible and rely on municipal utilities only when necessary.

I just want some form of access to a natural water source: spring fed pond, lake, creek...etc.

Health food stores would be nice....but some places have things like a local farmers co-op and market....that would be fine as well. NONE of the grocery stores in my area have anything that isn't genetically modified or grown with pesticides and growth hormone. I refuse to eat that stuff if I don't have to, it isn't healthy. The next place I move is going to have to have that available. The government is slowly killing us with that "FDA approved" garbage.....thats kind of a soapbox of mine, sorry.

[marysally]

A new Fresh Market opened on Airport Road in Huntsville in December.

[MyCitySearchName]

Originally Posted by marysally

A new Fresh Market opened on Airport Road in Huntsville in December.

Thanks.

But isn't that a little far away from Mentone?...

[Sleestak]

If I'm not mistaken, there's a place near Mentone that sells organic grass fed beef and whatnot, but I can't recall the name offhand. I believe it's located somewhere near Ft. Payne. Now if you like barbecue and fried catfish, Alabama is the place to be!

[MyCitySearchName]

Originally Posted by Sleestak

If I'm not mistaken, there's a place near Mentone that sells organic grass fed beef and whatnot, but I can't recall the name offhand. I believe it's located somewhere near Ft. Payne. Now if you like barbecue and fried catfish, Alabama is the place to be!

I love both...

I'm wondering....those of you who live near Huntsville. Do you prefer Huntsville or Chattanooga?

[Southlander]

Originally Posted by MyCitySearchName

I love both... I'm wondering....those of you who live near Huntsville. Do you prefer Huntsville or Chattanooga?

You're about the same distance from both. Both have about the same shopping. Chattanooga is older and more scenic. Huntsville, with the influence of NASA and Redstone Arsenal, has an interesting vibe and a growing entertainment-arts scene.