Hot Springs - Mena (Mountain Home, Hot Springs Village: relocation, budget, medical)

[prowler]

It's been awhile since anybody has talked about the "Hot Springs" - "Mena" area so I hoped to stir the pot just a bit here. We've made the visit from Indiana to Hot Springs 2 times in the last 12 months and made a visit to Mena 1 time. We've wandered down through the central part of Arkansas and back up through Magazine Mtn and Mountain Home, etc. Due to time restraints we never spent enough time in any one place to get an accurate handle for our possible relocation, although we feel most likely to head back to the Ouachita Forest, Mena, Hot Springs area.

Hot Springs seems to provide a vibrant sort of life style, including night life and schools and upscale medical facilities. Hot Springs also includes lots of traffic and tourists which is great for Hot Springs but may not be the sort of thing that we are looking for. Hot Springs Village is a popular location for many people but it is not our cup of tea.

Mena, on the other hand, seemed way more laid back than Hot Springs and may or may not have upscale medical facilities and other amenities. We just don't know about that last part and certainly don't mean to disparage any Mena-ites. We're hoping for feedback here regarding Mena.

Our primary motive for relocation is lower overall cost of living and warmer average temps year round. It may not be as hot here during the extreme months, but in central Arkansas you guys are able to enjoy the entire year doing things outdoors and find ways to compensate for those really hot and humid times. We oftentimes sacrifice several months each year due to ice and snow and frigid temps.

We're retirees and would [ideally] hope to find a bit of solitude with approx 10 wooded acres. We love critters and don't mind just a bit of privacy. Our budget probably wouldn't allow us to just hop down there and buy some prime property and then build a new home. We've already talked with local contractors about construction costs and time intervals. We also got a fairly good idea about land costs. Therefore, we would most likely be looking for an existing home with some land - and then do some basic remodeling to that home to make it feel more personal.

Question: When we return to AR in a couple of months and re-visit that general west-central area ... what might be the best place for us to focus? We don't mind driving 20 - 30 miles for shopping and medical needs since that's what we do right now and we're not committed to any specific city. We realize that suggesting which place is better to live than another is all a matter of personal preference - but those personal opinions from folks already established in Arkansas are just what we are looking for.

Thanks,
Roger