[songtown]

Hi Everyone!


We are from Memphis and finally had it after our car was broken into for the second time and someone was murdered in our apartment building. We are in Northwest Arkansas, and while the area is nice, it is also BOOMING and so many people from other states are moving here that we feel it no longer has the 'Southern' feel to it. Don't get me wrong - there are some absolutely precious sweet people here we are friends with, but overall the area is feeling more Midwest or California to us than Southern, if that makes sense. Along with wanting to feel more 'in the South' with its southern hospitality, we can't stand the cold here. It snows at least twice as much as what we're used to, and we went from a 7b (maybe even 8a) growing zone down to a 6b when we moved here (at least a 10 degree colder difference than what we're used to).


We are looking at possibly moving outside the Fort Smith area, the Russellville area or the Conway area and had considered the Jonesboro or Cabot area but it may be too close to Little Rock and Memphis, and we are concerned about crime.



We want to start a small farm (around 20 acres) mainly as a homestead (we work from home so need good internet). We have had family members try to have gardens in the mountains and hills and they really had a rough time with it - from the soil and having to do container gardening to the wild animals in the woods trying to murder their ducks, chickens, sheep etc. We're thinking flatter land would be much easier than trying to build our homestead in the mountains.



We are looking for:
- lowest crime possible
- great soil for growing vegetables and a few fruit and nut trees
- great area for keeping chickens, ducks, sheep and goats
- good internet so we can work from home
- good area for kids (we have a huge family that may join us)
- farmers markets where we can make friends with other like minded people
- at least a 7b growing zone (we can't take the cold lol)
- Southern hospitality and food
- great Mexican food
- conservative to libertarian area
- not too far out from basic shopping like grocery stores, farm stores, Home Depot, restaurants etc.



Would you suggest the Fort Smith area, Russellville, Conway or somewhere else? We realize that Northwest AR is considered the safest metro by many rankings, so we are afraid to move somewhere with more crime since we don't want to live like we did before! We would love to hear your suggestions!

[NW Crow]

Of the 3 CITIES you are considering, Fort Smith is quite bad on property crime and the other 2 are pretty bad by statistics. Outlying areas fairly normal on average though.

Probably going to be a tradeoff between level of nearby urban amenities and land prices but check the real estate sites.

If Conway area is too close to Little Rock or too expensive, then focus on Russellville or a new candidate. If you want access to the bigger place and can afford what you want near Conway, there you can go.

If don't find the right spot in Arkansas, you could consider southern Missouri, eastern Oklahoma or north Alabama or western Kentucky. Or Texas.

Home Depots in Little Rock and Ft. Smith but not in Conway or Russellville. Although the liste of national name stores on City-Data.com city profile pages are out of date and not complete, they can still give a quick general sense of what cities have and don't. Example: https://www.city-data.com/city/Conway-Arkansas.html Look near the bottom. All 3 cities are much much smaller and leaner of national stores than where you are at now, if that and / or restaurants or other amenities really matter, then Conway and particularly south of Conway might have the lead.

[songtown]

Originally Posted by NW Crow

Of the 3 CITIES you are considering, Fort Smith is quite bad on property crime and the other 2 are pretty bad by statistics.
Outlying areas fairly normal on average though.

Probably going to be a tradeoff between level of nearby urban amenities and land prices but check the real estate sites.

If Conway area is too close to Little Rock or too expensive, then focus on Russellville or a new candidate. If you want access to the bigger place and can afford what you want near Conway, there you can go.

If don't find the right spot in Arkansas, you could consider southern Missouri, eastern Oklahoma or north Alabama or western Kentucky. Or Texas.

Hi NW Crow!

I totally agree that I'm probably looking at a tradeoff with those, yes. It's funny you mention Oklahoma and Texas - they are on our list too and I haven't ruled them out. Maybe I'll post in the OK and TX forums and compare everything in more detail. Thank you!

[NW Crow]

You are welcome.

Stillwater OK has the red dirt music scene, some of which may rock or could.

[songtown]

Originally Posted by NW Crow

You are welcome.

Stillwater OK has the red dirt music scene, some of which may rock or could.

I was worried that Stillwater might be a little cold, but I will check that out - we LOVE rock music!
Thank you so much!

[latunafish]

you might take another look at cabot. it is close to north little rock and lots of the amenities there, but a safe, small town feel to the area. the town itself is way more rural than you would expect for the closeness to the capital city.



conway, also has some areas around the edge of town that get real rural, real fast.


both of these have most of what is on your want list.

[songtown]

Originally Posted by latunafish

you might take another look at cabot. it is close to north little rock and lots of the amenities there, but a safe, small town feel to the area. the town itself is way more rural than you would expect for the closeness to the capital city.



conway, also has some areas around the edge of town that get real rural, real fast.


both of these have most of what is on your want list.

Hi latunafish!

That's a great idea - I will! I have seen some beautiful farms in that area. I'll check out the edges of Conway as well. Thank you!