[kydc]

Hi all. My family is considering relocating from SC and AR is a possibility. Here are our criteria:

low crime
no significant drug problem (I know this is somewhat everywhere)
mountain views
access to natural beauty such as creeks, waterfalls, hiking
affordable land
low to no building restrictions (allowance of homesteading and the building of one's own home)


Does anywhere in Arkansas fit this bill? Any specific counties? I know traveling will best help to figure this out but I need to narrow it down somewhat before then. Thanks!!

[TRex2]

Originally Posted by kydc

Hi all. My family is considering relocating from SC and AR is a possibility. Here are our criteria:

low crime
no significant drug problem (I know this is somewhat everywhere)
mountain views
access to natural beauty such as creeks, waterfalls, hiking
affordable land
low to no building restrictions (allowance of homesteading and the building of one's own home)


Does anywhere in Arkansas fit this bill? Any specific counties? I know traveling will best help to figure this out but I need to narrow it down somewhat before then. Thanks!!

Except for three counties, and a few tiny pockets, everything North of the I-30/US76 corridor, and West of Batesville fits what you described. That is about one third of the state.

I lived just east of Columbia for a couple years, back around 1980. What part are you from?

[kydc]

Thanks for the reply. Looking to leave Horry County (Myrtle Beach area). Do you know which counties may be homesteading friendly (no building codes etc...)? Maybe one with a rural feel with reasonable access to a larger town (say 30-45 minutes from a town that may have some jobs and basic shopping) And is the crime in this area not bad? I know the state as a whole has higher numbers (we are also looking at KY and their numbers are low so just trying to compare) but I also know that can be in a particular area sometimes. Is AR likely to stay conservative and does the state value personal freedom in your opinion?? Sorry for all the questions but sometimes reading for hours and I still never find exactly what I'm trying to know so this is so helpful

[TRex2]

Originally Posted by kydc

Thanks for the reply. Looking to leave Horry County (Myrtle Beach area). Do you know which counties may be homesteading friendly (no building codes etc...)? Maybe one with a rural feel with reasonable access to a larger town (say 30-45 minutes from a town that may have some jobs and basic shopping) And is the crime in this area not bad? I know the state as a whole has higher numbers (we are also looking at KY and their numbers are low so just trying to compare) but I also know that can be in a particular area sometimes. Is AR likely to stay conservative and does the state value personal freedom in your opinion?? Sorry for all the questions but sometimes reading for hours and I still never find exactly what I'm trying to know so this is so helpful

AR will stay conservative longer than KY, and I don't know why our crime "numbers" would be higher. My impression is that they are about the same. Most of the crime happens along the Interstate corridors, so basically anywhere except there. Building codes are state wide (as they now are, in all states), due to Federal "oversight" but in counties with less than 50K population, you will find they don't pay much attention to them if you are outside city limits. (every location will vary, of course)

[explorearkansas]

If ur a fisherman, go look at north Ar. Im partial to Yellville cus its central to a bunch of great water. It all depends on what kind of employment needs u have.

[sub]

Originally Posted by kydc

Thanks for the reply. Looking to leave Horry County (Myrtle Beach area). Do you know which counties may be homesteading friendly (no building codes etc...)? Maybe one with a rural feel with reasonable access to a larger town (say 30-45 minutes from a town that may have some jobs and basic shopping) And is the crime in this area not bad? I know the state as a whole has higher numbers (we are also looking at KY and their numbers are low so just trying to compare) but I also know that can be in a particular area sometimes. Is AR likely to stay conservative and does the state value personal freedom in your opinion?? Sorry for all the questions but sometimes reading for hours and I still never find exactly what I'm trying to know so this is so helpful

Arkansas is consistently ranked one of the higher crime states, as are pretty much all it's immediate neighbors. Generally, if you keep to yourself and don't mess with the crazies, you'll be fine.
Some of the Delta towns and Little Rock can be particularly bad, at least in some parts, and the Ozarks struggle quite a bit with things like meth.
I lived a few different basic regions of AR which included Little Rock and the Delta(my favorite region) and survived just fine.
By national standards, I think building codes in rural areas of Arkansas would be negligible. Of course check with local governments specifically to make sure you can do whatever it is you want to do. I seriously doubt there would be any issues.

Arkansas will probably be conservative for a while longer, but who knows these days. It has pockets of liberalism and they're growing as fast as any other area, but still outnumbered for the time being.

I dunno, I grew up there and chose to leave and (try to) stay far away (like many in my generation).
For what you're wanting, a lot of people do move to Arkansas (and Missouri which is a bit more libertarian) for the same reasons and seem to like it.

[TRex2]

What are these Delta towns? What Delta? I have been wondering this, ever since I got here.

As for crime, yes Little Rock has crime, but so does Louisville.
Ozarks has a problem with meth, as does every rural area I have
ever been to or discussed with people who live there.
I suspect the reporting standards being different are the reason the numbers are different.

And yes, good point about the building codes, not only do most rural areas not put any effort into enforcing them (unless you impact someone else) they are just the minimum needed to stay out of trouble with EPA and other fed agencies.

[Hollynla]

Newton County falls into most of what you want except some of it can be an hour of more to town. We have no building codes or permits and even off grid homesteading is allowed. I know many who live off grid here.

[grampaTom]

Originally Posted by TRex2

What are these Delta towns? What Delta? I have been wondering this, ever since I got here.

As for crime, yes Little Rock has crime, but so does Louisville.
Ozarks has a problem with meth, as does every rural area I have
ever been to or discussed with people who live there.
I suspect the reporting standards being different are the reason the numbers are different.

And yes, good point about the building codes, not only do most rural areas not put any effort into enforcing them (unless you impact someone else) they are just the minimum needed to stay out of trouble with EPA and other fed agencies.

There's this little stream you may have heard of called the Mississippi River.

[explorearkansas]

Originally Posted by grampaTom

There's this little stream you may have heard of called the Mississippi River.

I hear you kin ketch purty biggin catfish in dat der stream.