[atlantis7]

Hot Springs seems like an idyllic place. My wife and I are IKE victims. We came to Houston so she could take a great job. That lasted five months. We bought a house then the storm came and 4000 people were laid off at the hospital-University where she worked.

Sorry. I can't speak well of Houston. It's like a bunch of ants on concrete. Commute times are horrible and so is crime. But for sure, it's flat, boring and
miserably hot most of the time. Enough about that.

For family reasons, the plan is to move but stay near Houston. (about 460 miles) The mission is quality of life and cost of living. Which brings me back to Houston - there is an asterisk to that legend about getting a lot of home for the money here. You get a large (mostly poor quality) house that consumes the entire lot in a sardine can subdivision that used to be a cow pasture. TAXES, WIND INSURANCE, AND UTILITY (M.U.D. they call them) TAXES are high and cover 2/3 of my mortgage payment! I pay about 8500 in taxes (MUD included) 600.00 annual assn. fee and 1600. in Windstorm coverage on a 250k house.

So, we have selected Hot Springs as our target. From research, it looks like it may be a better for a variety of distinctive homes (not cookie cutter) where a buyer could get a big yard or maybe even an acre or two and over 2200 square feet for under 200k. ?? The best builders?

We don't have kids so I don't care about schools and would just as soon be in a tax district where I don't have to pay for a bunch of new ones that I don't use.

I am wondering about the quality of building there and where the best neighborhoods are in and around HS for what I have described.

Also, what are the average taxes on houses there?

Are food prices reasonable there? (those who have come from other places will probably readily know)

How about medical services? It is the only good thing I can find about HOUSTON. Medical here is some of the best in the world.

How about state income taxes? What kind of a hit?

Feel free to tell me anything else that would be helpful too. Thanks

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by atlantis7

Hot Springs seems like an idyllic place. My wife and I are IKE victims. We came to Houston so she could take a great job. That lasted five months. We bought a house then the storm came and 4000 people were laid off at the hospital-University where she worked.

Sorry. I can't speak well of Houston. It's like a bunch of ants on concrete. Commute times are horrible and so is crime. But for sure, it's flat, boring and
miserably hot most of the time. Enough about that.

For family reasons, the plan is to move but stay near Houston. (about 460 miles) The mission is quality of life and cost of living. Which brings me back to Houston - there is an asterisk to that legend about getting a lot of home for the money here. You get a large (mostly poor quality) house that consumes the entire lot in a sardine can subdivision that used to be a cow pasture. TAXES, WIND INSURANCE, AND UTILITY (M.U.D. they call them) TAXES are high and cover 2/3 of my mortgage payment! I pay about 8500 in taxes (MUD included) 600.00 annual assn. fee and 1600. in Windstorm coverage on a 250k house.

So, we have selected Hot Springs as our target. From research, it looks like it may be a better for a variety of distinctive homes (not cookie cutter) where a buyer could get a big yard or maybe even an acre or two and over 2200 square feet for under 200k. ?? The best builders?

We don't have kids so I don't care about schools and would just as soon be in a tax district where I don't have to pay for a bunch of new ones that I don't use.

I am wondering about the quality of building there and where the best neighborhoods are in and around HS for what I have described.

Also, what are the average taxes on houses there?

Are food prices reasonable there? (those who have come from other places will probably readily know)

How about medical services? It is the only good thing I can find about HOUSTON. Medical here is some of the best in the world.

How about state income taxes? What kind of a hit?

Feel free to tell me anything else that would be helpful too. Thanks

It is almost impossible to compare Hot Springs with Houston, due to sheer size, one is a town, the other a metro area. I am not fond of Houston, I will add.

I can tell you a couple of things: property will be less in Hot Springs, as will property taxes and insurance, both car and home.

As for medical facilities, these will be somewhat limited. Again, you are talking about a small town with a lot of tourist traffic especially in the summer. The town is very pretty, quaint and certainly someplace I wouldn't mind living.

You may want to consider Hot Springs Village as well. It is a gated community, there are not a lot of kids, but more than in years past and the area is much newer. That is just a thought. The problem with HSV, it is a little too isolated for many. The newest hospital is in Hot Springs.

I would recommend you look in NWA but I see you need to be within a decent drive to Houston, so that won't work.

Nita

[hydigger]

Job's will be harder to find than in Huston. It is smaller and it is mainly a tourist driven town. That said it has a lot to offer over other places. Little Rock is very close and there is always something to do.

[RTTNFAM]

Originally Posted by atlantis7

Hot Springs seems like an idyllic place. My wife and I are IKE victims. We came to Houston so she could take a great job. That lasted five months. We bought a house then the storm came and 4000 people were laid off at the hospital-University where she worked.

Sorry. I can't speak well of Houston. It's like a bunch of ants on concrete. Commute times are horrible and so is crime. But for sure, it's flat, boring and
miserably hot most of the time. Enough about that.

For family reasons, the plan is to move but stay near Houston. (about 460 miles) The mission is quality of life and cost of living. Which brings me back to Houston - there is an asterisk to that legend about getting a lot of home for the money here. You get a large (mostly poor quality) house that consumes the entire lot in a sardine can subdivision that used to be a cow pasture. TAXES, WIND INSURANCE, AND UTILITY (M.U.D. they call them) TAXES are high and cover 2/3 of my mortgage payment! I pay about 8500 in taxes (MUD included) 600.00 annual assn. fee and 1600. in Windstorm coverage on a 250k house.

So, we have selected Hot Springs as our target. From research, it looks like it may be a better for a variety of distinctive homes (not cookie cutter) where a buyer could get a big yard or maybe even an acre or two and over 2200 square feet for under 200k. ?? The best builders?

We don't have kids so I don't care about schools and would just as soon be in a tax district where I don't have to pay for a bunch of new ones that I don't use.

I am wondering about the quality of building there and where the best neighborhoods are in and around HS for what I have described.

Also, what are the average taxes on houses there?

Are food prices reasonable there? (those who have come from other places will probably readily know)

How about medical services? It is the only good thing I can find about HOUSTON. Medical here is some of the best in the world.

How about state income taxes? What kind of a hit?

Feel free to tell me anything else that would be helpful too. Thanks

Taxes will vary depending on the school district in which you purchase. That being said Lake Hamilton and Lakeside school districts used to be the highest taxed districts in that area when I lived there a few years ago.

They are also the areas in which I would prefer to live in Hot Springs...
Your tax bill will also vary based of course on how much the county has assessed the value of your home at. A good realtor will have the exact info you need on this.

As far as quality building.... as with any other area you have your good and your bad, and sadly enough sometimes the bad is very nicely disguised underneath great cosmetics. You really need to find a good realtor who can steer you clear of any major pitfuls where that is concerned.

There are taxes on groceries here, unlike Texas, so you may find food prices to be more expensive.

The real estate and property taxes are reasonable.

Hot Springs has 3 hospitals. St Joseph being largest of the 3 and the best in my opinion. NPMC is the 2nd largest, and one I would not recommend (personal opinion though). The last one is Health Park, which is small, but I think it is great. I had a surgery done there shortly after it opening and the service was second to none!

If those don't suit your needs, you can always head towards Benton and Little Rock for some other great hospitals and they are only about an hour to an hour and a half from Hot Springs.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by RTTNFAM

Taxes will vary depending on the school district in which you purchase. That being said Lake Hamilton and Lakeside school districts used to be the highest taxed districts in that area when I lived there a few years ago.

They are also the areas in which I would prefer to live in Hot Springs...
Your tax bill will also vary based of course on how much the county has assessed the value of your home at. A good realtor will have the exact info you need on this.

As far as quality building.... as with any other area you have your good and your bad, and sadly enough sometimes the bad is very nicely disguised underneath great cosmetics. You really need to find a good realtor who can steer you clear of any major pitfuls where that is concerned.

There are taxes on groceries here, unlike Texas, so you may find food prices to be more expensive.

The real estate and property taxes are reasonable.

Hot Springs has 3 hospitals. St Joseph being largest of the 3 and the best in my opinion. NPMC is the 2nd largest, and one I would not recommend (personal opinion though). The last one is Health Park, which is small, but I think it is great. I had a surgery done there shortly after it opening and the service was second to none!

If those don't suit your needs, you can always head towards Benton and Little Rock for some other great hospitals and they are only about an hour to an hour and a half from Hot Springs.

We really haven't found food prices much different because the food tax is now, only 3%. I know some think that makes a big difference, I guess it depends on your food budget.

Nita

[atlantis7]

Originally Posted by RTTNFAM

Taxes will vary depending on the school district in which you purchase. That being said Lake Hamilton and Lakeside school districts used to be the highest taxed districts in that area when I lived there a few years ago.

They are also the areas in which I would prefer to live in Hot Springs...
Your tax bill will also vary based of course on how much the county has assessed the value of your home at. A good realtor will have the exact info you need on this.
.

How about state income taxes? Do you manage to get most of the money you pay in back? I am assuming the income tax also covers ANY income you live off of, like annuities, too??

About food - is a lot of the produce that you find at the local grocery stores actually grown in Arkansas? In Florida, every comes from everywhere but Florida and all the good fruit and veggies get sent everywhere else. In Tennessee, I was surprised that the BILO grocery chain bought their produce locally and from within the state (with some exceptions to things that were seasonal or exotic)

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by atlantis7

How about state income taxes? Do you manage to get most of the money you pay in back? I am assuming the income tax also covers ANY income you live off of, like annuities, too??

About food - is a lot of the produce that you find at the local grocery stores actually grown in Arkansas? In Florida, every comes from everywhere but Florida and all the good fruit and veggies get sent everywhere else. In Tennessee, I was surprised that the BILO grocery chain bought their produce locally and from within the state (with some exceptions to things that were seasonal or exotic)

During the summer the produce is a mixture and if it is local it will say so on the price list just below the produce, we have awesome farmers markets as well. Of course from now until maybe June we can't grow much of anything except leaves.

Nita

[RTTNFAM]

What Nita said about sums it up here. I agree about the farmers markets, they are a great source of locally grown goodies.

[CESpeed]

I just moved to Hot Springs and I'm loving it! It's beyond beautiful and it's very nice. The sales tax of 10.25% was a surprise but when you balance out the cost of housing, car registration, etc. it's not that bad.