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Regarding tornadoes, this is where those retirement communities in the mountains have an advantage. The hills have a way of dissipating the storms. Not to say they can't happen, because tornadoes can hit anywhere, but my friend in HSV has been there for almost 40 years now and hasn't seen one yet. He says the hills protect them.
Regarding tornadoes, this is where those retirement communities in the mountains have an advantage. The hills have a way of dissipating the storms. Not to say they can't happen, because tornadoes can hit anywhere, but my friend in HSV has been there for almost 40 years now and hasn't seen one yet. He says the hills protect them.
And they do! Think Kimberling City and Branson, MO on Leap Year Day. Both are nestled on the shores of lakes deep in the Ozarks which are all-over hilly and both got smacked by the same tornado.
Since this seems to be a hot topic this week, let's look at some of the lower COL states in depth. What are the pros and cons of retiring to Arkansas, Missouri, Maine, etc.? Which communities in particular would you recommend for retirees?
And most of all... anyone have any photos? (You guys know how I love looking at photos. ) I may have some of my friend's place in Hot Springs Village, and if I can find them I'll post them. I just think photos can tell you so much about a place.
well I can't do the picture thing cause this old lady is totally a computer idiot. all I know how to do is cut and paste, and play on C-D, occassionally getting myself into trouble.
As for Maine, I know very little about the state except the only visit I have made to the place, as an adult, was about 30 years ago. The people were very unfriendly or maybe just very reserved. I do know it is as cold as a place can get in the winter.
NO West Ar and Mo are similar in many ways. There is a reason AR is called the natural state. Most of you know how I feel about living here. I am glad I had the experiece of living all over the country before moving to Bella Vista 4 years ago yesterday. It gave me even a better appreciation for what the area has to offer. We have lived in both rural and urban cities and towns, but rarely have we seen such a wonderful blend of the ttwo.
There is nothing a retiree could want that isn't within a 1/2 of here and yet, most of the time we feel like all there is living in our area is wildlife and us.
Add to all this, we have friends from all over the country as most of the people in NWA were not born and raised here. Many are from the northern midwest, and NE. but there are some from Ca, the east coast, AZ, and Texas for starters. It is considered the most conservative part of our wonderful stat, which pleases us to no end. This does not mean only one side is represented, we know and have friends with a mixture of views and a mixture of backgrounds. Basically our area is pretty middle class and yet you can find the family living in a mansion as well as those who depend on our food banks like the one at our church.
I guess, I could go on and on, but you get the idea. NWA is what I think of when I think of America and when I think of America I think of heaven...BTW, SWMO is very similar.
I've never been up to the NW part of Arkansas, but from what I hear it's got a lot more amenities than the area around HSV. So, for those people who worry that a place like HSV would be too isolated or have too few stores, NW Arkansas might be more appealing.
I know a few people from southern Cal who are moving up near Bentonville. Boy, Californians are moving everywhere, aren't they? It'll be interesting to see what effect this has, since they often bring businesses and customs with them. Before you know it Trader Joes and Yoga Spots will start popping up everywhere.
We are thinking of Arkansas to retire. How long does the summer last? Does it at least cool off at night? How high does the summer temperature get? Is it as bad as Texas?
Chuck, depending on where you live now, you might find our weather awful or wonderful. For us, it is not the best but certainly barable. NM had better summers cause it was dry and believe it or not the temps were rarely above the low to mid 90s. Here our summers are humid, but the nights cool off compared to Texas anyway. We lived in No. Va for 7 years and I would say our summers here are similar. Yes, the nights do cool off but the air will stay on sometimes most of the night, depending on what you keep it set at. Normally the really warm temps start about now and continue into early Sept. The days will reach the low to mid 90s and the nights will stay between 65 and the mid 70s. We can use our screened in porch almost all summmer, especially at night. I hope this helped you. We did live in the Dallas area for 13 years, No West AR is a dream compared to Texas. The middle part of AR is better than Texas but hotter and more humid than here. Oh, our winters, we get a couple of snow storms a year and maybe some ice. Again, colder and more snow than anyplace in Texas, but rarely does it keep us housebound for more than a day or so.
There are a few downsides, IMO. YMMV as to how much these things might bother you.
1. Icy roads in the winter. Snow isn't bad, but ice can be a problem. And (at least in HSV) you have to drive, because nothing is within walking distance.
2. Insects can be bad, in particular ticks and chiggers. So bad that you never NEVER walk through grass, not even walking over a grassy median in a parking lot.
3. The airport is quite far from HSV. To visit my friend, I have to take two flights, then drive for more than an hour. The roads are not always in the best shape, and you drive through an area that is very low income (and a little trashy). Safe enough, but it can be a very depressing drive, especially since the recession. You'll see a fair number of empty stores and abandoned businesses.
4. The variety of stores is limited. The grocery store is often Wal-Mart or a very small local business that may not stock much. The stores were much better in the 80s and 90s, so I'm hoping this changes.
5. Speaking about changes that happened as a result of the recession... how do I put this delicately... the local residents have become less friendly and are not always happy to see visitors from out of town. They are sometimes a little openly racist. I have had people try to run me off the road (just for laughs, I guess). When you go into a local business you can expect that Fox News will be playing, and people will want to share their political opinions. I try very strongly to avoid this, but it gets harder and harder. People I used to meet at the hotel I stay at there used to be pretty open minded--not so much lately.
HSV is so much like here they could pass for one another. If I did send pics of Bella Vista you would think it was HSV. of course the areas were developed by the same company, maybe that has something to do with it.
We decided on Bella Vista over HSV because we have a few more amenties close by. We have slightly better shopping, much better access to medical facilities and are only about 35 mi from the airport.
I somewhat share what you are saying about racism but, if anything we are seeing less of this. I think part of this has to do with Wal-Mart and the university. In the general area, even Bella Vista we see more diversity today than even 4 years ago. When we drive into Bentonville or Rogers (usually about once a wekk or so) we see new ethnic restaurants and groceries stores opeing up everywhere. Just yesterday, we stopped at a Mexican grocery store to buy jalapenos, then went to the Asian store for baby bok choy, a pecial soy sause, fish sause and Asian noodles. From there we visited the Indian market so I could pick up Cous Cous.
Our family doctor is from the Phillipines and my husband's old Urologist was from India.
Nita
ps; love the comment about FOX NEWS, you are right. It is rare when we go to a doctors office and do not see in on. If we see something else I think, immediately, I must be in a liberal enviornment.
One maxim I have found holds up through the years and the geography: with *rare* exceptions, you get what you pay for, and sometimes much less.
sorry that isn't always true: yes, when you are buying say, a piece of clothing but when it comes to chossing places with a lower cost of living , versus a more enpensive there are several things to concider. For intance, there are states with exceptionally high taxes which drives up the cost of living, most of these also have a high % of unemployment, underclass and people on government assistance. That in one example to shoot your theory. Of course if you are living in an area where, say, homes range from 200,000 to millions, a 200,000 one is not going to be the same as a 5 mil one. But comparing states based on COL is totally a different thing. You are mixing apples with oranges.
I have been extensively researching our retirement re-location for the last 10 years
We narrowed it down to either NE Alabama or north Arkansas( Ozarks )
After 66 years in Minnesota, we sold our dairy farm to the son and leased a furnished house in Arkansas from mid Jan-May 1
By March 1, we started looking at buying and moved into our house on May 1
Milder winters, lower cost of living, and beautiful scenery were our criteria
Real estate taxes dropped from $2,000 per year to $400. Car license from $127 down to $27
So far, we are very happy with our choices
You are bringing up some excellent points. There is so much to consider when retirement time comes around and certainly COL is one of them. I do not think one can base the choice as to where to live based on getting what you pay for. You just gave the perfect example. We feel the same when comparing life in Dallas to life in NWA. Though living in Dallas wasn't the most expensive place we have lived, it wasn't as cheap as AR and the weather alone made us anxious to re-locate. Yet, look at how many people are moving from places like CA to Texas.
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) I may have some of my friend's place in Hot Springs Village, and if I can find them I'll post them. I just think photos can tell you so much about a place.
