[Towneee3]

Hi everyone, I'm considering moving to Arkansas from Massachusetts. We are being pushed out of Massachusetts because we are not vaccinated. Both my husband and my son-in-law stand to lose their jobs and the state is talking vaccine passports. Our biggest hope is to find a place that won't turn on us and slowly move to vaccine mandates then vaccine passports. What is it really like in Arkansas as far as mandates, masks, etc? We want freedom more than anything. We have spent the past 6 months worrying about the possibility of losing our jobs and our kids going to remote learning again. My husband is in law enforcement and my son-in-law is a machinist. I am self-employed and work remotely. What parts of the state do you recommend? We love warm weather (MA weather is erratic and cold, snowy winters- so no snow is great) and being outdoors in nature. We are looking for a house with lots of land, nothing fancy in the 200K range. Preferably looking for an area where there is a vocational/trade high school in the area for my son. My daughter is finishing up high school so if there are universities/colleges nearby that don't mandate vaccines (which from what I can tell- mandates are entirely banned in AR). I have a grandson (he's just a baby now), but we want him to be able to go to a good school. Any help is appreciated. One small, strange side note, I am terrified of heights- I can't be driving down roads with giant, steep cliffs!

[Hollynla]

There are no mandates here and in my part of the state, life is as it was before. I rarely see anyone wear a mask anymore. The vaccine is available for those who want it, but no mandates.

Can't offer any suggestions on which parts, you seem all over the place, but if you're wanting a lot of land, that says rural areas or outskirts of town. 200K range will be difficult. What is your definition of a lot of land?

[CLEOPATRAZEUS]

Originally Posted by Towneee3

Hi everyone, I'm considering moving to Arkansas from Massachusetts. We are being pushed out of Massachusetts because we are not vaccinated. Both my husband and my son-in-law stand to lose their jobs and the state is talking vaccine passports. Our biggest hope is to find a place that won't turn on us and slowly move to vaccine mandates then vaccine passports. What is it really like in Arkansas as far as mandates, masks, etc? We want freedom more than anything. We have spent the past 6 months worrying about the possibility of losing our jobs and our kids going to remote learning again. My husband is in law enforcement and my son-in-law is a machinist. I am self-employed and work remotely. What parts of the state do you recommend? We love warm weather (MA weather is erratic and cold, snowy winters- so no snow is great) and being outdoors in nature. We are looking for a house with lots of land, nothing fancy in the 200K range. Preferably looking for an area where there is a vocational/trade high school in the area for my son. My daughter is finishing up high school so if there are universities/colleges nearby that don't mandate vaccines (which from what I can tell- mandates are entirely banned in AR). I have a grandson (he's just a baby now), but we want him to be able to go to a good school. Any help is appreciated. One small, strange side note, I am terrified of heights- I can't be driving down roads with giant, steep cliffs!

Florida welcomes you!

[Towneee3]

I have considered Florida as well, only thing with Florida is land seems limited. I have visited St. Augustine, which I absolutely love, and Orlando. What part of Florida are you in or do you suggest?

[Towneee3]

I should clarify, lots of land to me is at least 5 acres. That may not seem like a lot to some people. I'd like to live somewhere rural but not so rural that I'm in the middle of nowhere. I did have my eye on Rogers- not sure if that fits the bill. We are planning on visiting soon to get a feel for the area. My biggest concern is state government overreach and you answered that for me! Thank you

[Hollynla]

Originally Posted by Towneee3

I should clarify, lots of land to me is at least 5 acres. That may not seem like a lot to some people. I'd like to live somewhere rural but not so rural that I'm in the middle of nowhere. I did have my eye on Rogers- not sure if that fits the bill. We are planning on visiting soon to get a feel for the area. My biggest concern is state government overreach and you answered that for me! Thank you

That does help knowing that. Rogers is not at all rural and is in an area where real estate is high. I'm near Jasper which is very rural and I'm a realtor and it would be hard to me to find you a house on 5 acres for 200k or under because the market is up. Maybe look towards Harrison and it's surrounding towns. There is a tech college there and in Branson which is only 40 minutes to the north.

[reubenray]

Stay away from the bigger (liberal) cities and you should be OK.

[Sarahsez]

Hmmm. I'm not sure. I don't see all of that being in one place. I'm not sure if 5 acres of land with $200K budget would be anywhere close to an area with a college and job availability for a machinist. I think you could find law enforcement positions more readily.

IMO, Arkansas has very limited jobs. It's lost a lot of industry over the years. Maybe you could find the jobs first and then move and look around. I'm not sure what is around Fort Smith. That might be an option. Look around at the areas with colleges. The northwest quadrant of the state would be my preference. There are several colleges. If you are willing to move 30 minutes to an hour away, you may be able to find an affordable place to live. There may be jobs in the college town. Conway is probably out of your price range . It has three colleges, a bit of industry and maybe you could go south or west from there to look for housing. Russellville has a college and possibly less expensive housing if you are willing to drive in from further out. It has a bit of industry too, but limited.

You may have an advantage coming in from out of state. Higher paying jobs often went to transplants coming in. I'm not sure if that is still true.

If you are willing to give up having land, you may be able to better find something acceptable although, IMO, $200K is a bit tight.

[Towneee3]

Thanks for all of the input. I am pretty flexible on price so not overly concerned with that. Any places I should avoid because of crime, sub-par schools?

[roadwarrior101]

Originally Posted by Towneee3

Hi everyone, I'm considering moving to Arkansas from Massachusetts. We are being pushed out of Massachusetts because we are not vaccinated. Both my husband and my son-in-law stand to lose their jobs and the state is talking vaccine passports. Our biggest hope is to find a place that won't turn on us and slowly move to vaccine mandates then vaccine passports. What is it really like in Arkansas as far as mandates, masks, etc? We want freedom more than anything. We have spent the past 6 months worrying about the possibility of losing our jobs and our kids going to remote learning again. My husband is in law enforcement and my son-in-law is a machinist. I am self-employed and work remotely. What parts of the state do you recommend? We love warm weather (MA weather is erratic and cold, snowy winters- so no snow is great) and being outdoors in nature. We are looking for a house with lots of land, nothing fancy in the 200K range. Preferably looking for an area where there is a vocational/trade high school in the area for my son. My daughter is finishing up high school so if there are universities/colleges nearby that don't mandate vaccines (which from what I can tell- mandates are entirely banned in AR). I have a grandson (he's just a baby now), but we want him to be able to go to a good school. Any help is appreciated. One small, strange side note, I am terrified of heights- I can't be driving down roads with giant, steep cliffs!

I fail to understand why some people are so stubborn they are willing to uproot their lives to avoid vaccination. It's a simple jab which protects you immensely from death or serious illness. While it doesn't prevent COVID transmission, it also reduces the spread to others. I had both shots plus the booster and it was nothing more than a sore arm for 24 hours and a mild fever on day 2 for my 2nd vaccine. Meanwhile, the risks of getting sick from COVID are much, much greater. Meanwhile, you refuse to do this basic measurement and want to flee from government tyranny? WTF?

If you want to move to get out of the hustle/bustle or go for warmer weather, I can understand this. But for avoiding basic public health measures and flocking to super spreader areas, that makes zero sense.