[Rock Climber]

Snakes are a fact of life living in any rural area south of the Mason Dixon line. They're not generally as common as that poster alleged. Alaska has zero snakes, so I can see how seeing them would freak an Alaskan out a bit.

I've traveled to Alaska, and while it has a lot of natural beauty, the long periods of cold weather and lack of sunlight in the winter would not work for me at all. The rural poverty and city homelessness I saw in Alaska is as bad as anywhere I've ever been.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by explorearkansas

You can get snake shot loads for your pistol as well. I've only used them on targets so far. They look like they would be effective. We are dog keepers to help with the varmints and cattle around the homestead. If we move to AR, I would get a few Jack Russel's. They would help keep the property clear.

I'm with you, I'm not taking after a diamondback or copperhead with a shovel. Not at this point in my life.

As I mentioned earlier we have only seen one copperhead since moving here. The problem was, he was a baby caught in a sticky bug trap and my thought was, if there is a baby here,there must be a mommy and daddy. That being said, we have seen a few huge black snakes. They are harmless and actually eat things we want them to eat. I also saw a super pretty little blue snake in the garden one day. I looked it up, can't remember what it was but it too, was harmless.

[duke944]

The heat and humitidy aren't that bad in nwa - I'd say Kansas is worse. You want to experience high heat/humidity, try Florida or Houston. What really stands out is the lack of mosquitos - I think I saw about a dozen all last year, none of which bit me. You could do a hell of a lot worse climate wise, and honestly unless you have the money to live on the west coast, overall it's a good or better than anywhere else.

[stiffnecked]

Originally Posted by duke944

The heat and humitidy aren't that bad in nwa - I'd say Kansas is worse. You want to experience high heat/humidity, try Florida or Houston. What really stands out is the lack of mosquitos - I think I saw about a dozen all last year, none of which bit me. You could do a hell of a lot worse climate wise, and honestly unless you have the money to live on the west coast, overall it's a good or better than anywhere else.

We all have different view points. My parents have asked me, my brother and sister if we'd like their house after they pass. We all said no. My sister lives in California, brother in Florida and me in Alaska. With our differing experiences on living in different parts of the country we did not find anything attractive or appealing about Arkansas.

To those that do like it, kudos to you! We all need a place we feel comfortable in.

[Sarahsez]

I don't think the humidity in Arkansas will feel that bad if you are used to the humidity in Louisiana. You may not even notice it. You will notice the longer cool season of winter and will feel colder.

I think living outside of one of the bigger cities and working in the city may be one of your better options. I don't know how employable you are in a small area where people tend to know each other. That's a downside of being a newcomer anywhere.

The rural areas do tend to have more snakes. I've never seen a rattlesnake in the wild in Arkansas. There are plenty of copperheads and then the water moccasins are next to the water. A trick my dad used to cut down on the bad snake population was to import his own good snakes into the area. Theory is you are going to have snakes so increase the chances of finding a good one by increasing your population of them. I think he would catch king snakes at my grandpa's uninhabited old home place and bring them to our house. If you are one of those people that feels the need to kill a snake just because you saw it, then this won't work for you.

If you're wanting to raise some of your own food to save money, you might look for a place with a free uncontaminated water source.

Arkansas has ticks and chiggers. That is the only place I have seen them in several years.

Arkansas is my home state and I love it. Living away for several years now, I tend see more poverty there now and it appears to be increasing. With few exceptions like NW Arkansas, I don't see any improvement coming in the near future.

One thing Arkansas has that I haven't seen anywhere else is an availability of water and scenic places to live. You may not find it as much in town, but it's not that far away.

[sub]

Originally Posted by duke944

The heat and humitidy aren't that bad in nwa - I'd say Kansas is worse. You want to experience high heat/humidity, try Florida or Houston. What really stands out is the lack of mosquitos - I think I saw about a dozen all last year, none of which bit me. You could do a hell of a lot worse climate wise, and honestly unless you have the money to live on the west coast, overall it's a good or better than anywhere else.

Mosquitoes are fairly rampant where we live. They just need a water source.
Whether or not the humidity here is bad just depends on what you're comparing it to. Not bad for the southeastern part of the country, but relatives from out west always mention it.

[TRex2]

Mosquitoes need standing water. In the Ozarks area, there isn't much water that isn't moving (except along the edge of the lakes) so the mosquitoes don't breed easily.

Chiggers are found anywhere that has tall, undisturbed grass and sufficient moisture. For the last 15 years, I worked in various cow pastures in TX, and most of them had chiggers.

In the south, you will have snakes anywhere you don't have a lot of people. One of the reasons you have them is so you don't get over run by mice. Importing non poisonous snakes thins out the food supply, and they poisonous one don't get enough to eat, so there aren't as many of them.

As for using a shovel to kill a rattler or copperhead, as long as it isn't too big, just keep the shovel blade between you and his head, and all he will see is the shovel. Wait until he stretches out to crawl away and you get an open target. Cut off his head (after doing as much damage as you want, to the rest of him), dig a small hole and bury the head so a passing animal doesn't eat it and die from the venom. (Don't kill the non poisonous ones, unless you want to be over run by mice and rats. Cat won't keep them in check.)

I learned all of the above in Central Texas. The biggest difference here is that the summer isn't 6 months long.

[duke944]

Originally Posted by stiffnecked

We all have different view points. My parents have asked me, my brother and sister if we'd like their house after they pass. We all said no. My sister lives in California, brother in Florida and me in Alaska. With our differing experiences on living in different parts of the country we did not find anything attractive or appealing about Arkansas.

To those that do like it, kudos to you! We all need a place we feel comfortable in.

I really have come to hate the cold and snow. I spent most of my life between Colorado and Minnesota, and can't fathom Alaska. Nwa is actually really pretty, although I would totally take the west coast if I could swing it. The east coast, no thanks. While really high humidity is hard to live with, very dry climates to me are even worse, nwa is actually not a bad compromise.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by stiffnecked

We all have different view points. My parents have asked me, my brother and sister if we'd like their house after they pass. We all said no. My sister lives in California, brother in Florida and me in Alaska. With our differing experiences on living in different parts of the country we did not find anything attractive or appealing about Arkansas.

To those that do like it, kudos to you! We all need a place we feel comfortable in.

let's just say, if someone offers you a home and you say no based on not liking AR or some other state you are a bit different from many. No place is heaven on earth, but many of us have a lot of experience with living throughout the country and still think AR has a lot to offer. I was raised in Ca. I would not move back come hell or high water but may differ from me. Why would anyone want to live in a place with such a high cost of living, so liberal that some liberals say it has gone over the top and the homeless are taking over then the entire state? Alaska is beautiful but has a high poverty rate just like most rural states and is removed from the world, which works for some but not the majority and Florida but talk about snakes, humidity and bugs, OMG. We have 2 kids living there, we love to visit, it is beautiful but not for everyone.

[DeanGuitarist]

I'm not worried about the snakes. We live in a rural area and have an abundance of them. Not many water moccasins or other poisonous ones. Have plenty of non venomous that makes their presence known. But.....wife says kill em all! Lol I'm slowly getting her aware of some of the pros of the non poisonous ones. I'm actually anxious to see more poisonous, due to photography.

The humidity here is awful. I know that there's other areas where the humidity and temps are worse, but it's past time for a change. Tired of just going outside, sit in the shade and still sweat gallons of sweat. Frigid wet winters, when it actually does get cold. Been up north during a blizzard, with no humidity, and had a sweater on. Was cold at first but to us it was like being in a fridge. Pretty comfortable if you ask us. Also the summers up north. People were acting like they were dying! August heat at the Indianapolis State Fair. Wife and I were laughing. Told them to go to south Louisiana an experience the heat. They would WELCOME their Indy heat! Lol

We want to be in a rural area, with mountain views and plenty of forests. Too much flat land around us. Have to travel a few hours north for some good hills and forests.

We're planning on buying out a house and land. That way we don't have to kill ourselves working too hard and too much and spend too much time driving for a good job. As I said before, we want to start enjoying our lives, soaking in the landscapes and make new friends.

In a few short weeks we'll be heading up there to look around. Yall have a great evening and thank you all again for the replies!