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Hello, my wife and I are looking to get out of Louisiana. Been through the northern area of the state a few years back. And, been through the southern area just last year. I'm 39, she's 43. We have decided pretty much that Arkansas will be our new home. We love to travel, fish, hike...outdoorsy. Also, we are looking for a change. We both work full time jobs, I'm a firefighter in town, full time. She works as a house keeper and laundry in an elderly home. I would love to continue being a firefighter, be it volunteer, because it's all I know basically. But, would rather a low key job. Our oldest son and fiance is also coming with us. Yes, we hate Louisiana. I have few questions, and please...don't laugh. Does it snow in winter? We want to experience 4 seasons. There's 4 here: summer, Mardi Gras, Crawfish and Mosquito. And another...hurricanes. Luckily, none so far. Especially with all the flooding we've had last month. Does citizens in towns welcome outsiders? When we went through few years back, we stopped at a gas station for restroom break and snack and it seemed like everybody stopped what they were doing and stared. Kinda felt a "you don't belong around here" vibe. We are pretty much private, we keep to ourselves. One thing we are both fond of is, when and wherever we go on our travels, we love to experience local culture, food, if there's a farmer's market, we stop and make purchases. We are not going to be bringing our state with us, a big plan is to assimilate wherever we may call home. Also, a rural area, because we raise chickens, goats, and turkey for now. Plan on raising more livestock to be self reliable and possibly sale farm fresh veggies and other produce. My wife wants to open a small kitchen to bake and cook (which she does an extraordinary job doing!)...gained 30 lbs since we've been married...so there's proof haha... And she will bake for church gatherings and probably more local events. Also Cajun food. I know I said earlier that we won't bring Louisiana with us, but I can't leave the cuisines out! We are also wanting to relocate to where there's mountains and forest near by. We're sick of the flat lands here. Well, I think that's all I have for now. I hope yall have a great day and send me more info. I will be checking back every other day to reply...
Hello, my wife and I are looking to get out of Louisiana. Been through the northern area of the state a few years back. And, been through the southern area just last year. I'm 39, she's 43. We have decided pretty much that Arkansas will be our new home. We love to travel, fish, hike...outdoorsy. Also, we are looking for a change. We both work full time jobs, I'm a firefighter in town, full time. She works as a house keeper and laundry in an elderly home. I would love to continue being a firefighter, be it volunteer, because it's all I know basically. But, would rather a low key job. Our oldest son and fiance is also coming with us. Yes, we hate Louisiana. I have few questions, and please...don't laugh. Does it snow in winter? We want to experience 4 seasons. There's 4 here: summer, Mardi Gras, Crawfish and Mosquito. And another...hurricanes. Luckily, none so far. Especially with all the flooding we've had last month. Does citizens in towns welcome outsiders? When we went through few years back, we stopped at a gas station for restroom break and snack and it seemed like everybody stopped what they were doing and stared. Kinda felt a "you don't belong around here" vibe. We are pretty much private, we keep to ourselves. One thing we are both fond of is, when and wherever we go on our travels, we love to experience local culture, food, if there's a farmer's market, we stop and make purchases. We are not going to be bringing our state with us, a big plan is to assimilate wherever we may call home. Also, a rural area, because we raise chickens, goats, and turkey for now. Plan on raising more livestock to be self reliable and possibly sale farm fresh veggies and other produce. My wife wants to open a small kitchen to bake and cook (which she does an extraordinary job doing!)...gained 30 lbs since we've been married...so there's proof haha... And she will bake for church gatherings and probably more local events. Also Cajun food. I know I said earlier that we won't bring Louisiana with us, but I can't leave the cuisines out! We are also wanting to relocate to where there's mountains and forest near by. We're sick of the flat lands here. Well, I think that's all I have for now. I hope yall have a great day and send me more info. I will be checking back every other day to reply...
you certainly have given us a lot of information to start which makes it easier to answer you.
Yes, we have 4 real seasons here in NWA, not so much in other parts of the state. Yes, the area is very friendly, most of AR is. Yes you can find land for doing light farming and still be close the urban facilities. This is one of the things we like about living here. You would probably find the farmers markets the best place to sell your goods. If you go that route, start with the small farmers markets.
course you can't completely turn off your old home and culture, just so you do not spend your time dwelling on how things are done "back home" There are a lot of areas that will give you the outdoors feeling you want. I am not going to begin to list them all. It would take forever. I will mention just a few: Gravette, Decater, that general part of the region; Pea Ridge is one of my favorite small towns with farmland and trees. Garfield to the east or even Huntsville or maybe Farmington. Probably your best bet is to take a week off work and do some more research. Maybe even talk to a realtor. Most are more than willing to help you even if you are just in the research mode.
Your wife will have no problems getting a job, you might have to decide what field you really want to concentrate on and see what is out there. Yes, there are always needs for fire fighters, but if you want a more laid back life, you might want to examine what it is that you are interested in and where your skills lie.
Hope this gets you started thinking: Always ask questions. Most of us want to help and welcome good people to the community.
Thank you for the reply. I will look into those areas for sure. You've given me a nudge into what areas to look into. For sure I will be looking for a technical school so I can begin classes as an electrician. I hope. I am a quick learner for whatever job I do. Before I began my career as firefighter, I did odd jobs working with different people aside from a full time job. Just to gain some experience doing whatever, be it carpentry, welders helper, auto mechanics. Kinda like a jack of all trades, master of none type lol.. I even do bee hive removals with a buddy here. I even plan on getting a few bee hives to put on property, for our own honey, mead (for me, I love an occasional heavy drink), wax for different applications, prepolis (I think that's how it's spelled)... I even could go back to work at a Wal-Mart as back up plan. Even as a volunteer fire fighter. Just so I can definitely give back to the community.
I think Carroll County might be a good fit for you, or Hindsville/Huntsville areas in Madison County. You'd be 25 minutes to technical schools in Springdale. Those areas are affordable and rural, but within a short drive to the larger cities in the metro.
As for people stopping and looking, if you were in any of the really small towns, they probably noticed your tags being from another state. I can't imagine anybody in the larger towns giving you a second glance. The big four cities in NWA are home to international Fortune 500 companies, and Fayetteville is home to the University of Arkansas. "Outsiders" are everywhere.
As for small farming, be advised that soil for crops isn't the same as in Louisiana, but people have small gardens and supplement the soil beds with topsoil in a lot of cases. Being in the limestone hills, there isn't a lot of topsoil. Large-scale agriculture has never thrived in northern Arkansas because of that. Another upside to the landscape is that water doesn't sit and pool in most areas naturally, so moquitoes, while they are present, aren't anything like they are in southeastern Arkansas or most of Louisiana.
Welcome to Arkansas. It's a good place with a bright future.
As for small farming, be advised that soil for crops isn't the same as in Louisiana, but people have small gardens and supplement the soil beds with topsoil in a lot of cases. Being in the limestone hills, there isn't a lot of topsoil. Large-scale agriculture has never thrived in northern Arkansas because of that. Another upside to the landscape is that water doesn't sit and pool in most areas naturally, so moquitoes, while they are present, aren't anything like they are in southeastern Arkansas or most of Louisiana.
Welcome to Arkansas. It's a good place with a bright future.
as I've heard it, there are several factors which make large scale farming difficult.
-some areas have poor rocky and ancient soil
-the ground water is not deep enough to tap for irrigation
-the weather is not ideal
Most of the Washington apple growers are originally from Arkansas. They moved because they kept getting fire blight here. Alot of fruit trees don't do well here because of issues with blight. Sometimes grafting with a different root stock might help.
Thank yall for replying. I shoulda been more clear as the type of farming I have in mind. No large crops, just simple, raised beds for some veggies and probably fruits. Where we live now, it's old crawfish fields and rice fields. Have a clay mixture in soil and we have to do a few raised bed gardening. Had hard times trying to grow flowering bushes for soil and lost more than I'd like to admit. So, I rely on tips and tricks in the Mother Earth magazines. I'm a subscriber for going on 2 years hahaha. That's how I got ideas on raised bed, which you can control the soil and gardens, like different pH required for different grows, without having to spend more money trying to get all of the soil to be sufficient. The most we'll be spending on in farming is for the livestock we'll raise, fencing materials, barns...etc. I will definitely check into those areas for tech schools. That way I could do my own wiring to our home and if a neighbor needs help, I'll be able to oblige. Also wire my wife's kitchen she plans on opening. I'm sure people up in those parts would love a bowl of chicken and sausage gumbo when the winter sets in. And hopefully we'll be able to swap recipes because we love to eat local foods and as I've said earlier, learn of the cultures of area. We really can't wait to make our move, you guys are cementing the fact that Arkansas will be our new home.
Thank yall for replying. I shoulda been more clear as the type of farming I have in mind. No large crops, just simple, raised beds for some veggies and probably fruits. Where we live now, it's old crawfish fields and rice fields. Have a clay mixture in soil and we have to do a few raised bed gardening. Had hard times trying to grow flowering bushes for soil and lost more than I'd like to admit. So, I rely on tips and tricks in the Mother Earth magazines. I'm a subscriber for going on 2 years hahaha. That's how I got ideas on raised bed, which you can control the soil and gardens, like different pH required for different grows, without having to spend more money trying to get all of the soil to be sufficient. The most we'll be spending on in farming is for the livestock we'll raise, fencing materials, barns...etc. I will definitely check into those areas for tech schools. That way I could do my own wiring to our home and if a neighbor needs help, I'll be able to oblige. Also wire my wife's kitchen she plans on opening. I'm sure people up in those parts would love a bowl of chicken and sausage gumbo when the winter sets in. And hopefully we'll be able to swap recipes because we love to eat local foods and as I've said earlier, learn of the cultures of area. We really can't wait to make our move, you guys are cementing the fact that Arkansas will be our new home.
I think Rockclimber is correct. I'm not in Madison County but that is exactly what would be perfect for you. I live close to Madison County from the Springdale Area. From my house to Huntsville, is 26 miles ( so that is nothing) Between Springdale and Madison County ( Springdale is in Washington County) there is Beaver Lake, so on 412 East you'll cross the lake. I have a friend out there that lives on 60 acres... beautiful country and is considerably cheaper.
A friend of mine who visits the French quarter said "The Gumbo Shoppe" is his favorite. I've personally never been to Louisiana. I wasn't born here but was raised here and I'm glad I was. War Eagle mill is a treat. It flooded-out last year due to high rain but is remodeled.
Another possibility is Elkins, which is off Hwy 16 in Fayetteville. I know of a particular goat cheese farm there, that makes the cheese locally for a supermarket named "Harps". The name of that is "White River Creamery".
Wow....Thank you all. DC at the Ridge, I thought about some land in Missouri too. I been looking on Zillow for properties and there was several that caught my eye for being quite reasonable. The Green Flute...War Eagle Mill is beautiful. We don't have anything like that around here! Lol We hardly ever go to New Orleans. We went several times in past years for my mom for her heart surgery. During our stays, we did venture the French Market. We didn't care for it all that much. Most of the venders trying to sell cheap stuff at a sky high price and were rude when we refused to buy. But some venders were reasonable and nice, that made up for the bad though. Not too familiar with The Gumbo Shoppe. My favorite place is actually the Jackson Square, with St. Louis Cathedral. We went last month for La. State Firemens Convention. Couldn't do much due to all the rain and flooding but when we did venture out, the people just upset me. Begging for change, the "I bet I can tell you where you got your shoes" gimmick and the rudeness. The violence just gotten worse too since we frequented NoLa and we just choose to stay away from there. I know wherever we may go, the violence will be there, but there's things that are not seen by people not from this area that we are really tired of. Some of it is personal, I've wrote about some in my blog on here. So, until then...my wife and I are trying to sell our place to get out and start a life over, to live for us and how we want. And be accepted of course....
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