I've been looking around for either (a) a place to retire to, or (b) a place to escape the encroaching fascism here in the Peoples' Repulik of NoVa, or both. As an exercise, I've been using BestPlaces and their quiz to identify places that suit my lifestyle needs.

Repeated runs through the quiz, changing a value here and there, the one place that keeps cropping up is Hot Springs, Arkansas.

It's been a long time since I was in Arkansas. My late father-in-law hailed from there, but that isn't necessarily a recommendation.

But the climate seems nice, the cost of living is low, and it seems to offer pretty much the amenities that would keep someone from getting bored.

Since this is a gun forum, how is the state with regard to gun ownership? Any "gotchas" not readily evident?

I am not a Hot Springs resident, but my advice is to schedule a visit. There is Hot Springs and Hot Springs Village. The city of Hot Springs is an interesting place. Seasonal horse racing, a new casino, lakes, and some night life. Hot Springs also has a pretty illustrious history of gangsters and crime. It was Las Vegas before Las Vegas was a thing. It has some nice parts, some seedy parts, and some tourist parts. Seems to have its fair share of homeless as well.

Hot Springs Village (HSV) is a giant gated planned community with lakes, golf, and close proximity to Hot Springs and Little Rock. HSV is a very popular retirement location. Seems like a nice place, even if it is kind of off by itself.

Three active gun clubs within 30-40 mins drive.

Coming from NoVa, Arkansas' vibe may or may not be to your liking. If you are used to plenty of corporate and government efforts focused on quality of life, you may want to check out Northwest Arkansas.

Gun laws are pretty simple. Not really a gotcha, but the State Police no longer mail notice of impending ccl expiration. It caught me last year. It wont happen again.

My ex’s mother and stepfather looked around quite a bit and decided on Arkadelphia, but that was some time ago. They had a beautiful home and it was a bargain compared to a lot of places.

quote:

Originally posted by P210:
My ex’s mother and stepfather looked around quite a bit and decided on Arkadelphia, but that was some time ago. They had a beautiful home and it was a bargain compared to a lot of places.

On the little research I've done, I've come across some very nice looking real estate. Here is an example. I am a little surprised at this particular listing, because it says it sold for $100,000 less just earlier this year. Man, that's a renovation project, if that's true.

The size and amenities of the home are similar to mine, but mine goes for more than twice that. As they say in the real estate business, the top three items are: location, location, location!

quote:

Originally posted by fpuhan:

quote:

Originally posted by P210:
My ex’s mother and stepfather looked around quite a bit and decided on Arkadelphia, but that was some time ago. They had a beautiful home and it was a bargain compared to a lot of places.

On the little research I've done, I've come across some very nice looking real estate. Here is an example. I am a little surprised at this particular listing, because it says it sold for $100,000 less just earlier this year. Man, that's a renovation project, if that's true.

The size and amenities of the home are similar to mine, but mine goes for more than twice that. As they say in the real estate business, the top three items are: location, location, location!

If you look at Arkansas' population numbers, they are pretty stagnant except the NW corner of the state. Central Arkansas is generally not growing, thus not much new construction or appreciation in RE prices.

You might check the crime statistics for Hot Springs. Plenty of nice areas locally. I would not live in the city proper.

Arkansas is a beautiful place, lots to see and do. There is, wide spread in Arkansas, a serious lack of community planning and zoning requirements. You can build an exceptionally nice home, but your next door neighbor may live in a run down mobile home with 6 cars in the yard. Some areas are better than others, but you MUST do your due diligence. There tends to be a lot of nice small developments popping up, but the surrounding area may be "rural" to put it nicely.

If you are going to be in NW Arkansas go ahead and check out NE Oklahoma. Lots of lakes and ranges and one of the most gunfriendly states there is.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the Hot Springs area. Kinda run down, stagnant, and touristy.

But if you're looking for the traditional "retirement village" lifestyle of golfing, gardening, and dinner at 4:30 pm, then Hot Springs Village is certainly an option, as previously mentioned.

If you're wanting a more rural, outdoorsy lifestyle, look at North Central Arkansas. (Harrison/Mountain Home and the surrounding area.) Lots of mountains, rivers, and lakes.

If you're wanting something a little more modern and suburban/metropolitan, look at Northwest Arkansas. (Bentonville/Rogers/Springdale/Fayetteville and the surrounding area.) It's the wealthiest and fastest growing area of the state, and where most of the businesses are located. It's like the 4th fastest growing area in the country, so there's lots to do and lots of new homes being built. Home prices are still reasonable, but rising. There's still plenty of outdoorsy stuff to do too. It's a great mix of city life plus rural life, IMO.

I'd avoid Central Arkansas (Little Rock area), Eastern Arkansas, and Southern Arkansas. Little Rock is the capital and largest city in AR, but is in decline, has a decently high crime rate, is crowded, and is one of the more (comparatively) liberal areas of the state. Southern/Eastern Arkansas are primarily flat, boring, and poor, consisting of farmland and timberland and not much else. And if you get too far east, over next to Memphis, the crime rate gets very high.

Other than that, Jonesboro in the far Northeast corner or Texarkana in the far Southwest corner might be worth investigating, but I don't really know much about those areas. Forum member jlbourneidentity lives kinda by Jonesboro and may have some thoughts.


There are no gotchas with AR gun laws. Concealed carry licenses are easy to get, and carry restrictions are reasonable. Gun ranges and gun shops abound. Private party sales are totally legal. Self defense laws are reasonable. And the state is overall very conservative, with a few liberal pockets (generally being areas like Fayetteville where the university is located, Eureka Springs where the old hippies congregated, and places like Little Rock, Pine Bluff, or West Memphis where they're overrun with the urban poor "free shit" crowd).

Actually, there's one slight potential "gotcha"...

Open carry is clearly legal in your home, place of business, or on your property.

But back in 2013 or so, there was a vague law put in place that stated that you can also open carry a handgun, without a license, if you're "on a journey". However, "on a journey" has never been fully defined by the legislature, and to my knowledge there haven't been any test cases yet to set judicial precedent.

So many people claim that the law allows open carry across the state, but this is unclear. Most police chiefs, sheriffs, and prosecutors have said that they won't push the issue if you're not doing something else unlawful. Both the governor and attorney General have stayed that it's their opinion that open carry is legal. And I've never heard of someone being hassled for it.

So you'll sometimes see people open carrying, but by a strict reading of the law, it's still kind of a gray area. If you decide to open carry, understand that there's a (very small) chance that you may end up as a test case. But as noted, every LE agency I know of is taking a reasonable approach to handling it.

There is a fella here that rants and raves about Arkansas

He came here 9 years ago to care for his dad, his dad passed away but he got a great job offer.

He claims that the cost of living there is 1/3 cheaper ,all across the board,
Food, housing,rent, fuel, electric and on and on.

He already has two pensions for income, in 8 years he will have a third one, " and then !, He's gone "

Back to Arkansas

Yeah, cost of living in Arkansas is really cheap.

Slightly more in the NW AR Metro or Little Rock areas, but still less than most of the rest of the country.

Several of my wife’s relatives live there. It’s a scenic area with lots of outdoor activities. There are several really nice lakes nearby. However, it’s an economically depressed area with lots of poverty and the crime that goes along with it.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Yeah, cost of living in Arkansas is really cheap.

Slightly more in the NW AR Metro or Little Rock areas, but still less than most of the rest of the country.

I'm looking for property between Lake Ouchita and the Ouchita mountains in general and Hot Springs. I'm trying to find 10 acres with river access. It's tough doing from 4 hours away. I will make trips when this shit is over but I'm looking. I want 10 acres so I can build a metal structure (no interest in traditional home, barndo only) and have some space. Ouchita mountains for the Lake (very clean) and for motorcycle riding due to the National forest land and lack of homes. My company has offices in Little Rock (no thanks), Hot Springs, and Fort Smith. I want to be on the Mountain side of the state (not interested in Eastern AR). Basically good roads for riding close (paved) and close clean lakes.

Something I failed to mention, for all of the press about low cost of living, Arkansas is a high tax state. Income tax, sales tax, property taxes add up to a fair chunk each year if you have a significant income, assets, or both. Just something to be mindful of.

My aunt and uncle have a condo on Lake Hamilton and I go boating there a couple times a year. Its beautiful but starting to get crowded with tourist. The downtown area is nice and the bath houses are really cool. The Arlington hotel where Al Capone hid out draws a lot of visitors. You have Lake Quchita, Lake Hamilton, and Lake Katherine all right there. So if your an outdoors person its not a bad place.