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Post by bigfoot2 on Jul 9, 2021 3:38:30 GMT
Hello, My wife and I have finally had enough of liberal Oregon and are putting our house here in Eugene, Oregon, up for sale. We plan on being in Missouri by fall. We are conservative preppers and are hoping to get a nice homestead going. My only worry is making it there before something happens, as I have had a feeling something much worse than covid is on it's way (Great Re-set, anyone?). We are glad to be on the forums and are looking forward to true freedom in Missouri. If anyone can advise us on good small towns we'd appreciate it. We will be buying an existing home with land, at least 5 acres, most likely 10-40 acres. Due to my wife having a few health issues, we need to be within driving distance (1 hour or so) of towns with good medical care and for shopping and potential work. We are looking at Hartville, Ava, Bolivar and Mountain Grove. We are actively looking at anyplace in mid to southern Missouri, in the Ozark region, from east to west in the state. Coming from Oregon, the biggest thing we will miss is the mountains and forests, so anything with hills and woods will move to the top of our list. Cornfields in northern Missouri are out! Anything near St. Louis or Kansas City is a BIG no, too! LOL. We are avid backpackers, hunters and fishermen, so near the Mark Twain Nat. forest is ideal, but i'm not sure how many places there meet our needs. Anyway, thanks for the help and hello!
Bigfoot2
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Post by oldie on Jul 11, 2021 1:35:54 GMT
Bigfoot2, Welcome to the area, I hope. My wife and I are in that Ava to Mtn Grove part of MO. It is a nice part of the country, but land prices are really going up. West Plains has a good hospital, and there seem to be a lot of jobs around,don't know what they pay as we are retired now. We have been here 20 years and love it.
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Post by bigfoot2 on Jul 11, 2021 10:45:55 GMT
Oldie, Thanks for the info! I will start checking out West Plains, also. As for prices, even at Missouri inflated prices, it's still much better than here in Oregon. I've seen properties there there for $200-$250K that would sell for $500K or more here in Oregon. The fiat dollar seems to go much farther in Missouri
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Post by oldie on Jul 12, 2021 3:06:39 GMT
Bigfoot2, There is a group of like minded people that meet once a month, they are homesteaders, gardeners, and self-sufficient folks, that all live in or around Missouri. We just met today and had discussions about the new gun laws in MO and then had a class on first-aid preparedness, and vacuum sealing. Every month we try to cover different topics, get to know each other, and the food is great. Hopefully when you get in the area we can get you involved.
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Post by bigfoot2 on Jul 13, 2021 2:58:29 GMT
Oldie, Is that the same one Travis puts on once a month?
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Post by oldie on Jul 13, 2021 3:38:08 GMT
Yes it is, plus there are a few of us that get together locally.
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Post by bigfoot2 on Jul 14, 2021 2:02:21 GMT
Oldie, I will for sure attend when I get there and get settled. It's awesome you have some organization of groups there. Lots of conservatives and preppers here in Oregon, but they all seem to be lone wolf types. The kind who will expire first in SHTF. Looks like it will be a month until we finish repairs on our house here, then it goes on the market. We signed with a realtor yesterday. The average time to sell in my neighborhood is a maximum of 6 days (!), so a month after it sells for closing to be completed. Basically, we will be on the road to Missouri in mid-September/early October. Then the hunt begins for the new place. It's going to be fun before we get moved into a new place, living in hotels and looking at houses and properties with our two dogs. LOL. My wife and I are really looking forward to being with like-minded people in a red state. We are greatly outnumbered here and can't wait to get out.
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Post by oldie on Jul 19, 2021 3:06:50 GMT
Bigfoot2, Sorry it has taken so long to reply, but the garden produce is coming out and we have been busy processing and canning. Hope your house sells quickly, fall is a beautiful time in the Ozarks. Funny thing about homesteading, sometimes it picks your schedule for you.
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Post by bigfoot2 on Jul 22, 2021 1:44:27 GMT
Oldie, No problem at all. I'm just glad to get info from people living in my target area. What are your thoughts on the Hartville, Bolivar, Mountain Grove, West Plains and Mountain View areas? How do they all compare?
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Post by oldie on Jul 25, 2021 21:44:36 GMT
Bigfoot2, We are in the area between Mtn Grove and West Plains. Hartville is about 45 miles NNW of us. I don't know about Bolivar. West Plains is the largest town around here, good hospital, Doctors, two lumber yards, walmart, harbor freight, and a lot of eating places. Mtn Grove is a nice town, prices are cheaper there than WP but selection is not quite as good.We shop in Mtn Grove, go to Drs in West Plains. Hartville is what I would call a dying community, not much there but county courthouse. Ava is another small town, Douglas county seat, and a few businesses, walmart, lumberyard feed store and such.
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Post by bigfoot2 on Jul 28, 2021 2:23:58 GMT
Hey, Oldie---I sent you a private message.
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Post by whisperingrankins on Jul 31, 2021 1:00:28 GMT
Bigfoot2 - I can tell you that Bolivar has a great hospital and you are only 30 minutes from Mercy Springfield. Tracker boats has a factory there, and there is a meat packing facility that is looking to hire. That said, I would probably avoid Bolivar as it is very busy and the city cannot handle the number of people that have moved in recently. If you look around MO-32 out that way, you might luck out and find a nice property.
My wife's parents have lived north of Bolivar for the last 16 years on a very quiet piece of land right on the Pomme de Terre river surrounded by a sizeable cattle ranch. They really like it, but they don't go to town very often, which is probably why they still like living near Bolivar. There was a 2200 acre ranch that just sold for a bunch of money that would be a perfect place. It only has a short section of road frontage and the rest is totally land locked. The rancher that was leasing it ran about 900 head on the property. I was very jealous, but land like that easily goes for $10 million my price range has significantly fewer zeros behind the 1.
We are buying a place in Texas county about 45 minutes from Rolla, plus Houston has a good hospital. Lots of options near West Plains for property and work as it is pretty far out from Springfield.
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Post by bigfoot2 on Aug 2, 2021 20:29:17 GMT
whisperingrankins
Thanks so much for the advice! West Plains and surrounding areas is at the top of our list after getting everyone's input. Any recommendations for good local realtors?
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Post by whisperingrankins on Aug 8, 2021 17:37:37 GMT
No real recommendations for an agent. I found the house we are buying in my own. We are working through Eagle Realty in St. Roberts mostly because they are also the listing agent.
Around Mansfield, one of the local favorites is Hannah Kelly. Not sure if she covers West Plains though. She's always armed and is a state rep for Wright and Webster counties. I met her at one of the local coffee shops and was able to chat with her for a few minutes. She was definitely the sales type, but very friendly. Honestly, we have had great experiences meeting people in the Ozarks.
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Post by bigfoot2 on Aug 11, 2021 21:21:34 GMT
whisperingrankins...Thanks! I'll check out Hannah Kelly. We are finishing our painting/repairs the next few days on our house here in Oregon and it goes on the market 8/18/2021. Average sale time in my area is 6 days (!). Ours is the only house in our neighborhood for sale, too, so we are hopeful we can be on our way to Missouri by the end of September/early October.
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