I just bought a small lot just south of Theodosia, MO from Ozarkland.com. Cheap enough and only one payment down. Few restrictions to building. I'm going to fly or drive this summer to check it out (bought it from specs and pictures). Friends from the area tell me it's a great place to live. I don't know if I ever will live there but the price was right. My dream has always been to build my own cabin in the woods. Have a garden, can my own veggies, have a have homeflock, heat with wood. Family matters brought me back to NY but in a few years it's county bound time again for me.

Anyone familar with the area?

Dark

-- Robin Boerner (darkdakota@aol.com), March 16, 2002

Answers

Hi Robin, I am close tp Thedosia, MO, we are over the border in Arkansas. Its really nice country there. I am so glad to hear you like it. Where in NY are you from? We are originally from western NYS. good luck with the move. If you need any help, etc just holler. There is alos a Ozark homestead group, think Earnest is moderator, that is great. If Earnerst tisn't he might know the addy. Good luck!

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), March 16, 2002.

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like your very near the property- it's Jone's point just south of the AR border.

I'm on Long Island right now- can't wait to get off. Even though I was born here I'm country lover at heart.

What's the growing season like there? At 900' elevation I wonder if it is still muggy in the summer. I was thinking about upstate NY and may still buy some land there if the price is right but I love to garden and unless I put up a greenhouse might not get enough growing time in for my sanity! I'm chomping at the bit to start planting here.

Dark

-- Robin (darkdakota@aol.com), March 16, 2002.

Wow, you are pretty close, I bet you are close to the Peel, AR ferry that goes across Bull Shoals Lake to MO. The growing season is a bit longer than NY. its about the same as what we had in VA. In fact our neighbors were saying to start onions and hmmm forgot what else soon. I know what you mean about planting. but in my case we have alot of rocks, i thought the neighbors were joking about rocks being a cash crop here But guess not. I have to have my gardens in raised beds, but thats OK, becuase w ehave lots of lumber from our old sawmill. I hope next week is nice because I need to make those beds, would do it today but too cold.

You have to watch for frost in the valleyes til about mid-May, then it gets nice, growing season is from March til Oct. In western NYS the property is lovely, loved the views of lake Erie, etc, but growing season is shorter, like from Memorial day til Sept, you have to work fast. But on another note, being further north the days are about 1/2 hr or so longer there compared to here. Meaning more daylight for growing. I used to have this greenhouse like planting box I would grow lettuce, etc in during the winter. I made wooden box frame, put dirt in it, planted and then a storm window over it. it worked great.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), March 16, 2002.

where is that ozark forum locateD?

-- randy in central missouri (rwybrant@coin.org), March 16, 2002.

Hello Robin,

Welcome to the Ozarks! I live in the same county that Theodosia is in, Ozark County. I think you will find that Theodosia is quite refreshing over Long Island!

The land around Bull Shoals is very fertile. As before the Corp of Engineers built the lake, the area was considered to be "the best bottom land in the area". Theodosia has a small population of around 600 people. That does not include the seasonal folks that visit the area during the Spring and Summer months.

I don't live in Theodosia myself but, further east past the next town called Gainesville. They are both on Hwy 160 if you want to check on your map. As you are leaving out of Gainesville heading west on 160 you will pass a couple of "little places" like Isabella and Sundown. When you get to a large trestle bridge, you will be crossing over the Bull Shoals Lake area. After the bridge you will be in Theodosia.

Theodosia is not much of a town but, it does attract a lot of weekenders and fishermen. The big attraction of course in the lake. It is one of the BEST fishing areas in the nation. Trophey size fish are pulled from it all the time.

Buying land there is a good investment as land prices around the lake just keep getting higher and higher. Taxes are low in this county but, because of the attraction of the lake they may be alittle higher there than they are where I live. Depending on your land and its use you may be surprise that how really low the taxes are. I have one neighbor that has 130 acres with a house and his taxes are under $600 a year!

One of the nice things about Ozark County is that there is very little and some parts no restrictions on building. I built a house and did not need a building permit nor septic permit nor anything thing else. This saved me a whole lot of money.

You will find that everything is less expensive here which is a plus if you are planning to build.

But, there is a downside. Since there is virtually no industry in the area, it is sometimes hard to find a job that pays a good wage. I work as a handyman and during the winter months I have very little work. I was out that way today planting trees on a property that I care take. I planted 225 of them and sometimes that is all the work I can get.

The school system is not so great either and many families homeschool their children. But, the schools are small and usually most of the areas have one schoolhouse that teaches 1-12. I know that the graduating class at the school near us was made up of 28 seniors and that was the largest graduation they had ever had.

The nearest airport for commercial airlines is in Springfield, Mo. That is about three hours away from this county. You would probably have to rent a car and drive the rest of the way to get here. Springfield is our nearest city. It is also near Branson, Mo. which is a large Theme Park similar to Frontier Land at Walt Disney World. I stay away from there since it is so crowded.

If you have any questions that I can help you with or if you need me for anything, just let me know. I will do what I can to help!

Sincerely,

Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), March 16, 2002.

What are prices for land down there? Interested in buying a few hundred if it is just in case it gets too crowded up here. Terry

-- Theresa Lipe (elipe@fidnet.com), March 16, 2002.

I bought this lot (1.25 acres) through ozarkland.com I've been watching their inventory for a while and I liked this area (from what I could find out from friends and through the net). They sold 8 out of 16 lots the first day open. This one was my third choice but it looked really nice. I always had a dream of building my own cabin. As much by myself as a 41 y/o woman can! I have a degree in construction and sell millwork/lumber for a lot of years. For the price I can't go wrong. Won't blow a lifetime of savings and be SOL if it doesn't work out. You only have to put the first month down to lock up the property ($60 in my case) and they will finance it at 9% for 15 years. If I decide I like the area I can always trade up for more acerage and build another cabin.

I bought 3 acres outside Ocean City, MD under an identical contract 10 years ago and now it's worth 3 times what I paid for it. At the time it was just a big, bare sandy hill with two wells and a septic. The one thing I did there I won't do again is put a trailer (mobile home, whatever) on property again. Even after gutting it, re- insulating and sheetrocking it so it "feels" like a house inside it's still a trailer and never going up in value. The land did, not the trailer. I plan on putting a 24'x32' stick built cabin- loft over half with a bedroom up, open livingroom and bath/kitchen under loft down. I did a sketch and lumber takeoff based on Home Depot/Lowes and I can shell it out for about 12k including foundation. Much better value for the money.

Robin

-- Robin (darkdakota@aol.com), March 16, 2002.

Hello Robin! We're about 12 miles west of you, on Hwy 160, heading towards Forsyth and Branson, but in Taney County. As Ernest and the others have already mentioned, I think you'll really like it here. We love it! Since we garden with the Ruth Stout Mulch Method, the rocks don't bother us at all, and our land is very fertile. The people tend to be very friendly and helpful, at least here in Rueter, which is the closest "town" we live to (a post office and a country store). It's probably a good thing you're in Ozark County, as you have to have permits on building ANYTHING except ag-related buildings here in Taney County if it's over 100 square feet. Several of the people we know who live in or near Theodosia either work in Branson (about 25 - 30 miles away) or in Ava (not sure on mileage - maybe 30 miles?). Good luck and welcome!

-- leslie (whomestead@hotmail.com), March 17, 2002.

Leslie, Thanks for answering. The property is actually in Marion County AR- but actually easier to get to Theodosia then AR. I'm writing to the County tonight to get info on building permits. My company has a store in Hollister I could transfer to. It will be a year or two away but I'm looking forward to "living my dream". Sounds like we are close though.

I like raised beds so the rocks aren't that bad. Maybe I'll try the Stout method. I have her book and it looks interesting. Are there many farms in the area? It looks like mostly woods on the satellite maps. I'll need a lot of manure!

-- Robin (darkdakota@aol.com), March 17, 2002.

there's a dairy farmer not too far from theodosia who sells truck loads of manure - cheap! he has a farm about 6 miles west of theodosia - we try to get a load or two from him every year.

-- leslie (whomestead@hotmail.com), March 18, 2002.