[fiedlerh]

I have driven through there many times after my parents retired in Mountain Home, AR. Nice country, nice folks. A few memories:

There is a dirt track in West Plains that is popular.
DO NOT SPEED through Houston, Mo.
It does snow there once in a while. They get some ice storms too. Most people just stay home until it starts to melt.
Depending on the area, natural gas service might not be available.
Most homes are on slabs since digging down you hit bedrock.
Beware of ticks when walking around in the woods. We never saw many snakes and never ran into recluse spiders. Bonus: very few mosquitos.

[GT182]

One great thing about living out in the country when you're a kid is you get to learn Stuff. No cell phone to ruing your learning experience. Of course we had no cell phone when I was a kid in the late 50s thru 60s. And no... I couldn't sit and watch the boob tube all day.

Mom would literally throw me out of the house, even in the dead of winter, just to get me outside to do something. Did a lot of fishing, and hunting later on. I can say that if this world goes to hell I could live off the land. I could at least survive. Kids today wouldn't last a week.

[455Grandville]

Originally Posted by Hoosierdude

Excellent
You won’t find a place greener than MO.
One caution though
SNAKES
Copperheads
Timber rattlers up to 7 feet long
They take the winter off but are back every spring

Oh you got that right.
Water moccasins in the rivers and they’re very aggressive. To keep snakes away from our workshop or our house we run the zero turn around often even if we’re not mowing as the vibrations scare em off.

[carbking]

Originally Posted by Hoosierdude

Excellent
You won’t find a place greener than MO.
One caution though
SNAKES
Copperheads
Timber rattlers up to 7 feet long
They take the winter off but are back every spring

I have lived in rural Missouri for more than 70 years.

Lots of hunting, fishing, camping, etc.

I have seen a total of ONE rattlesnake (about 60 years ago, in a new Boy Scout camp, where the bulldozers moved LOTS of rocks). He ended up as dinner. Still have the rattles somewhere.

Have seen quite a few copperheads, and water moccasins.

Not an expert in this field, but would guess one has more to fear from ticks and spiders, than from snakes.

Jon.

[vertigto]

Originally Posted by carbking

Not an expert in this field, but would guess one has more to fear from ticks and spiders, than from snakes.

Jon.

Ticks...the bane of my existence. Lyme disease is not something you want to get.

[66sprint6]

Got that right. Ticks are killing people at an alarming rate around here. Hard to believe that when I was younger we practically lived in the bush. There's ticks arriving here, as things warm up, that make you alergic to red meat after being bitten by one.

[NeighborsComplaint]

I don't how the fear of an unpaid hospital bill is going to go away no matter where you live. It's not like the Doctors and hospitals work for free in MO.

[455Grandville]

Agree on the Ticks thing but I’ve had great luck with this stuff and I do plenty of off road riding & fishing in some very thick parts.

[NeighborsComplaint]

I am assuming you are beyond the reach of city water and sewer. Did you check with a local drilling company or neighbors re: depth of the water table? It is also wise to order a field percolation test to verify the drainage is suitable for a septic field before you buy an unimproved lot.

[carbking]

Did a bit of research on the snake bites.

There have been 3 fatalities in Missouri because of snake bites SINCE 1933; and two others where a snake bite was a contributing factor.

Putting that number in perspective, there were 8 fatalities from lightning in Missouri in the year 2020 alone.

So to paraphrase the old saw: "You have a better chance of dying from a lightning strike than a snake bite".

Personally, I have better things of which to be concerned.

Jon.

[JSchmitz]

I've killed about a dozen copperheads in the 10 years that I've owned my property. One was full of babies though! Almost stepped on one. It was getting dark and it was on river gravel. Saw him coil up and I jumped clear as he struck at me. He got an angry shovel treatment.

[NeighborsComplaint]

Originally Posted by JSchmitz

I've killed about a dozen copperheads in the 10 years that I've owned my property. One was full of babies though! Almost stepped on one. It was getting dark and it was on river gravel. Saw him coil up and I jumped clear as he struck at me. He got an angry shovel treatment.

A shovel massage. lol

As a kid, I used to fish with my dad below Bagnell Dam in Lake of the Ozarks. It was loaded with water moccasins all along the gravel shoals.

[gobrdgo]

Originally Posted by NeighborsComplaint

I don't how the fear of an unpaid hospital bill is going to go away no matter where you live. It's not like the Doctors and hospitals work for free in MO.

I won’t be retiring in full from my job. Ergo I will be giving up some benefits.