Why the Ozarks?

2002 I was living in Lodi California. South of Sacramento, about 90 miles inland from San Franciso. This first post is how and why I chose the Ozarks, and what I learned.

When you are ready to move anywhere in the US, why the Ozarks?
My first why was freedom, in California everything it seemed was regulated.

I searched in Oregon, too regulated, waaay too regulated. Washington, too cold, Nevada, meh, Texas, too hot. Then Missouri was suggested, “I think you would really like Missouri, it is beautiful” My response “Isn’t that where you go to a family reunion to like…find a date?” He chuckled and said, “I think you need to go further South for that.” Okay, look at Missouri.

My grandparents had 300 acres in Georgetown California, with lots of forests, Lodi is in the great central valley, trees are in rows of almonds, or peaches, or whatever. I longed for trees, not in rows. Southern Missouri properties looked like Paradise. But the thought of tornados terrified me.

A ton of research on the Federal government sites for the number of tornados, straight-line winds, hail damage, and decided for me, I wanted to be somewhere between Ava and Mountain Grove. In the years that I have been here, I can now tell you that there are lots of other areas that are just as safe.

Another criterion for me was the character of the land, I didn’t want flat ground. The topography changes here from level, to a gentle roll, to hilly, to steep ridges. The population follows the topography, the more level the ground, the more people. But it also has to do with the proximity to Springfield for jobs.

As far as regulation, for the foreseeable future, there are a number of counties here in Southern Missouri where you can build your home to your specs, not someone else’s. I had a hard time getting that through my head before I arrived, called every government agency I could think of until one sweet lady finally said to me, “Maam, if you build it and it stands, that is a good thing. If it falls down, that is your problem, no one cares.” California mind blown.

Circumstance kept me from coming to look at property in person, I did all of my search on the internet. In 2002 site unseen I purchased a 68 acre wooded parcel with a small two-bedroom cabin and a few outbuildings for $82,000. Sounds great? That no regulations freedom was about to bite me in the butt.

When I asked for more pictures the real estate agent was too busy. Said, “Sheila, it is the cutest place, be so easy to fix up!” I arrived to find my cute little place was a one-room cabin that had been built onto. The back half was the kitchen and a second bedroom. The floor sloped so badly that I had to use shims to keep the television stand and bookcases from falling over.
I could stand in the kitchen and by shifting my weight from one foot to the other get the back rooms to sway. I discovered that the two back rooms were nothing more than plywood supported on logs. None of this was reported by the real estate agent or the guy who was paid to inspect the property. By late that same year, I had my real estate Broker’s license and have educated every buyer to not make the mistakes I did.

I never did build another house on that land, and I’ve been told that when someone did they burned down the old cabin.

Since then I have lived in Grovespring, Mountain Grove, Ozark and back to Ava. I rarely think about California, when I do I see it in the rear view mirror and leaving as one of the best decisions I ever made. I have thought about where else I might live, but it is always somewhere in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri.