I'm so very sorry for your bad experiences. i hope that what i'm going to say, you take in the same way i'm meaning it.
i think perhaps, being from the city, the dreams you had just couldnt be lived up to, you just had everything dumped on you at once --and you didnt have time to "kinda" slip into reality.
the garden, well you either pick up rocks, live with them, or do as i do, and build raised beds.
the fleas?well, from experience, you moved into a place that had been over run with fleas, then the people and animals moved out--leaving the fleas lying in wait--for you.solution, have the place exterminated a month or so before you move in--and put advantage flea control on the Shih-Tzus. cause i can tell you, fleas just love the tender skin on those babies! I love Shih Tzus.
the big dogs barking? well, they were just doing what they thought they should--protect and warn you of all the beasties in the woods.
the local electric co sells lightening protection for houses.(dont you just love that word? sell?
and, if you're from the city, you dont realize that some of us have only had bathrooms inside for last 20 or so years--and some still dont? Clampetts dont have a thing on us--lol
The paved roads? forget, most of us really dont want to live on a paved road, we'd like to--just really adds to traffic going by--which we really dont want.
the heat and humidity would probably be hardest for you to get used to--but thats what you have to do, sorry--its still better here that further south.
Jobs? that the biggie--jobs are scarce in this area, seems unless you're in the medical field--or want to settle for fast food, or factory.
I'm again sorry, but i'm afraid your first try just couldnt live up to the dream you had built in your head.but--now that your dreams are scaled back a bit, care to give it another try, understanding the reality? make friends, talk to others about the problems--and try to adapt. i bet in a few years, you'd say my dream was here all the time.
oldtimer in the ozarks

It does take some getting used to, but we have been here for nearly 25 years coming from the city in Ca.
We were so dumb we didn't realize when we bought the farm that there was no well on it, just a cistern! So, that took some getting used to for about 7-8 years until we sold some timber and had a well put down. If we didn't get enough rain water, we had to haul water from town. I would fill milk jugs at work to bring home for cooking and drinking.
Did laundry in an old wringer washer until after the well put down to save water. Showers were a hurried affair to save on water usage.
We aren't so bothered with fleas, but the ticks are a different story. Either we are getting immune to them or they don't like us much, but the last couple of years haven't been so bad, and we don't have any free ranging chickens anymore to help in that area. We do use a lot of Avon skin so soft for the ticks and my DH swears by it. I forget to put it on many times, but he sure doesn't.
The ground does grow rocks, but as Ceresone said, raised beds are the way to go if too many rocks.
Maybe you needed to come a little further north up into our Missouri area. lol.
Am sorry you had a bad experience. Everyone in Ca. thought we were crazy moving back here and said we would be back with in a year. Well, they were wrong, we managed to get by with a lot less, I took a tremendous cut in pay and it took every penny I made back here to keep us afloat while DH tried to get the farm going. I am retired now, just run a little thrift shop 4 days a week and DH still has a few head of cattle, puts up hay and cuts wood for our wood burning furnaces. I am more relaxed and enjoying life so much more now and wouldn't move back to Ca for all the tea in China.
Donna

Hey, I'm a native and I had to get used to moving from the big city of Springfield to the country back in 1976! First problem was from a new house to an old farm house. Next was an infestation of brown recluse spiders. Next was if something goes wrong with the utilities other than electric and that must not be on your property, you are responsible. No calling City Utilities to get you going a gain.
Then, there is the problem of finding someone to do something out in the country (and we were just 20 miles out!). Then, of course, all the equipment you need to keep everything mowed and seeded.......hadn't thought about that.
Next, schools ususally aren't the best....I still regret that for my two kids who went to MU and did great inspite of the school system them came from, but they played catch up for the first year.
We weren't too rocky, so gardening was fine. All that being said, I wouldn't change it for the world and am happy we did it. (I won't get into the problems of getting our first livestock and all that entails.....no one should ever get livestock until they have mastered just living alone on the place.)

You just have to be realistic.....no one place is paradise. Educate yourself before you make a move again and be prepared for the realities.

Don't give up on the Ozarks just yet.....maybe just come down for vacations for a while. Do you still have your property? That would be a great way to get used to it.

gld

When I started reading your story, I thought you were going to say that your husband passed away before you got a chance to retire. Glad it didn't end that way but it sounds like it was a stressful time for you and your husband. I'm much closer to civilization where I live and happy here. We have 10 acres but close enough to the city to have paved roads, good utilities, good jobs, etc. I treat my dogs for fleas in the spring but have never seen a single flea on them. My cat's in the house and has never had a flea even though I don't treat her. I agree with Ceresone. Someone left those fleas there for you. You wouldn't get covered with flea bites on a typical walk through the woods. I would've let the realtor know about that.
If you decide to give it another try some day, you'll know what to watch for.

Check out Northwest Arkansas (Benton and Washington counties). You can find a job in this booming area. Then, move out to convenient commuting distance where land prices are cheaper. I'm about 16 minutes from Rogers/Bentonville yet live in small town in Missouri. I have been through Mountain Home several times but always considered it mostly a retirement area for folks who aren't job dependent. I'm located a few minutes from charming Eureka Springs, 15 minutes from the boat ramp on a large lake (Beaver) and if I wanted a job I could go to work in the morning.

You only missed your dream by a couple of hours driving time. Google Northwest Arkansas.

My wife and I always dreamed that someday we would move to Colorado!

Will you people quit encouraging others to move here??? I'd prefer we kept our little piece of heaven to ourselves. ;) I'm so in love with our hollers & trees I can't imagine any other way of life.

Tragedy? I guess as a native I just look at that story as typical of foreigners (furriners pronounced 'round here) who move in. Maybe all those stories of hillpeople being a little tougher than the average joe is true.

On a serious note, in my neck of the woods we've had several "out of staters" move in because they love it so much, but then they try to change it & tell us what we need to and what we don't need to be doing.

One older gentleman moved here from Brooklyn because he wanted to escape the noise. He called our neighbor (who lives around 2 miles off)repeatedly concerning their barking dogs keeping him up at night~we all got a kick out of that.

Our neighbors down the road from California have been waging a full blown "letter to the editor" campaign concerning how people need to be tending their yards & such. If you want life to look like the suburbs, then move back the suburbs, is what I say!

Of course, not everyone is like that, but it only takes a few to ruin it for the whole. I guess people that move in from elsewhere need to realize a few things about the natives around the Ozarks or at least how I see 'em.

1. People here are friendly, willing to talk & wave when they meet you on the road; however, they are intensely private & heaven forbid we talk about our emotions outside a testimony at church.

2. People here are used to doing things the way their parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc. did it. If you've got an opinion on how we should be doin' it different...well, just keep it to yerself~:)

3. We don't want to take anything from someone that cannot be recompensed.

4. Unfortunately, not all hygiene is created equal & not all of your neighbors will believe in it. Including me on occasion ;)

Good points, Teacher417. For years I used to agree with newcomers who griped about this area - usually telling them the wise thing to do would be to move out now before it gets worse.

Now I stand back in awe and watch the migration. Might as well welcome them as the secret is out - and the transplanted Californians have such interesting crime stories to tell.

Goodness! I'm really sorry for the trouble you had gjmancini. Even as a 'furriner' of some 20+ years I have to agree with teacher417. I do believe however, that the way you are treated depends on how you behave. I think teachers neighbors may have kin that live near me. It seems they are suing someone every other week for silly things. The locals (and myself) want nothing to do with them. On the other hand when I moved here from Houston, Texas we bought 66 acreas and moved right in the middle of it. I expected natives to be a bit stand offish and was happily surprised that wasn't the case. Folks judge you on your own merits. Example: when the chance arose to help "raise a house" for a widowed friend it never occured to hubby and I not to pitch in. Hubby did all the wiring for her home and I painted like a mad woman along with numerous other folks. The grouch next to us ... well, he said, and I quote "When are these people going to realize they can't just live hand to mouth with no thought to the future!" Hmmmmm, I can understand the reason people here find him offensive!

I'll never be considered a native but I do believe people here have accepted myself and my family as valued community members. Ironically it seems my daughter, Kopper, who mostly grew up here is considered a local! LOL! Go figure.

Mimi

I spent my youth growing up on the Northwest, but moved south as soon as I was an adult to escape the rain and high cost of living. I first moved to Texas but found it too hot. I then moved to the Ozarks and found it to be the best of all worlds for me. It surely ain't Paradice, but it's the most interesting place I've ever "experienced" No two gardening years are the same, and if they gave awards for harmfull insects, every season would have a differant bug carrying away the "Oscar"! I spent around 8 yrs living in the Buffalo River Lower Wilderness Area, buying 20 acres adjacent to it, with a road having "4 wheel drive" written all over it, going into my property. No electric, no indoor plumbing, with a spring on the South side of the property, and an Outhouse on the North side. The bug population on that property had reverted back to the "Pre-human" times and made this present property I live on, in Southern Mo., seem like an insect desert. I learned to douse myself with "Skin so Soft, and Sulpher, sprinkle the front yard with Sulfer to keep ticks and chiggers at bay, toss a line of mothballs around the house and close yard to keep poisenous snakes away [Napha burns their toungues] and once a month sprinkle 20 Mule Team Borax on the entryway and living room floors to kill the spiders and fleas, then sweep that up-- put it in boiling water and pour on the wooden foundation to kill ants and termites. all these helpfull hints were giving to me by the neighbors who had lived in that area for generations and had the attitude of "Get by or die". If a person moves here from a city, or just from another part of the country, they have a lot of adjustment to go thru . When that is done, then they can really appreciate the uniqueness of this area. Strong