Arkansas’s rolling Ozark Mountains and beautiful lakes are developing a reputation as America’s most affordable state and an underrated Southern gem. The word is starting to get out: Arkansas is a great place to spend your golden years. It’s home to many retirement hotspots, including Hot Springs Village, the best place in the entire country to retire to if you don’t have savings. It’s also home to many low-key towns with more lakes than stoplights, like Highland.
Highland is a small city in Sharp County, in north-central Arkansas, home to one stoplight and a few charming lakes. A city in name only, this tiny town has just around 1,000 permanent residents. At first glance, Highland can seem to outsiders as a dot on the map, but this dot is turning heads.
Niche recently ranked Highland as the fifth-best town in Arkansas for retirees, which is high praise in a state full of popular retirement destinations. The website calculates its rankings by quantifying a variety of quality-of-life factors, public stats, and reviews from real people. Factors like Highland’s low cost of living and high housing availability have helped it rank among the upper echelon of the 127 retirement cities that Niche has ranked across Arkansas.
Highland is an affordable, safe retirement destination
If you’re planning to visit Highland before moving, your best bet is to fly into Memphis International Airport or Clinton National Airport in Little Rock and rent a car. Both airports are about a 2.5-hour drive from Highland. Little Rock and Memphis eventually boil down to State Highway 412, which runs right through the center of town. This road is also where most residents get their groceries, visit their banks, and take care of their health at the St. Bernards First Care clinic. For those who need more care, there are larger health facilities an hour and a half away in Jonesboro. The city has two hospitals: NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital and St. Bernards Medical Center…