Starting over from scratch: Moving to transitional housing on SSI while waiting for a USDA rural hom

Hello everybody,
I’m a single Black woman in my 30s, and I am currently in the middle, rather the middle of the start, of completely resetting my life and starting over from scratch. I’ve never been on my own before. I’m not married, I don't have kids, and up until now, I’ve been living in a middle-class family environment in Little Rock that has felt incredibly restrictive and controlled all my life. In this modern life, I’m not exactly considered though, ‘successful, but this busy-ness that people think is ‘life’ is not for me. The dreaded constant unwanted stimulation.
I’ve finally made the decision to break away from that dynamic and build an independent, simple life in the country, even though, spiritually speaking, my flesh is definitely flinching from the fear of the unknown right now. Because I’m moving away from familial financial support onto a fixed income, it’s a big adjustment and attuning, and I know what it might look like to people on the outside:failure.
But I’m realizing that living a slow, debt-free life on a lower income is much safer and sensible for my peace of mind than staying trapped in the buzz of the city every single day.

Currently, my transition is moving in two steps:

The Immediate Step: I am currently working with a local crisis program (Restore Hope) to move into a transitional housing unit or duplex. This will help me separate from a toxic familial/financial tie and get my own independent space. All I want to do for the first three months is to, what I call ‘Spiritual Rest’. I just want to sit still and decompress from all the stress of modern life and learn the rhythm of a slower life. I'm going to start practicing how to stretch my budget by cooking simple, handmade meals using an Amish cookbook and my SNAP benefits.

The Long-Term Step: I applied for a USDA Section 502 Direct Loan 6/10/2026 to buy my own place. I just found out a few days ago that my pre-qualification cleared, and the loan technician is mailing out my full application packet. My dream is to secure a quiet 3 to 7 acre plot, but it’s ok even if I got just 2. I would like to eventually raise some backyard hens, grow a garden, and just live in quiet peace. However, I am aware that, at least in my situation, it’s a matter of time.

The constrained: I want to stay within a 30min/45min drive of my Ma, who lives in Haskell, Arkansas. Because of that, I am restricting my entire property search to rural Saline County (around Haskell, Traskwood, or Tull)or Garland county (Piney, Londale, Fountain Lake, Magnet Cove, Owensville) .

To be completely transparent and honest, I am a bit afraid of making this move on my own. Being a Black woman moving into rural spaces can feel intimidating, and sometimes I worry about isolation or how I’ll be perceived in the community. But not only that, but the withdrawals of coming from a metropolis.
I have no interest in joining traditional church homes or groups that social just to find community. As I am more of a loner naturally. Instead, I am posting here hoping to connect with a few genuine people: I would love to hear from any other independent homesteaders, especially Black women and/or anyone managing a homestead on a fixed income in Arkansas, who have navigated the USDA rural loan process or run a small cottage-food setup, such as self-sufficient feeding or budgeting. I would really love to find just one genuine person inside the Saline or Garland County area who cares enough to occasionally check up on me via text, and whose wellbeing and corridors I can check on in return, just to make sure we are both safe and supported out here.

I’m taking everything one slow step at a time, moving at my own pace, and putting this whole journey into God's hands to guide my steps. If anyone has any practical advice on stretching meals, dealing with the initial fear of isolation, or safe rural pockets near Saline or Garland County, I would be incredibly grateful to hear it.

Thank you for reading my story.

Welcome to the forum!

Kionna said, "But I’m realizing that living a slow, debt-free life on a lower income is much safer and sensible for my peace of mind than staying trapped in the buzz of the city every single day.

Good for you!

Learn to grow your own veggies is a step in the right direction.

Welcome Kionna and how exciting!!! I am thrilled for you (and would also be nervous as heck).

I hear you on the need to find community without wanting to get involved in church. Reading your story made me think of a few youtubers I've followed over the years. I am very very far from Arkansas and don't know much about the geography or the counties, but if I were you I'd start there- identify and contact Black influencers/youtubers who are around there and see if they have any names they'd suggest. (I just went and checked and the one that I thought of reading your post was Out the Mud farm on Youtube, have a look.... unfortunately it looks like maybe she hasn't posted in a while, but maybe you can find a contact).
I also might think about reaching out to cooperative extension to see if there are ag related events in your area? might be a good way to bump into people who are interesting and community minded.
I wish you the best of luck!

Say, I was thinking about your post for awhile yesterday and today.

I would suggest you begin to learn plant propagation through grafting, rooting cuttings, and popping seeds.

It can seem a daunting task, but it's super easy, actually, and a very forgiving process if you'll allow yourself that room to fail and experiment.

Here are a couple of books I would recommend, because they're digestible and practical:

Free Plants For Everyone: https://a.co/d/0fSyHmeS

The author, Dave The Good, is a member of this forum, FYI.

Grow A Little Fruit Tree: https://a.co/d/00Hve8l2

This will help you establish some trees that won't require you to have a lot of equipment to prune, nor the need of a ladder, and you'll be able to grow more trees with more variety this way, and you can use your pruning material as the stock for your propagation efforts.

This fits nicely with your slow, patient, peaceful roadmap and, when you've gotten a couple years experience under your belt, you can cheaply and easily get a nursery license and start selling plants.

In the meantime, you can show some good faith to your neighbors by gifting them some fruit trees and berry bushes that you've propagated in your first or second year as a way to break the ice and extend warmth.

You may not want to be friends with your neighbors, they may not want to be friends with you (or maybe both of you will), but a small gift usually at least earns you an, "yeah, she's alright. She even brought me this blueberry bush," and you might find you have a better regard for those you serve as well.

Anyway, that's what I came here to offer. Good luck. You've got this.

Chance Lunceford wrote:I would suggest you begin to learn plant propagation through grafting, rooting cuttings, and popping seeds.....
The author, Dave The Good, is a member of this forum, FYI.

An excellent suggestion!
David also has his own website and lots and lots of youtube content that you can access for free. I know he is the reason my fruit trees are doing as well as they are-- he's keenly attuned to southern (warm) growing conditions.

Tereza Okava wrote:Welcome Kionna and how exciting!!! I am thrilled for you (and would also be nervous as heck).

I hear you on the need to find community without wanting to get involved in church. Reading your story made me think of a few youtubers I've followed over the years. I am very very far from Arkansas and don't know much about the geography or the counties, but if I were you I'd start there- identify and contact Black influencers/youtubers who are around there and see if they have any names they'd suggest. (I just went and checked and the one that I thought of reading your post was Out the Mud farm on Youtube, have a look.... unfortunately it looks like maybe she hasn't posted in a while, but maybe you can find a contact).
I also might think about reaching out to cooperative extension to see if there are ag related events in your area? might be a good way to bump into people who are interesting and community minded.
I wish you the best of luck!

I don’t even know what to ask her right now. My mind is overwhelmed at the moment.

I would offer that one helpful way to approach a big reset / relocation like that is to leave yourself some options to reorient again to an even better situation in a few years' time after you've given yourself a practice run and chance to test the waters somewhere new. Basically, don't get hung up on needing to find the perfect happy-ever-after home right away, and pick someplace that will allow you the flexibility to a) try a bunch of new things out on a small scale while you learn and build your confidence, and b) give you the option to resell easily at a modest return for your efforts if you choose to in a few years.

Rural real estate is not as reliable financially as more conventional city properties that have a much bigger buyer market behind them. But that also means you can find some great deals out there if you know what to look for and what kinds of improvements you can manage on your own. There are a few more pitfalls to avoid as well, when it comes to assessing what's there and potential liabilities, so it's good to have a trustworthy professional on your side before finalizing anything. Feel free to ask more questions here as you search, and good luck setting yourself and a little patch of earth up for satisfying growth ahead!

Ah and one other thing....

I'm going to start practicing how to stretch my budget by cooking simple, handmade meals using an Amish cookbook and my SNAP benefits.

You are definitely in the right place!!
We have a bunch of scratch cooks here as well as the most squeeze-those-pennies-til-they-squeal thrift mavens. I have been helping my sister learn to cook with her SNAP as well.
Have a look around the forums, in the gardening part as well as the cooking part here https://permies.com/f/17/cooking . There have been so many threads about saving money on groceries, cheapo cooking, and what to make with things you might find yourself suddenly in possession of (especially if you are good at foraging). It's something we all love talking about!!

For example
https://permies.com/t/141474/Save-Money-Groceries
https://permies.com/t/373949/Cosmic-Truths-Cheap-Grocery-Shopping
https://permies.com/t/60582/week-food-budget

I'd suggest don't worry about the 2 acres vs 7 acres. 2 acres, or even one, is plenty to manage and plenty to grow your own food on. More land just means more work, and the need for more big machines to take care of it. Cost and hassle.
Best of luck!

Hi Kionna, I'm excited about the opertunities you are finding and pursuing for yourself.  You sound like the type of neighbour that any of us here on permies would be happy to have.