We’re Starting to Suspect Jim Bob and Michelle Bribe Their Kids Into Staying in Arkansas

Josh and Anna Duggar originally moved into a house owned by Grandma Mary.

The property is now owned by Jessa and Ben (we'll get there) and seems to be in Fayetteville, about a 15-minute drive from the Duggar compound. Josh and Anna notably moved to Maryland when Josh accepted a job offer with the Family Research Council in Washington D.C. That part doesn't make a lot of sense in the "Jim Bob bribes his kids into staying put" theory, right? Except, and this is merely speculation, we'd be willing to bet Jim Bob would be supportive of his son leaving if it meant preaching the organization's anti-abortion, pro-small government, anti-gay marriage values to a larger audience. Think of it this way: Josh Duggar was allowed to leave Duggarville with the idea that he could help work on Duggar Nation.

Then, in 2015… well, you know what happened. That whole Josh Duggar molestation scandal. Josh got booted from the FRC, and where did he land up? Siloam Springs, Arkansas, a 20-minute drive away from his parents. This way, they can keep an eye on him.

Jill and Jerick Duggar were gifted a huge home upon their marriage.

Jim Bob gave them permission to live in one of his swankiest properties: a 4,000 square foot, four bedrooms $1.5 million mini-mansion. Like, seriously. And then for some reason they decided to go stay in Central America working for Dillard Family Ministries. Again, their missionary work ties back into Jim Bob-approved ventures: the trade-off of Duggarville for Duggar Nation.

However, Derick and Jill moved back in 2017, and not to that Jim Bob approved property, but temporarily to a Duggar guest house. Weird? Fans thought so. One Twitter user @ed Derick with, "I am a big supporter. I was wondering why you guys left your GORGEOUS mansion to move closer to college when it's only 20 miles away. That's not much of a drive and the kids probably loved the space and yard. Just curious. God bless"

"It was just cheaper rent so it made more sense," Derick replied "Thanks for the support." Double weird?

This adds another layer of strangeness to the whole Duggar real estate deal: the kids are seemingly paying Jim Bob rent. So even though he's "gifting" them these properties, they're still somehow indebted to him financially. Weird, weird, weird.

Jessa and Ben moved into Josh's old house, and have been there ever since.

And why WOULD they ever leave? Ok, it's a hand-me-down hand-me-down of Josh's, which is pretty grim. Like, Anna literally gave birth there, and there was a bit of a mold problem. Like, come to think of it, this is a downgrade from the Dillard's McMansion. Technically they only paid Grandma Mary a dollar for it, which is the price of like less than half of a Starbucks coffee.

And to make sure they cleaned the Joshinesss out of it, Jim Bob and the family made sweeping renovations on the place before Ben and Jessa got back from their honeymoon. Since then, Jessa's wasted no time enlisting various family members (AHEM, Jana) to help with maintenance. This is the kind of preferential, almost hotel-like treatment that ensures that Jessa and Ben will not be making any longterm Central America stays or bouncing off to DC anytime soon.

Speaking of Duggars leaving the nest…

We have to talk about Jinger and Jeremy living in Laredo.

No doubt some of you remember the "rebel Duggar" living in the Lone Star state and think Jing got out of the family with zero conflict. Listen, first of all, we really need to abolish the idea that Jinger is "free." Jinger is "free-er" than maybe Jill and certainly Jana, but we're not working on a very intense spectrum here.

Another important thing to remember is that Jim Bob did not want Jinger to set flight. Jim Bob made a special effort to challenge Jeremy every step of the way, undermining his capability as a provider and he'd reconsider a relocation of Arkansas. Maybe his Duggar-y death glare would've worked if Jeremy was a 21-year-old virgin or something, but homeboy experienced a whole soccer-and-booze-filled life before becoming a pastor. He could stand his ground, and since he was still a man of God, Jim Bob let him (key words being "let him") take his daughter away.

It's also worth recognizing that Jinger moving to Laredo still keeps her closer to Duggar Land than if she, you know, actually followed her heart to the Big Apple. As it turns out, Jinger really, really wanted to move to a big city like New York and Michelle and Jim Bob blatantly dismissed this idea, saying that Jinger just meant that she wanted to live like 15 minutes away from a Walmart. New York wasn't the future they saw for her.

So though we interpret Jinger's move to Laredo as an escape, it's really just a compromise. Not that Jeremy was thinking of getting a studio in NYC anyway, we're just saying that Jim Bob was probably more comfortable with Jinger being married and down south instead of maintaining Little Mermaid-like dreams of wanting to be where the people are.

Joy-Anna and Austin lived in an RV and then built up their own home next door.

This is what happens when you're baby number #9, right? According to public records of recent property purchases, their home is likely in Fayetteville, and from what we can tell, Austin does legally own that property. Austin's a house flipper like his in-law and even more conservative than Joy's family, so he's probably not going to disappoint his precious "Mr. Jim Bob." And Mr. Jim Bob knows it.

We don't know what's up with Joe and Kendra, but chances are it won't be a change in format.

Last we heard Joe and Kendra were building a house, and considering the Caldwells are in Fayetteville and the Duggars are in Tontitown, we can't imagine them going very far.

Bonus: Two unmarried Duggar men own property, and aren't allowed to live there.

Well, maybe it doesn't make a ton of sense for the newly 18-year-old Duggar to move into the home he co-signed with his father. As far as we know, that could be another house-flipping project.

What is weird, however, is that according to a 2013 blog post, John David does have own a property ripe for moving in. "Our son John David has got a job and a home," Michelle wrote. "He's leasing that home out as rental income and putting the money aside." Is he, though? Of note, we couldn't find a legal document assigning a property to John or John David Duggar. It's suspicious, as suspicious as the idea of a 28-year-old man deciding to stay in a house filled with screaming children.

And on a final note…

Jana lives in captivity, but if she gets married off, would she be better off?

Well, the answer is generally "yes" because a 28-year-old woman shouldn't be a live-in Cinderella who bunks with her younger siblings. We clearly see at this point that Jim Bob and Michelle could easily give Jana her own property, or move into a separate guest house. After all, they gave Jill and Derick a guest house.

But as infuriating as that is, it's clear that even after a Duggar gets married they're kept underneath Jim Bob's watchful eye. And between baiting a kid with a shiny new property or making sure they don't leave the South, we're left wondering one thing: is it their destiny to live and die in Duggarville?

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