[vrussell]

Hi All,

I've been "lurking", reading, and learning a lot from all your posts here. You may remember (or not), we've been looking for our "special horse property" in AR. We haven't quite narrowed it down yet, but we are getting closer.

What great - or not so great - information can you help us with regarding the area a little north of Goshen along Hwy. 70 toward Beaver Lake. We have located some property there that sounds promising.

If possible I could use information on: the availability of teaching jobs in the area?, what districts to avoid?, which to try for? - hopefully in a more rural school setting, is there close access to trail riding in the area?, what is the community like?, road conditions?, what to expect from winter weather? any horse related activities, etc.?, What's the price of acreage running now?
I'm thinking this place may not be too far from Devils Den park. Are there places to ride there?

We don't have kids at home, so no worries there. Just looking for an area that we can be comfy, meet nice folks and access miles of trails to ride. We enjoy our critters, camping, fishing, getting together with good neighbors and enjoying life Any information would be greatly appreciated!

[Sam I Am]

Hey - can someone help these folks out? I'm not familiar enough with that area with regard to employment opportunities...other than you're basically a spit away from the F'ville/Springdale areas, which are growing so rapidly I would think those would be the spots to hit. Are you by chance bilingual? I'm thinking that would seriously play into your favor with any job, teaching or otherwise. Goshen is SO rural I have a feeling the kids must go to the schools in Fayetteville.

As far as Devil's Den, it's about 30 mi. away, I think...gosh, Goshen is just a wide spot in the road - but remember the roads are curvy so it would probably take at least 45 mintues to get there. You'll LOVE the camping and hiking and all the park activities there - it is gorgeous.

Acreage? I'd look on the MLS if I were you and get a feel for it and just how rural it is so you'll know what you're talking about in terms of running utilities to it. I'd definitely have a wood heater or generator something - if the power goes out, it might be a while before your area is reached by the utility crews. Arkansas is NEVER prepared for snow. Happens every year. Everyone is surprised every year, but the road crews are always the most surprised.

You will have a couple of decent snow/ice storms up there a year - but Arkansas shuts down when it snows! No school!

[vrussell]

I'm not bilingual, but I have SEIS certification and a counseling degree, so that might help with the job market next year. I've been watching the job openings and there seem to be quite a few in that area. Much less in the Russellville and Mena area schools...

I did get a phone call from the lady that owns the property we are looking at and she was able to answer a lot of my questions, but I'd still like to hear from other folks with their opinions and knowledge!

The place has 10 acres and a remodeled older farm house with a workshop on the property - no pond and is partially fenced, so we'd need to do some work. She told me that land is running about $10-16,000 an acre in that area. Does that sound about right to those of you that may know?
There's an arena down the road a ways, but no access to trails in that area so we'd have to trailer out to ride She also said the ground was pretty rocky. Other than that it sounds like a nice place. She says the neighbors are great and it's close to Beaver Lake on a paved road about 15 minutes from either Springdale or Fayetteville. Seems to be a little pricey, but that might be due to the location... ?

The other areas that we are looking at are around Russellville (seems to be a lot of "horsey" properties in that area and the prices seem to be a little cheaper), and around Mena/Waldron. Not sure why there, just looks nice

We're trying to find property that has a home, pasture (rolling) and water (pond or creek) and has access to trails for riding. Discovering that to be a little hard to find in our price range

The main issue is we need to find property so we can move all the horses, yet I have to make sure it's in an area that I can find work in - it may be an interesting timeline to accomplish! We have spent many hours online looking, talking to relatives and made a trip to the Fayetteville/Siloam Springs area last spring. We are planning another trip to check things out this October. We're looking forward to checking out as many places as we can get to that are still on the market. Arkansas is a beautiful state!!

I'll keep checking in to see what you great people have to say about the area and all the different communities! Thanks again

[boulder]

VR - the Goshen area is very nice .... this small community in Washington county has over the years become a bedroom community to Fayetteville with several nice estate type neighborhoods with larger homes on 2-5 acre tracts. Closer to Goshen there are several farms including a horse farm owned by the Hunt family (of JB Hunt Trucking). The “Polo in the Ozarks” event is held on a farm out this way every year and it is common to see folks playing polo most weekends.

As far as community in Goshen, I cannot elaborate but it seems like a peaceful area. If you are a teacher and prefer a rural school, you may find that heading east from Goshen and commuting to Huntsville which is just a short drive away may best suit your desire to teach in a rural school. From Goshen to Devil’s Den State Park is about 45 minutes to an hour especially if you are pulling a horse trailer. Another area I have seen people riding horses on trails is around Lake Wedington west of Fayetteville. There is a horse stable off of Star Road in eastern Fayetteville named “Healing Horses” or something like that. Hope this helps.