5 days to make a choice to move to nw arkansas..undecided..and needing advise (Fort Smith: relocate)

[skircher]

My family moved from Austin to Bella Vista (just north of Bentonville) 3 years ago and have been so happy here. The people are wonderful. The scenery is beautiful. It has a smaller town feel, but you can get to what you need. Bentonville School District is excellent. The area is beautiful and there is much to do in the way of lakes, camping, walking, golf, etc. If you want a lake front property, Bella Vista is a great choice. The houses actually cost less than downtown Bentonville and the commute isn't bad. The local builders overbuilt at an absurd rate, so you have plenty of homes to choose from.

Things I wished I had known - if you are moving for Walmart, they work their employees long, hard hours and the pay and medical benefits are not competative. You have to drive to get to things, farther than I was used to driving in Austin. This is getting better all the time, however, as businesses continue to move to the area. This area freaks out over cold weather just like Texas - everything shuts down over an inch of snow and people don't know how to drive in it.

Best of luck with your decision!

[mainer1967]

Thanks for all the replies. I have heard good things about bella vista and bentonville schools from many others. I have another question about insects. People keep reffering to them and how bad they ate there? How about some examples so I get it...

[mainer1967]

not how bad the insects ate , but how bad they ARE..........

[Sam I Am]

I've been waiting on someone else to answer since this is the worst mosquito summer I can remember in the river valley.....which is west central Arkansas. It was a very rainy spring and early summer - I'll have to say since it turned into a pizza oven down here even the mosquitoes aren't getting out much.

I am assuming you are asking about people-eaters and not other bugs? Mosquitoes, chiggers, and for your pets, flea and tick preventive ALL the time, as well as heartworm medications - an absolute must. I don't know about a comparison to Maine, but I would imagine it's considerably different. Other than that, termites run rampant - keep your house under contract - depending on where you live, there are the giant wood roaches but that's because there are a lot of trees. Other than that, the traditional flies, ants, dragonflies, ladybugs, etc. Some good critters, some bad critters. Much will depend on whether you live right in town our out in the boondocks.

[mainer1967]

In Maine in the summer the mosquitos come out in the evening so bad that you need to put a lot bug spray on or stay in a screened in area. I would like to get away from them. Is it the same for nw arkansas? During the months here (june, july, august) are the months you want to be outside and its unbearable sometime. Mosquitoes and blackflies have been noted to be Maine's state bird. Do you have blackflies too?

[Sam I Am]

We don't get off the screen porch for months....but maybe it's just our area. Blackflies? We have fruit flies, but I'm embarrassed to say I don't know what a blackfly is.....we have horseflies, does that count???

Trust me - during July and August you really don't even want to leave the house. The heat index is high and the humidity is high. First frost for central Arkansas is about the 2nd or 3rd week of October, probably around the first of October for NWA. After that, it's anyone's guess whether it will be 90 or 50 for the next couple of months.

Maybe someone who lives closer to where you are moving will pick up on the thread and help you more!

[rackensack]

I've lived in the middle of rice fields (Augusta, Des Arc, Clarendon, Harrisburg) and in NW Arkansas (including Fayetteville, Bentonville, Bella Vista, and Rogers -- my parents are still in Rogers). There are times when you'll get mosquitoes in NWA, but they're generally not bad, certainly not compared with eastern Arkansas. A lot depends on where you are -- it's not like they have a huge range, so if you can manage to reduce/eliminate standing water near your house, you don't have to worry much. That's a lot easier to do with rolling or hilly terrain like you get in NWA. In eastern Arkansas, it doesn't matter what you do, because you're rarely more than a few hundred yards from a rice field, and even when you are the land's so flat water collects in puddles everywhere.

[mainer1967]

thanks for all responses. We have untill Sunday to choose where we will relocate.

[DC at the Ridge]

I'll chime in with Rack', when we were getting alot of rain, there were more mosquitoes, now that it's dry as long as you maintain your yard so that there isn't any standing water, they're not too bad. I got a lab puppy this March, so I've been outside alot and they haven't bothered me. Fleas have been a problem this year, I've treated the yard repeatedly, and even keeping the dog bathed and treated, still find some on her. Personally, I'm pretty impervious to mosquitoes and other biting insects like wasps and hornets, but if I'm going out into the woods I use repellant religiously to ward off chiggers and ticks.

DC

[Cooxie]

I have to make a decision to move or not to Fort Smith from the Las Vegas area. My Love lives in FS. Is Fort SMith considered NW Arkansas? I visited a week ago briefly and I'm not impressed, the town seems very run down. Even the mall looks run down. I want to rent a house, but I don't see much listed. I would like to be in a upper income area, maybe Fianna Hills? Any advice? The poverty, crime rate stats scare me. Any warnings?