[DC at the Ridge]

Originally Posted by lukeache

Minneapolis is still growing. Detroit and Minneapolis are not the same thing, you know? I am proud to live in one of the most educated states in the United States. Can't say the same about Ar-cun-Saw. Bentonville, Fayeteville and Rogers are essentially redneck towns, there is nothing about the area that is progressive or even remotely exciting, unless you find churches exciting. There is a town nearby called Berryville, they actually have a shooting range at the local park! The Wal-Mart has a hair salon in it, very tacky-redneck crap. Not to mention, that nearby Harrison, AR is one of the most active KKK enclaves. If you are minimally educated, you will not function well in this area

Oddly enough, I have more than a minimal education and I function quite well in Northwest Ar-cun-Saw. Your insults don't demonstrate any real familiarity with the area. Bentonville, Fayetteville (yes, you mis-spelled it!) and Rogers are not redneck towns, during 1990-2000 they were the 6th fastest growing metro area in the country, we'll have to wait and see what the next census figures show. And Harrison is not a KKK enclave---it is the home of a man who leads the largest group of KKK-ers, but the majority of those members are from other states like Indiana and Minnesota!!!

People comment on how defensive Arkansans seem to get when people bash their state, I wonder how receptive you would be if I characterized Hennepin Ave as being representative of Minneapolis and St Paul.

DC

[Sam I Am]

I just wonder why anyone from Minnesota even cares to weigh in on what's going on in Arkansas....and where the wealth of real-time info came from....

[matto]

Originally Posted by lukeache

Minneapolis is still growing. Detroit and Minneapolis are not the same thing, you know? I am proud to live in one of the most educated states in the United States. Can't say the same about Ar-cun-Saw. Bentonville, Fayeteville and Rogers are essentially redneck towns, there is nothing about the area that is progressive or even remotely exciting, unless you find churches exciting. There is a town nearby called Berryville, they actually have a shooting range at the local park! The Wal-Mart has a hair salon in it, very tacky-redneck crap. Not to mention, that nearby Harrison, AR is one of the most active KKK enclaves. If you are minimally educated, you will not function well in this area

Actually, it shows Minneapolis population is on the decline. Pretty bad when your city has a nick name for murders. But hey, whatever floats your boat. Glad you took the time out to come to the Arkansas forum and *attempt* to insult the area. I'm sure the cities you mentioned, which happen to be in some of the fastest growing areas in the United States, and Fayetteville has made many "best places to live" list, are upset that you tried to insult them. Move along.

[DC at the Ridge]

I apologize, Sam, if I get a little intense, but I get so tired of people bashing Arkansas. I have plenty of gripes of my own, but they come from living here and they are the same sort of gripes people have who live in Massachusetts or Virginia or Washington. I think people have a need to feel that they are better than others, and Arkansas has been a convenient place to heap insults on. Whenever I feel like the state is being mischaracterized, I just feel compelled to stand up and call people on it. I don't intend to malign any other states, either, there's good and bad everywhere, so I apologize to anyone who thinks I've put down their state. It was completely inadvertent.

DC

[lukeache]

I am done with this. All I said was "Bentonville is nothing special". That was enough for someone to attack me and my home state. I honestly do not get it. This is a forum intended to help people make decisions about relocating to places they might have not visited. If this makes everybody happier "Bentonville is Heaven on Earth". Unbelievable, how defensive people can be.

[Sam I Am]

DC, I get tired of it too...and everyone is free to post in every forum, but l really think if folks only spoke from their actual personal knowledge and not from what they heard it would make things go so much smoother.

This is basically a relocation board.....those of us that are Arkansas residents are naturally proud of our home (for the most part - we have the occasional unhappy soul, and that's okay as long as they aren't just over the top with nothing but hateful things to say). If a person who has lived or visited in the recent past or who has ties to the area has something to say, post up! But I honestly believe we need to qualify when and where our opinions came from if we're not current or recent Arkansas residents. There isn't a one of us that would say our state is perfect, but I don't think perfect is out there or I'd already be living there.

It's kind of like when I lived in the Virgin Islands...there were very beautiful things and there were very ugly things....but if I post on a forum now, I'm talking about information from 18 months ago, and I haven't been back to see if things have changed....so what's the point to my post?

I'm not quite sure why Arkansas takes such a beating - well, at least we're first in something. The up side to all of this is maybe the naysayers will run everyone off and we'll get to keep this special place we call home as our very own!

[DC at the Ridge]

Sam, eighteen months isn't all that long ago. I'm sure you have lots of good insights about the Virgin Islands and living on islands in general. Some of the Arkansas bashing posts seem to be from driving through ten years ago. I also think alot of the bashing comes from stereotypes--people expect to see rednecks and hillbillies, so they look to validate that expectation when they come to the state, and even though they might see a limousine pulled up at the stoplight next to them, they focus on the pick-up loaded with dogs pulled up behind them. If they were in California, they would focus on the limousine, wondering if there was a movie star stuck in traffic next to them.

Anyway, I think I've posted enough off-topic as it is.

DC

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by DC at the Ridge

Oddly enough, I have more than a minimal education and I function quite well in Northwest Ar-cun-Saw. Your insults don't demonstrate any real familiarity with the area. Bentonville, Fayetteville (yes, you mis-spelled it!) and Rogers are not redneck towns, during 1990-2000 they were the 6th fastest growing metro area in the country, we'll have to wait and see what the next census figures show. And Harrison is not a KKK enclave---it is the home of a man who leads the largest group of KKK-ers, but the majority of those members are from other states like Indiana and Minnesota!!!

People comment on how defensive Arkansans seem to get when people bash their state, I wonder how receptive you would be if I characterized Hennepin Ave as being representative of Minneapolis and St Paul.

DC

Great statements....

[undertheironsea]

Originally Posted by lukeache

Minneapolis is still growing. Detroit and Minneapolis are not the same thing, you know? I am proud to live in one of the most educated states in the United States. Can't say the same about Ar-cun-Saw. Bentonville, Fayeteville and Rogers are essentially redneck towns, there is nothing about the area that is progressive or even remotely exciting, unless you find churches exciting. There is a town nearby called Berryville, they actually have a shooting range at the local park! The Wal-Mart has a hair salon in it, very tacky-redneck crap. Not to mention, that nearby Harrison, AR is one of the most active KKK enclaves. If you are minimally educated, you will not function well in this area

Fayetteville/Rogers/Bentonville a redneck town?

Are you serious? I mean, really? Stop being defensive because someone called you out on the board. Just ignore it instead of generally insulting a place that some others enjoy and love just because you got irritated.

You look silly for doing so, and frankly, no better than any "redneck." You may have an extensive amount of book knowledge from the world of higher education, but you seem to lack common sense. I find it funny that such an "educated" person can stoop down to the lowest level when he/she gets their feelings hurt.

[GraniteStater]

NW Arkansas is growing very fast in population. I visited Benton County a few years ago and could not believe all the growth. Our family knows an older couple who lives in Benton County and they REALLY like the area. It does not really have a strong southern flavor and the surrounding landscape is actually quite nice with plenty of trees. Also, NW Arkansas is not that far away from Tulsa and Springfield, MO.