[LilliHK]

Hi, I guess i am just a bit.. baffled. My hubby is assistant manager of Harbor Freight Tools in Fayetteville, Ar. They kept sending him off to other stores, and now we know why - they want him to take his own store. He's been offered others, but he said no right off the bat, because they were in places like California..but he's thinking about this one, alot.

I have 2 boys , 6 & 3. The oldest is in kindergarten here, my in laws (who are beyond cool) live in Bella Vista. We pay 575.00 a month for 3bd 2 bath duplex with one garage, with only a diswasher provided.

Within a short drive of the Ft Smith locale, where could we live that is friendly to artists (I am one) and money wise, our best bet? He will get a raise, but not for a while - and we are living paycheck to paycheck with non left over for emergencies. This has me worried, as you can tell. But the extra money bonus at the end of one year is nice...

Around here, it has turned into mostly Hispanic. I am not racist, I like everybody the same. Rob (my S.O.) doesn't like the whole town to be spoken in a different language, it would make his job as a single language speaking manager alot harder. What's the area like down there for that?

I know it's alot, but up and moving a home, 2 kids, and everything else is too. I do thank you for *anything* you can tell me!
LHK

[bchris02]

It depends on how far you want to commute or what your interests are. Are you religious? Do you like to hunt/fish? What are your political views? You mentioned living paycheck to paycheck so living in Ft. Smith could work in your favor there as the cost of living is much cheaper than in NW Arkansas. Whether or not you would like living in Ft. Smith or not depends on the questions I initially asked.

As for Hispanics, in Ft. Smith there are tons but are pretty segregated to the north side of town along with other minorities such as Asians and African Americans.

[LilliHK]

Okay, for fun, eh? Hm...places for the kids to go play or to go for a walk (does not have to be a park). Don't fish, hunt, bowl...hubby plays EQ2 on the computer, so high speed internet is one thing I had forgotten we need..somewhere to get art supplies would be a plus, but I have been known to carve and paint gourds, too. Guess it just depends on what's out there. We are homebodies, we're not much for sites and such. I hike, but with a 3 year old tagging along, I am less inclined to go all out anyway..til he's in school...and then I'm back to tomboy heaven!

Is the cost of living truly cheaper there? I hope so, for as much as I love NWA, the costs here are killing me,lol.

On the hispanic note, I didn't quite get my intention through, so I'll try again.
I actually like and very much prefer a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities - they are great insipration art-wise, and I want my kids to know that we are all basically the same. To have more for them to learn from while small decreases the chance of them being close minded when older. I meant more along the lines of gangs, graffiti, and overall speaking language. Here, it has gotten bad in less than a year. The playground has been melted and written on with less than kind words, and drunks are hanging out in the streets so that you can't drive but a crawl to get to my home. I just don't want to go from bad to worse for a few bucks, you know? It's my kids' life, really, not mine. I am grown, I'll deal with it. They're small, they have nothing to protect them but us. Make sense? Sometimes I don't...lol.
Thanks a huge bunch, keep it coming!
LHK

[bchris02]

Well Ft. Smith has high speed Internet through Cox at a reasonable price. AT&T DSL is available but coverage is spotty.

As to where you can find art supplies, I don't know, this isn't really an artist's town. You might have to drive to Fayetteville for that kind of stuff, which is about a 45 minute drive. The shopping, restaraunts, and nightlife is far superior in Fayetteville to what is offered down here so many people from here drive up there on the weekends. You will find that Ft. Smith as a whole caters to the older generation, but if you currently live in Bella Vista you are probably used to that.

I mentioned hunting/fishing because thats what most people do for recreation down here. You mentioned bowling and we DO have a nice bowling alley on the south side of town. Ft. Smith is also suprisingly wet, so if you drink you'll find that nice.

The town is also pretty segregated. Like I said, the non-white ethnicities pretty much stick to the north side of town, so if you want your kids to be around many cultures, make sure they will go to Northside High School. You also have to deal with a higher crime rate on the north side however. It is a rather poor area and things happen quite often.

I am not sure how it is in NW Arkansas, but in Ft. Smith, religion is the focus of most people's lives. Most people belong to fundamentalist Baptist or Pentacostal churches. There are a few catholic churches I think, but Baptist dominates. Most people attend church 3 times per week; twice on Sunday and once Wednesday night. If you want to be involved in the community and make new friends, this is pretty much the best way to do it. One more thing, if you are not a conservative Bush supporter, you should keep it to yourself.

Like I said though, the cost of living is much cheaper down here. Ft. Smith is not a real booming town and that has kept the cost down. If you want to stay in NW Arkansas, you could commute from Fayetteville but with gas prices going through the ceiling I'm not sure I would recommend that.

[LilliHK]

oy. Okay..Not religious. At all. We use Cox cable here for internet, it's just fine by me. We are in Fayettevile, actually. If it weren't for the extra 300.00 a month and close to 10k at the end of a year being offered, we'd just stay here happily LOL - what makes this worse, I am a fantasy artist, nude fairies and pinups and dragons...abstracts, too. Oh, they may not like me too well there....and I ...don't...like..Bush. I am done for, aren't I,lol?
It's funny when you *are* what no one likes, and just a 45 minute difference in people too...
LHK

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by LilliHK

oy. Okay..Not religious. At all. We use Cox cable here for internet, it's just fine by me. We are in Fayettevile, actually. If it weren't for the extra 300.00 a month and close to 10k at the end of a year being offered, we'd just stay here happily LOL - what makes this worse, I am a fantasy artist, nude fairies and pinups and dragons...abstracts, too. Oh, they may not like me too well there....and I ...don't...like..Bush. I am done for, aren't I,lol?
It's funny when you *are* what no one likes, and just a 45 minute difference in people too...
LHK

Sounds like it might be worth it for you to just stay in Fayetteville and make the commute. Should cost you about $150-200 per month with gas at its current price.

Yeah, its only a 45 minute difference but it feels like an entirely different state!

[LilliHK]

Wow- are there any decent places to live that are close to ft smith instead? Like I know Arkoma is kinda a part of it...maybe something on the OK side that's short distance to work?

I have definatively (sp) written out ft smith. Thank you for your help, I looked elsewhere and all I kept seeing was "drugs, everywhere" and "crime is abundant and growing"...blech, as if there isn't enough around me already...
Thanks again, maybe something close but not in might be the best answer.
LHK

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by LilliHK

Thanks again, maybe something close but not in might be the best answer.
LHK

Well, if you can put up with in-your-face religion then yeah. There isn't much of a crime rate in the smaller towns outside of Ft. Smith. Racism is rampant however and most of those towns are nearly 100% white. People proudly wave the rebel flag every chance they get. You may also run into the problem of being viewed as an outsider. I doubt those nude faries would go over too well .

Its a distinct River Valley mindset that dominates from Ft. Smith to near central Arkansas that makes it an entirely different environment from what you are used to in NW Arkansas. There also hasn't been the influx of outsiders in the River Valley as there has in NW Arkansas.

You might want to consider the north side of Van Buren. Its a little bigger so you would be more likely to assimilate. It is also growing with new housing additions and fast food restaraunts all along Hwy 59. Still has the River Valley mindset, but if you can deal with it the cost of living is not bad. Its also a quicker drive to Fayetteville. The south side of Ft. Smith might not be bad either, as most of the crime is concentrated on the north and west sides.

[LilliHK]

How long a drive is it between Van Buren and Ft Smith? (If you have any idea, I can't get an estimate anywhere I have looked at so far.) I have 2 artist friends who live in Van Buren, and they are still alive (doing fantasy art too) so maybe I'll be less of an infestation to them? Lol! Again, thank you, I am learning tons from you..

LHK

[Sam I Am]

Would you consider somewhere like Ozark or Greenwood? those are small places - you won't find any artist supplies - but the cost of living is excellent and you could pop over to Ft. Smith for the special things in life, or as special as they get. If you like the peaceful, quiet, country life I don't know if it will matter if you have nekkid fairies, lol! I guess you could jump over the border to OK, but check on your tax situation before you consider that - it may mean filing dual tax returns, and I can't imagine living anywhere that would be worth that! As far as artist stuff, you may end up being best friends with the UPS man.

Van Buren gets rave reviews...I'd check that out for sure.

The one thing I will agree with is that the river valley has a different mindset, but then again...we don't have the traffic aggravation and what not. And we don't have a lot of diversity either...if a melting pot is what you are looking for, you're best off where you're at. If you're willing to trade that off for a better economic, although more rural, lifestyle, you may find your happiness in Van Buren or one of the truly small towns back east of Ft. Smith.