[RNesbit]

Wow! I must just hid in my apartment and never look outside. I've yet to encounter half of what everyone is talking about. Frankly, it's all about your attitude - if you have a bad attitude, everyone is going to be rude and mean. If you have a positive outlook, you'll find those people who are nice.

If you stay away from Springdale, you don't really have to deal with the "haven for illegal immigrants".
The people whose homes are being taken left and right . . .good grief. You make it sound like they have no option . . .they sell their homes for ungodly amounts of money. It's not like they are being thrown out on the street.
I DO agree about Bella Vista . . .but, those people aren't Arkansans. They are rich snoots who move here to retire. It's a retirement community; stay away from it.

As for the accents, my friend in Colorado says I have a thick Southern accent. I guess it depends on what you're looking for.

As for too fast/busy/etc, it again depends on who you are. I live with a girl from Korea who wonders where all the people are. She's used to having people crammed into the area. Then, my other roommate is from Harrison. She's wondering why there are so MANY people. It's all about what you're used to.
Granted the area has grown up, and the cities seem to be incompetent when building roads to keep up with the growth; however, it's not as bad as other areas.
I've also never encountered an issue when going out to eat. I guess I've accustomed to waiting 15 minutes for a table. Compared to Denver and LA, this is nothing.

NWA is very different from the rest of Arkansas. No offense, but NWA is WAY more cultured than, say, southern Arkansas. It's no NYC, but I still like it.

[BroncoFan]

If you don't like here, Hwy 71 runs north into Missouri and 412 runs west into Oklahoma. Use the big vertical petal on the right and leave. People like you who make blanket statements have lived in silos. You want crime? Problems? Traffic? Rude people? Try Memphis or New Orleans. Or Dallas for that matter. Traffic here in NWA is a joke. What? It took you 12 minutes to get to work and you actually had to stop at two lights on the way in? Please. Try going 40 miles into Nashville and taking an hour and a half to do it. Every day, each way. The illegal aliens are everywhere hoss. Here, Dallas, Houston, Denver, Kansas City, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Tulsa, Omaha, etc. If it's so bad, I'm sure there's a hut in the woods in Idaho with your name on it. Just don't come back when you hate it there too.

[RNesbit]

Originally Posted by BroncoFan

If you don't like here, Hwy 71 runs north into Missouri and 412 runs west into Oklahoma. Use the big vertical petal on the right and leave.

HA! I like that!

[DeeDee77]

We are considering moving to Little Rock or around it.

What do you call bad traffic?I just want to understand
I live in Miami and it takes me 45 minutes to do the 22 miles from Home to the office

As per illegal immigrants, well, did I mention I live in Miami?
How bad is it?
Is it becoming a second New York?

[Sam I Am]

Southwest Little Rock has a large Hispanic population. I have no clue if this is an illegal population or legal - no one flashes their green card - yes, there are immigrants in Little Rock. I would hardly think it's the second New York, or the third or eighth or twentieth!

Traffic. Well, it sort of depends on where you are and where you're going. Little Rock has not compensated for the amount of road traffic there is. Cantrell Road, I-430 and I-630 are all a war zone at peak travel times by my book. Remember that although we don't have the population or number of commuters that Miami does, we also don't have the interstate system they do.

I guess it's all relevant - those of us who have grown up in central Arkansas groan about the traffic, but coming from Miami you may think it's a walk in the park. My only advice is if you are headed downtown from any other area of town at rush hour, find some other way to get there other than I-630, especially at the cloverleaf of I-430 - that to me is just the absolute WORST place in Little Rock at peak traffic times.

[SquirlyGirl]

Originally Posted by RNesbit

If you stay away from Springdale, you don't really have to deal with the "haven for illegal immigrants".
The people whose homes are being taken left and right . . .good grief. You make it sound like they have no option . . .they sell their homes for ungodly amounts of money. It's not like they are being thrown out on the street.
I DO agree about Bella Vista . . .but, those people aren't Arkansans. They are rich snoots who move here to retire. It's a retirement community; stay away from it.
.

Staying away from Springdale won't keep you away from the illegal immigrants. Rogers actually has a higher hispanic popluation. Springdale has a huge Laotion population who gets lumped in with the hispanics because they have the same skin tone.

I can understand the homes being taken away comment. It really is more of a case that people who grew up in the area can't afford to buy houses in town anymore. The property values are so high that if you don't have a huge salary or have a 2+ income family, you can't afford to buy in town or even the outling little towns. The only really affordable properties are at least 30 minutes from Fayetteville, Springdale, or Rogers.

That presents another problem, the little towns are being flooded by people and the schools and local governments can't handle the influx. So the educational opportunities are severely limited and you can't transfer to Rogers, Springdale, or Fayetteville without a miracle. So, the perpetuation of the weathy who can afford to live in town get better educations, while those who have to live in the smaller towns have to settle for limited eduational opportunities, poor and severely overcrowded school facilities, and fewer resources.

[Guywithacause]

DeeDee..if NWA were becoming a second NY you would be wise to hurry up and invest..because NYC is certainly not known for illegals...it is known for wealth, safety, culture, diversity, excellent public transportation, broadway, and the food! You should be asking instead whether it is becoming a second Miami..i.e. loads of illegals, and locals who don't want/need to speak english and give you an attitude for speaking to them in English, high crime, poor economy, traffic nearly as bad as LA, rudeness, money driven, and shallow. But you do have a nice beach I visit once a winter...but thats about all I can stand!

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

Well, I won't really comment on restaurant's. People in NWA do LOVE to go out to eat it seems but I was talking about road traffic. 540 in Fayetteville jacks up every single day during rush hour guaranteed and that sucks but it still doesn't take more than 15 minutes or so to get from the north side to the south side. During the middle of the day, traffic really doesn't compare to real urban areas.

On the accents..I never considered NWA to the be southern even when I was growing up near Harrison. I don't really know what to consider it. It's kinda Mid-western..but not really.

NW and northern Arkansas has an Ozark influence. The climate is cooler than that of the deep south and the hardwood forests are similar to those found in Missouri.

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by SquirlyGirl

I can understand the homes being taken away comment. It really is more of a case that people who grew up in the area can't afford to buy houses in town anymore. The property values are so high that if you don't have a huge salary or have a 2+ income family, you can't afford to buy in town or even the outling little towns. The only really affordable properties are at least 30 minutes from Fayetteville, Springdale, or Rogers.

THIS is the #1 problem in NWA!!!! There's a scarcity of jobs of sufficent pay to warrant the HUGE price escalation it's seen! I'd guess (only a guess) that 60% of jobs in NWA are service sector jobs with pay less than $10/hour. Then you have a very few people who do VERY well. There's a huge disparity there. But if you can find a job there that pays well, you're going be doing very nicely for yourself.

[DC at the Ridge]

I think that problem isn't just isolated to Northwest Arkansas. With the American economy increasingly becoming a service economy, this disparity is going to become increasingly common. I will say that there are still homes available, especially in the outlying towns, for under $125,000, and a good number of them, while older, actually come on bigger lots than the new houses in town. Bella Vista, Centerton, Pea Ridge, Little Flock, Elm Springs and so on are all easy, easy commutes to the larger cities. As a single woman not employed by Wal-Mart, JB Hunt, or Tyson, I still managed to save and buy a little house of my own just a couple of years ago, and it's very affordable.