[johnbain]

Hello everyone.

I am thinking of moving to Hot Springs and have a few questions.

Cost of utilites, housing, crime rate, quality of air and water, school quality, any dangerous wild animals, medical care quality, family activities...these are the things I am wondering about. Also. How well do they except a mixed couple...white and hispanic. Any looks would also be greatly appreciated.

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by johnbain

Hello everyone.

I am thinking of moving to Hot Springs and have a few questions.

Cost of utilites, housing, crime rate, quality of air and water, school quality, any dangerous wild animals, medical care quality, family activities...these are the things I am wondering about. Also. How well do they except a mixed couple...white and hispanic. Any looks would also be greatly appreciated.

Your electric bill will vary between $125-275 depending on the month and the size of your house/apt and the efficiency of your heating and air unit.

Water will be between $25-50.

A decent house will start at around 80k-100k I am guessing? The water is very clean and air is good. Stastisically, the crime rate is "high" but it is a safe place to live really. Not dangerous. Wild animals are snakes, spiders, wolves, bears, etc. but shouldn't be a problem unless you are out deep in the woods somewhere. Medical care is not that good IMO though there are a few hospitals. Reception to a white/hispanic couple will be mixed. Will be worse if the woman is the white person though.

[billv]

My wife and I are also thinking about retiring to Hot Springs. It is a beautiful city, with the Lakes, Mountains and Historic areas. The input from justsomeguy was very informative, I was wanting to see if anyone could shed some light on if any street traffic problems, and if the winters or summers are unberable or not? Any other input would be appreciated. Thanks

[spinrider2000]

Hot Springs is ok with a lot of history. Weather is much like the south. Decent winters and the summers usually in the 90's and humid. Traffic problems? The south side toward the lake has had some construction. The housing costs.....a house for less than 100k is pretty hard to find. Hope helps.

[Derf]

Originally Posted by billv

My wife and I are also thinking about retiring to Hot Springs. It is a beautiful city, with the Lakes, Mountains and Historic areas. The input from justsomeguy was very informative, I was wanting to see if anyone could shed some light on if any street traffic problems, and if the winters or summers are unberable or not? Any other input would be appreciated. Thanks

Hot Springs Village merits consideration. No traffic problems. Winters have been relatively mild the last couple of years. Summer's can get blazing hot in July & August.

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by billv

My wife and I are also thinking about retiring to Hot Springs. It is a beautiful city, with the Lakes, Mountains and Historic areas. The input from justsomeguy was very informative, I was wanting to see if anyone could shed some light on if any street traffic problems, and if the winters or summers are unberable or not? Any other input would be appreciated. Thanks

As mentioned by others, the Summer is extremely hot and humid and muggy with a lot of mosquitos. Winters can also be fairly cold (20s to 40s) but nothing like the winters up in the North. It will snow or ice typically once or twice a year and lasts a day or so. Where you are comign from and your overall tolerance will determine whether the weather there is "unbearable." But the summers are worse than the winters IMO.

Central Ave has a lot of traffic and 70west might depending on the time of day. There aren't really "traffic jams" that you would find in a major city but there are a lot of people that like to drive there it seems, especially in the rain, so for a smaller city I'd say sometimes traffic can be a little heavy, especially on Central Ave.

[Karla Vollkopf]

How would Hot Springs welcome a single brazilian woman and her daughter?

We both have excellent English speaking (my mother teaches English Language), and white skin (german and italian descendents), but we're still from South America, therefore, latinos.

And how about job opportunities, you know, basic stuff, like caretaking, waitering, maid job, etc...

How much would the renting of a small house (for two people), and other expenses be?

What are the temperatures there during winter and summer?

Thanks to anyone who can help!!

[Fasder]

Answering this question "How would Hot Springs welcome a single brazilian woman and her daughter?" as someone that grew up in HS and moved away in my 30's but still have family living in the city.

You will find that Arkansas is a southern state with strong pockets of racial tension. In Hot Springs, communities have changed in makeup with Asian and Mexican groups moving in to purchase older homes off rental market.

I believe you would find Hot Springs to be friendly in the most part. Things do tend to be much slower in lifestyle than other states and very behind from coasts (such as East/West) on kid issues.

On the job fronts, you will be able to find basis jobs as you mentioned with better opportunities in Spring/Summer due to tourism. Racing session is another good time for type of jobs you mentioned including hospitality and hotels industries. However, there is a flip side for rental housing, because much of the lower cost places around racing season are locked up or getting higher rates. Expenses tend to ramp up during this time frame as well, so be careful.

Temperatures in Hot Springs tend to be warmer than central or higher parts of state. Going to college 60 miles away in Conway, I was shocked to find it being 5 degrees colder during winter (most likely because of river and mountains). Weather Underground - your friend for anything weather related - wunderground.com shows avg's in HS as 30's/50's during winter to 70's/90's during summer but with humidity it can feel much colder and hotter during each season. I've seen many Summer day hitting into plus 100's with heat index for days on end.

To close, I loved growing up in HS, but sad to say that almost my entire graduation class moved away after High School. It is a hard state to make a living with the economy as it is. If I moved back from Texas in my current position (if I could find something in my field) it would be near 30 to 40% less in pay.

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by Fasder

To close, I loved growing up in HS, but sad to say that almost my entire graduation class moved away after High School. It is a hard state to make a living with the economy as it is. If I moved back from Texas in my current position (if I could find something in my field) it would be near 30 to 40% less in pay.

Fasder...I just moved back here from the east coast. I took a 33% cut in pay to come back. While I'm not working in precisely the same field (no jobs like I was doing there exist here) I'm close enough to be content. My take home is within 10% of what I was making over there. When I factor in my fuel expenses for the commute I used to make and difference in cost of a home, I got about a 20% raise to come home.

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by Karla Vollkopf

How would Hot Springs welcome a single brazilian woman and her daughter?

We both have excellent English speaking (my mother teaches English Language), and white skin (german and italian descendents), but we're still from South America, therefore, latinos.

And how about job opportunities, you know, basic stuff, like caretaking, waitering, maid job, etc...

How much would the renting of a small house (for two people), and other expenses be?

What are the temperatures there during winter and summer?

Thanks to anyone who can help!!

I used to work with a Brazilian woman and she seemed to get along fine. I don't think people really care, especially if you are light skinned and speak good english.

Hot Springs is mainly a service economy so the jobs you mentioned should be easy to find.

Not sure about renting a house, but a 2br apartment would probably run you $525+. Renting a house would cost much more I'm sure.

In winter the temps are 30s-50s mostly and in the summer 80s-100s, mostly in the 90s though.