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As a Bentonville resident of 5 years now from the last big wave of Vendors to come to town, I glowingly report to any prospective mover that it is a fantastic place to live.
As a student here, I can attest to the merit of Spring Hill Middle School, Lincoln Junior High, and the High School here. The school system here is as much the product of those enrolled as the staff and general curriculum. The High School outranks just about every other in the state...not that that is saying a whole lot, but the fact remains. Course selection is impressive and the recent addition of the International Baccalaureate juxtaposes the High School of a small town up against the nations biggest and best. Arkansas state curriculum isn't exactly strenuous- especially if you're coming from the Northeast..MA, CT, etc...8th graders still have to go through a pointless credit of Arkansas History, but the general drive towards higher education here overshadows that.
I just finished my Junior year with 4 AP classes, the tests for which I was amply prepared for.
Socially here for a teenager...there's really not much. I go visit old friends in Tulsa, OK and Chicago and have my mind blown by everything there is to do. Rogers did a superb job of attracting development right at their border with Bentonville Money to bring in tax dollars. There's a new open air mall and Higher end dining in the Pinnacle area. Ruth Chris recently opened across from the Coldstone Creamery where I work.
But beyond shopping and movies, there isn't a whole lot to do.
For those just coming into the Walmart fold from a different division of a company there is a glutton of McMansion homes here. A bunch of houses in the 400 to 800 thousand price range...with builders who had good building rates and then watched it disappear from market saturation.
If you are used to city navigation and driving, where roads are actually in straight lines and layed out on a grid, with multiple ways to get somewhere...then Bella Vista may not be the place for you...but is a cheap alternative to semi-expensive Bentonville homes.
There are a hundred different way to describe the small town feel of Bentonville. There's a quaint little square yes, but more importantly there is a common sense of togetherness in a place where almost everyone is from out of town. The city becomes your own as you live here...and much like a culture intensive city like Boston or Chicago or Seattle, a strong sense of ownership amongst the citizens emerges. And that's what drives the constantly reforming school board and volunteer organizations and local churches and international businesses to come together in their own little town. All of our lives thrown together by Walmart, and building our own community out of it.
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07-29-2008, 02:13 PM
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