[dvcgal]

I have yet to move to Arkansas yet, but I just returned back home from my visit there and I loved it! I was caught in the ice storm, stuck in my hotel and met about 50+ locals from the area and I just love it there! Every one that I met was so nice and helpful and the hotel I was staying in was courteous and did not price gauge the way some states/establishments do when there is a natural disaster. I only spent a few days actually looking around, trying to find a house, but I had such a wonderful experience and cannot wait to move there in the next month or so!

[ridicter]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

Having lived most of my professional career in the DC area, $86k for a family of four won't get you very far!! If said family wants a home, they won't have much unless they opt for a hellish commute (which is what I did). If you want a home in the nicer DC burbs then you'd better be making closer to $100k. If you want to live IN the city then you'll need more. 2 people though, you might be able to find a nice enough little townhome closer in and do ok in the $80-90k range. I imagine you'd LOVE Takoma Park!

Takoma Park was where I stayed over summer. The house I rented in had an interracial gay male couple. The front lawn had political signs and a giant rainbow flag. TP is a cool little piece of DC/MD.

Originally Posted by LiveTodayLez08

I'll certainly keep that in mind.
I heard D.C. is a city where you can do fine without a car. True or not true?
I'll more than likely rent a car when I want to come home and visit my family or whatnot if I decide to live without a car.

No car necessary. DC has a pretty comprehensive metro/subway system. I had a car, but it actually became more of a hassle (really strict parking laws; too few spaces). I walked about 5 minutes to get to the Takoma Park metro station, which connects to a web of routes. Lots of commuter bikers too; I'd consider getting one if I were you. (I did this a few times, but in the summer it got sticky hot.)

My rent for one room in a house was something like $800 (with free laundry, kitchen, bed, desk, etc.) 70k will do fine for a young couple looking for an apartment or whatever.

[Nanabooboo]

Originally Posted by dvcgal

I have yet to move to Arkansas yet, but I just returned back home from my visit there and I loved it! I was caught in the ice storm, stuck in my hotel and met about 50+ locals from the area and I just love it there! Every one that I met was so nice and helpful and the hotel I was staying in was courteous and did not price gauge the way some states/establishments do when there is a natural disaster. I only spent a few days actually looking around, trying to find a house, but I had such a wonderful experience and cannot wait to move there in the next month or so!

Don't know what area in Arkansas you visited but I had the same response after first visiting. It's been 2 years now, finally moved here 2 months ago. Never had any interest in the state, did'nt know anything about it except the vauge impression of hillbillys ect. If I were to have thought of Arkansas it deffinatly was as a peripheral like, "It's above Louisiana, right?". LONG STORY SHORT.. It had me at first visit! I'm still (when I think about it which is only when questioned as to why we moved here) amazed! And of course thankfull,content, and looking forward to learning the many more joy's of being an ARKANSAN!

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by ridicter

Takoma Park was where I stayed over summer. The house I rented in had an interracial gay male couple. The front lawn had political signs and a giant rainbow flag. TP is a cool little piece of DC/MD.



No car necessary. DC has a pretty comprehensive metro/subway system. I had a car, but it actually became more of a hassle (really strict parking laws; too few spaces). I walked about 5 minutes to get to the Takoma Park metro station, which connects to a web of routes. Lots of commuter bikers too; I'd consider getting one if I were you. (I did this a few times, but in the summer it got sticky hot.)

My rent for one room in a house was something like $800 (with free laundry, kitchen, bed, desk, etc.) 70k will do fine for a young couple looking for an apartment or whatever.

Holy cow, you are talking about a 1 room in a home, not an apartment and you paid $800 per month. I wonder if you realize, after taxes how much 70,000 will be? I am not saying it can't be done, but it will take some adjustments, and won't leave a lot for site seeing and all the fun things living on the east coast has to offer including trying some of the great restaurants. I am not talking about upscale restaurants necessarily..

I love people with such a positive attitude, but sometimes it is a little better to be a little more realistic..I don't think $70,000 is going to go far in DC..

Nita

[ridicter]

Originally Posted by nmnita

Holy cow, you are talking about a 1 room in a home, not an apartment and you paid $800 per month. I wonder if you realize, after taxes how much 70,000 will be? I am not saying it can't be done, but it will take some adjustments, and won't leave a lot for site seeing and all the fun things living on the east coast has to offer including trying some of the great restaurants. I am not talking about upscale restaurants necessarily..

I love people with such a positive attitude, but sometimes it is a little better to be a little more realistic..I don't think $70,000 is going to go far in DC..

Nita

I have to admit, I'm pretty inexperienced, and maybe/likely completely wrong.

My room was in a fairly nice place, about 2 blocks from the metro. Laundry and furniture and the kitchen were all free. I know of people who had apartments for under $1000 (in not so nice areas). Simple math says you could spend about 12k-20k on apartments. Transportation (assuming you use the metro) should be about $60 per month per person. That would seem to leave about 50k left (not including taxes). Let's say 10-15k of that will go to taxes (a liberal estimate, no?). That leaves something like 40k. That would seem to me more than enough to cover food, electricity, tv, etc.

[Senor Boogie Woogie]

Howdy!

I am from Memphis, never really lived in Arkansas, but have spent a lot of time there on short vacations and driving through, so I am familiar with some of the place.

I kind of split Arkansas into two, the flatlands and the hill country. The flatlands or Delta part is just the same as the Mississippi side, flat, rural, poor (black and white) folk working the land or working in factories, Wal-Mart, or the service industry. I would not want to live in Blytheville, Jonesboro, Arkadelphia or any of those delta towns. Poor, ugly, not much to do.

I think what puts off some people is the climate of the state, in that it is very hot and humid in the summer with a lot of mosquitoes and bugs. There is always the danger of tornados there too, much like the rest of the south and southern midwest. The winter there is damp and cold, with snow and ice. However, a lot of people from up north, especially the northern midwest, have winter homes in Arkansas, because of the milder winters.

The hills of Arkansas are very beautiful. Usually people from Memphis and west Tennessee would go into Arkansas for fishing, camping and outdoor activities, because it was closer than East Tennessee. If you are into outdoorsman type of stuff, then Arkansas might be for you. Places I used to go to was Heber Springs and the Spring River. There are many other good places to go.

If you like to drink alcohol, there are many dry counties in Arkansas, especially in the northwest. If you want to live in a small town environment, then Arkansas is excellent because Little Rock is the only big city, and it is not that big. I don't know much about the city, but I do know that it has its problems like anywhere else.

Bill Clinton has really raised the level of the state in the eyes of the nation, although now it seems that he has kind of ditched the place, unlike people like Jimmy Carter who returned back to Georgia after 1980. Wal*Mart doesn't really bother me either, what should the government do, make them illegal? Wal*Mart has given jobs to scores of people in that state, jobs that have the potential for advancement for good employees, unlike someone working at the locally ran "Five and Dime" in which no one advances except for family members. I agree that Wal*Mart has crappy business ethics, but what can be done? Dunno.

Senor

Hey Hogs, thanks for Houston Nutt!

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by Senor Boogie Woogie

Howdy!

I am from Memphis, never really lived in Arkansas, but have spent a lot of time there on short vacations and driving through, so I am familiar with some of the place.

I kind of split Arkansas into two, the flatlands and the hill country. The flatlands or Delta part is just the same as the Mississippi side, flat, rural, poor (black and white) folk working the land or working in factories, Wal-Mart, or the service industry. I would not want to live in Blytheville, Jonesboro, Arkadelphia or any of those delta towns. Poor, ugly, not much to do.

I have to believe you haven't spent much time in Jonesboro, because poor and ugly it certainly is not. Jonesboro clearly stands out from the rest of the region. I could say some negative things about J-Town, but poor and ugly it isn't. The "not much to do" comment is pretty fair, though.

It's also a heck of a statement to come from someone from Memphis. Pot meet kettle.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by grmasterb

I have to believe you haven't spent much time in Jonesboro, because poor and ugly it certainly is not. Jonesboro clearly stands out from the rest of the region. I could say some negative things about J-Town, but poor and ugly it isn't. The "not much to do" comment is pretty fair, though.

It's also a heck of a statement to come from someone from Memphis. Pot meet kettle.

I think senior Boogie, woogie just wanted to give his/her views on our state as they preceive it, but I don't think they know alot about the state.. I also am not sure what the comments about Clinton and Carter had to do with anything.

Nita

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by nmnita

I think senior Boogie, woogie just wanted to give his/her views on our state as they preceive it, but I don't think they know alot about the state.. I also am not sure what the comments about Clinton and Carter had to do with anything.

Nita

And he/she is an Ole Miss fan, too. Don't even get me started on that state.

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by Senor Boogie Woogie

I think what puts off some people is the climate of the state, in that it is very hot and humid in the summer with a lot of mosquitoes and bugs. There is always the danger of tornados there too, much like the rest of the south and southern midwest. The winter there is damp and cold, with snow and ice. However, a lot of people from up north, especially the northern midwest, have winter homes in Arkansas, because of the milder winters.

Hey Hogs, thanks for Houston Nutt!

Speaking of mosquitoes...saw a couple last night!! They're out already down here. I was totally amazed. Guess it only takes a couple of evenings in the 50's to get them rolling. A good final freeze right now might do wonders for killing off some of them.

Thanks for taking the ole Nutt off our hands! Enjoy the winning while it lasts, he'll get complacent soon enough.