[Nick Hood]

I have been looking into moving to hot springs ark. for some time now. It was chosen as 1 city for both me and my wife on ****.com it seems really nice, affordible, safe much the contrast to where we currently life (northern VA) I do however have some questions about hot spring village beacuse this is where we will most likly reside. first are the houses nice? could we get somthing thats not a total peice of junk for say under 200 (preferably lakefront). It seems that there are alot of churches would my son be safe to practice any relgion he chooses without major harrasment? also we like a nice place but we dont want to be surrounded by a bunch of snobs is this inevitable (we are very young teen parents and like to avoid ridicule as much as possible)? I love fishing and swimming but it seems as if the lakes would get over crowded is this often a problem? do the have a great workout facility? most importantly I am a stylist and have worked in nothing but high end upscale salons. what are some good salons in the area? any in or by the village?

thanks for the help
-Nick Hood

[Megande]

Hot Springs Village is about 25 minutes away from Hot Springs. It is a gated community that is primarily a retirement destination, so I don't know that it is what you are looking for. It is lovely with lots of lakes and golf courses, and is very safe, but I am guessing you would feel out of place there as a young teen parents.

[CESpeed]

I'm also thinking that if you are planning to stay in upscale salons you probably want to be in NWA, Little Rock or West Memphis. You should look at the information side of CD and try Wikipedia.

[JeffAtkins]

Most of the homes here are very nice. I doubt you can find anything lakefront for $200k other than a townhome. For $200k you could probably get a good 3br/2ba 2000sqft home near the lake or golf course. For $250-$300k you can get a larger home on one of the golf courses.

You are correct there are a lot of churches here, of many denominations. The chamber of commerce website Hot Springs Village Arkansas Live Life The Way You Deserve To Live It In The Ouachita Mountains, has a list under "businesses".

There is very little boat traffic on the lakes, even in summer. There are two or three beaches for swimming, outdoor pools on the west end, and an indoor pool at the Fitness Center. The Fitness Center was recently remodeled, and is relatively cheap. You can check out the "fee schedule" on the HSV POA website (Hot Springs Village, AR - Gated Community offering golf, lakes, and recreation).

When you get tired of fishing all of the HSV lakes, Lake Ouachita is < 30 miles. Its the 2nd cleanest lake in the country (and catching up with Lake Tahoe from what I hear).

The question about the stylist is out of my league, but I know there is one in the center of the Village near the fitness center that stays busy. My suggestion would be to check out whats here, and consider opening your own.

As far as safely, HSV has one of the lowest crime rates in the country.

[cygnet]

To add to what Jeff said -- although this is primarily a retirement community, we do have young people here. My next-door neighbor has a 15-year-old who goes to Jessieville High School and is very involved in local sports. Our church has a very active youth group (it's combined with kids from another church) and other churches do also, so your teen should find lots of friends.

We love taking our visiting kids and grandkids to swim in Lake Balboa, and as Jeff said, Lake Ouachita State Park is right up the road. Great for boating, camping, swimming, and lake tours (we love the Owl Prowl, the eagle watch, and stargazing tours).

Come check us out.

[pinehollowgal]

Hot Springs as well as the Village area have a number of homes for sale. $269,000 probably would get you what you want. There are a lot of upscale type people in the village and you are looking for that type of customers. You could probably work in a salon for a while and build up your own customers and then open your own. The cost of living and the real estate tax here is so much less that the part of the country that you are from. Hot Springs Village is like Bella Vista...it started out being retirement, but now has a number of young families. Pay scales are somewhat less than some parts of the country..but the cost of living in general is less so it probably evens out.
It is a beautiful area with lots of good fishing, swimming and camping. With a number of lakes in the Village and 4 lakes surrounding Hot Springs you can usually find adequate space to either be with a crowd or be off to your self.
Hope you find what you are looking for. PineHollow Gal

[Nick Hood]

wow great this has been alot of help anything more on salons? also are the people generally excepting to a little noise here and there is is it really peice and quite kind of place?

[JeffAtkins]

Originally Posted by Nick Hood

wow great this has been alot of help anything more on salons? also are the people generally excepting to a little noise here and there is is it really peice and quite kind of place?

It is a peace and quiet kind of place. There are county noise ordinances for constantly-barking dogs and noises such as home construction before 7am (I think it is 7am, it might be before 6am). What kind of noises do you want to make?

Having said that, you could find a house in a sparsley populated area, and make all the noise you want.

[Nick Hood]

I just figure it kinda like a permentate camp ground there and though Im not much of a partier im sure ill have a bond fire or two here and there

[cygnet]

Originally Posted by Nick Hood

I just figure it kinda like a permentate camp ground there and though Im not much of a partier im sure ill have a bond fire or two here and there

I think you might have the wrong idea about what kind of place Hot Springs Village really is. It's not a "campground" by any means -- it's a town, with streets and houses and churches and subdivisions. We pretty much are like most small towns -- we don't like loud music (especially at night), we like friendly neighbors, and we like our rural setting. Which means, as we're in the middle of a forest, no open fires. You'll have to go to a real campground (say Ouachita State Park) for bonfires, and even then they'll be in your campsite. You might want to come make a visit before deciding if this is the right place for you. Talk to some of the locals, maybe.