[nmnita]

GrandpaTom, you sound like us, but for us it is AR and we did give consideration to Tn. We just wanted to stay closer to family and now they have mostly moved here.

What do we love about AR:
The people are at the top of the list: friendly and always willing to help

weather: no place is utopia, but the 4 seasons with none being too severe is great: Not humid for months at a time with high temps like TX and not too cold in the winter.

Happen to love the politics and our church, but that is something everyone needs to figure out for themselves. One can easily live here and keep their views without getting attacked.

lots to do, inside and out

living in NWA we have urban and rural all mixed together which is so wonderful. You can live in urban area and still only be 15 from the peaceful country side.

Good medical facilities

More diverse than many realize.

[sub]

Originally Posted by grampaTom

I have lived in Ar twice. I believe it is important to let prospective residents from out of state know that West (and especially Northwest Arkansas) are very different places to live than central Ar and that East Ar is a totally different entity entirely. By NW Ar I am really talking about Washington, Madison and Benton Counties and especially the towns of Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale.

In east Ar from Mena to the Mo state line there are mountains, rivers and lakes and is an outdoors person's dream with hiking, kayaking, fishing and hunting. NW Ar has a very vibrant economy and the University of Arkansas.

In central Ar you have the capital city of Little Rock and the Arkansas River valley. Little Rock is a nice city but not comparable to places like St Louis or Dallas which have pro sports franchises and major airports.

Eastern Ar is the Mississippi River and is flat, flat, flat. Great farming but ... Well you just need to go see for yourself. In Southeast Ar they have timber and pulp mills and it is really rural.

North Central Ar has the White River and some other major rivers as well as really nice lakes and is actually a pretty good place to search out if you want to retire to a relatively rural area with great fishing and a quiet life style. Especially the area between Harrison and Mountain Home up to the state line.

One of the reason people leave Ar after moving there from elsewhere is the weather -- especially heat and humidity. People like me (from Oklahoma) and people from places like Mississippi tolerate it because we grew up with it. People who grew up in Orange county California would probably not last more than one summer.

Also be aware that there are places in Ar that new residents may not feel very welcome -- at least at first. You really need to ask careful questions about very specific areas of Ar to learn more.

I loved my times in Ar and would move back if we hadn't found paradise at the foot of the Smoky Mountains here in Tn.

Pretty good assessment.
Outdoor recreation is going to be very similar across all of the Ozarks and Ouachitas, whether they be in Arkansas, Oklahoma, or Missouri. Even the Delta has no shortage of things to do, just different.
Places like northwest Arkansas, Little Rock, and northeast Arkansas have had enough transplants over the years that they've gotten used to the concept. If anything, it might be the transplant's culture shock or aversion to hot humid weather that makes their transition more difficult, if/when they have difficulty.
As a native, those long stretches of heat and humidity finally did me in. Once we got a taste of not having to deal with those combination of things to any great degree, the thought of going back seems less and less likely.

[DC at the Ridge]

Originally Posted by TRex2

It isn't hard to figure out.

Love our Creator.
Support America and the Constitution.
Respect the rule of law.
Enjoy the outdoors and nature,
Don't try to restrict property rights of those in the rural areas.
Don't drink Leftist Koolaid.
Etc.

That's just a description of yourself.

Arkansas can suit a lot of people of all types. I don't think people have to be particularly religious, or of a particular political bent. I would suggest that a good fit would be someone with a good sense of humor, someone who is interested in the world around them, someone with a vehicle (public transportation is available, but spotty), someone who enjoys the four seasons and who can deal with heat and humidity.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by sub

Pretty good assessment.
Outdoor recreation is going to be very similar across all of the Ozarks and Ouachitas, whether they be in Arkansas, Oklahoma, or Missouri. Even the Delta has no shortage of things to do, just different.
Places like northwest Arkansas, Little Rock, and northeast Arkansas have had enough transplants over the years that they've gotten used to the concept. If anything, it might be the transplant's culture shock or aversion to hot humid weather that makes their transition more difficult, if/when they have difficulty.
As a native, those long stretches of heat and humidity finally did me in. Once we got a taste of not having to deal with those combination of things to any great degree, the thought of going back seems less and less likely.

Hat and humidity isn't much different here than most of the south and mid Atlantic region: We lived in the DC/VA area for 7 years. It was similar to here. Further south it is much worse, like the Carolinas, Ga, Fl. Ms and God knows how bad it is in Texas!!!

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by DC at the Ridge

That's just a description of yourself.

Arkansas can suit a lot of people of all types. I don't think people have to be particularly religious, or of a particular political bent. I would suggest that a good fit would be someone with a good sense of humor, someone who is interested in the world around them, someone with a vehicle (public transportation is available, but spotty), someone who enjoys the four seasons and who can deal with heat and humidity.

Pretty good analogy but the religious and the political aspect do play a part in why so many of us love NWA. Yes, you can be non religious like my granddaughter and be very happy and you can lean to the other side of the political views of much of AR and be happy, bur both criteria do matter somewhat.

[TRex2]

Originally Posted by nmnita

Pretty good analogy but the religious and the political aspect do play a part in why so many of us love NWA. Yes, you can be non religious like my granddaughter and be very happy and you can lean to the other side of the political views of much of AR and be happy, bur both criteria do matter somewhat.

He says that is a description of myself: well, then, that must be why I fit in so well

I suspect he fits only in a few of the more liberal parts of the state, but I don't know, since I only know the personality he presents here. As for me, don't worry, I am just as abrasive and opinionated off line as I am on line (You can ask my pastor about that LoL! )

[DC at the Ridge]

Originally Posted by TRex2

He says that is a description of myself: well, then, that must be why I fit in so well

I suspect he fits only in a few of the more liberal parts of the state, but I don't know, since I only know the personality he presents here. As for me, don't worry, I am just as abrasive and opinionated off line as I am on line (You can ask my pastor about that LoL! )

I fit in fine in Arkansas. I've been here a long, long time.

[Mike Town]

Originally Posted by TRex2

Well, CA is on my list of places I don't want to move to
but I am not sure why you are mentioning it here.

This is more about why we might steer someone away from a place we love.
Just because we love it, doesn't mean it would be a good fit for everyone.

.

If I posted it in the wrong place copy paste it where it should go.
Thank you.

[TRex2]

Originally Posted by Mike Town

If I posted it in the wrong place copy paste it where it should go.
Thank you.

I was just saying that it was a bit of a tangent to this thread.

[sheerbliss]

We had someone post in the Indianapolis forum who was set on finding her little slice of Orange County, California in Carmel, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis with a country-club atmosphere. Based on her personality (and neck and sleeve tattoos, which would turn heads in Carmel), some of us tried to steer her towards a relatively more progressive part of Indy--but a friend told her the entire city of Indianapolis was a crime-ridden ghetto, and we who lived here couldn't tell her any different.

Several months later, she posted under a different name (there were too many identical, highly unusual details for it to be someone else) as if she was going to get a different answer. We steered her towards staying where she was.