[katmark2008]

Does anyone have any first hand info concerning Gentry, ar. We are looking to relocate to the NWA area. My husband has a possible job offer in Lowell, and we are looking into schools/housing/jobs(for me) We have two young children and would like insight into the preschools and elementary programs they have. I havent heard anything of the Gentry area, or the schools. Could anyone shed some light??? thanks!

[katmark2008]

As popular as NorthWest Arkansas is, no one knows a thing about Gentry or its schools? I asked for first-hand info, but i'll settle for second hand, or heck- if anyone is ever heard anything remotely concerning Gentry.....LOL well, you get my drift

[DC at the Ridge]

Gentry is very rural. It's school system hasn't had the funding that the other school systems have enjoyed. I don't live in Gentry and have no first-hand knowledge, but I haven't heard any tremendous negatives about the schools there. Why, if your husband is working in Lowell, are you wanting to live in Gentry? I'm not questioning this in a negative way, I'm just curious.

[rackensack]

Gentry's a very small, very rural town known mainly for a McKee Foods (Little Debbie) factory and a drive-through wild animal safari park. There is a Mennonite community in the area.

Chamber of Commerce site: Main Street Gentry Chamber of Commerce

More info: Day 45: Gentry

[CA central coast]

I have never been to Gentry or Arkansas for that matter, although I hope visit the state one day. A few years ago I met a couple of union millwrights who were out in California working at the nuclear power plants. We got into a conversation about NW AR, the growrth,real estate, etc. One of them told me if he had money to invest in real estate up there it would be in Gentry. He said it was a nice area, very peaceful, good place to own property and to retire.

[katmark2008]

Thanks! We are used to small towns and are looking for more of the same, plus real estate is much less expensive in the smaller towns around the bentonville/springdale/fayetteville area than they are closer to the bigger metropolis. We dont mind a half hour or so of commute, so long as we have access to good school systems for our young children and a clean and safe community to live. Thanks for all who replied and if there are any other small towns that would seem to fit us, please let us know. Thanks!

[amynindy]

I am orginally from Arkansas. It has been a while since I have been to this area. When, I lived in Arkansas, It was a good school system. They had a decent band program. I was a band director when I lived in the state. Arkansas went through some consolidation with their schools. Some of the smaller rural schools could not afford the new requirements. If you like rural areas, you should like the town. There are some larger towns (Springdale, Fayettville, Mountain Home etc. ) that you could go to if you wanted to go to movies, shopping etc. If you want low crime, quiet. You will have it. Good Luck.

[phatdawg]

Not meaning to be rude here, but if DC at the Ridge has no first hand knowledge on a particular subject, why make a point of saying something negative?

I live in that area. I have lived in Gentry. As a matter of fact, the town is named after one of my ancestors. I currently live 6 miles north of Gentry.

It is a small town. But it is a prosperous town and set to grow in the near future. The real estate market here has taken a sharp downturn lately. But that will turn around. Now is not a good time to be selling a house in these parts. But buying a house is also kind of nerve-wracking.

I am going to draw fire for my next remark, but with the massive influx of illegal aliens in this area, the crime rate has skyrocketed. It isn't nearly as safe here as it once was.

Also; for the sake of clarifying the misinformation handed out in the aforementioned post, Gentry school system is one of the better funded rural schools in all of Northwest Arkansas. As a result, it has a much better grade of school system. It has one of the better sports programs. Don't quote me, but I think the high school is 4-A.

[DC at the Ridge]

Originally Posted by phatdawg

Not meaning to be rude here, but if DC at the Ridge has no first hand knowledge on a particular subject, why make a point of saying something negative?


.

What exactly did I say that was negative????????

DC

[phatdawg]

DC at the Ridge:

What did you say that was so negative?

Originally Posted by DC at the Ridge

Gentry is very rural. It's school system hasn't had the funding that the other school systems have enjoyed.

Actually, Gentry has one of the better funded schools in the area for just a small town (population:2130). The presence of McKee Foods is significantly responsible for that.

Plus, it is not a podunk little town with dirt streets, as your statement may imply. There is a lot of growth, and energy and activity in that little town. All of this wrapped up in a laid back southern town complete with its own hippy-biker population. There is even a new hiway being built.

The main religious influence is Seventh-Day Adventist. There is also a large Mennonite community here. The biggest church in town, though, is the Baptist Church. But there are several other churches here as well including an Assembly of God.

If you want to live "in the country" where you can pee off the porch without anyone seeing you, you can find that here. Do you want to live in town with lots of neighbors. We also have that. But Gentry isn't well set up with lots of executive style homes selling in the 500 thousand range. We had a building boom a few years back, but a lot of the houses built were of modest design. They will sell for 100 g's plus. If you want a 4000 square foot executive home in the 3 to 4 hundred g range, (or even higher) go to Rogers or Bentonville.

No, imho, it is good practice to not say anything authoritative when you have no knowledge on a particular subject. Someone might believe what you say, the end result being lies and misconceptions.

As a matter of fact, most preachers today would benefit from that bit of advice.