Mena--opinions? (Hot Springs: job, invest, business)

[stuckinarut]

I don't know much about Mena. Still, I had to mention that I saw their high shool boys basketball team play in the regional playoffs tournament a few years back, and they were well disciplined and very talented. I haven't followed them or anything, but that team was awesome. There were tons of fans following from what I believe to have been more than a three to four hour drive. This speaks highly of the Mena community. I never knew if that team went on to win the state championship that year - I believe it was in 2003 or 2004. Nevertheless, I will never forget Mena.

[Ravenasque]

I live near Mena and rely on the town for my groceries/ect., I myself have not been aware of recent construction within the area I commute (which is what anyone moving here would commute, the only store to shop at--WalMart).

That is why I said I haven't seen anything new.

[DFWMike]

It's been awhile since last post here, but Ravenasque bounces between prejudices and truth alot. He says I-49 will take a long time, however, they've already finished the section from the louisiana border to Texarkana, and the section from the Missouri border to Fort Smith, so it will be done, it'll just take 10 years or so.

As far as Mena goes, typical southern town. I visited there quite a bit, there are a fair amount of retirees from out of state, but I wouldn't live there myself even though it's one of my favorite places. I grew up in deep East Texas and living in the sticks can be a real pain unless you're inclined for that kind of life style.

If you hunt, fish and go to your local baptist church, you should be ok.

[iffytiffy05]

My wife & I moved to Mena 1 year ago next week (June 4, 2006). We came from Tampa Bay, Florida area where we had approx. 3 1/2 million people within about a 15 mile radius of us. All of Polk County Arkansas is only in the low 20,000 range. Do we like Mena???? Yes, very much without a doubt! Heard about Mena by word of mouth and came to take a look. One look is all it took. Came here last April. Bought 3 bedroom 1 bath home on 1/2 acre right on the edge of town for under $40,000. Mountains in view all around us and only 1 minute from Scenic Trail going from Mena over to Oklahoma. This winter we only had a trace of snow twice. Not enough to even think about a snow shovel. Just wait couple hours and it will melt away. Had couple cold night compared to what we were used to in Florida but it really was NOT as cold as I thought it might get. We were here for all of last summer. Again NOT really that bad. Had some days in late July-early August that hit over 100 degrees BUT during the daytime the humidity is very low. I was out working in the yard, cutting grass etc and did not even break into a sweat. Couldn't do that in Florida. We watched weather bug on puter every day and found that almost every day we had very low (20-30%)during the daytime hours BUT after sunset the humidity started going up. Got up pretty high some nights but the temperature was going down. So all in all the humidy was nothing to us. Plenty of good local restaurants nearby, even Ouachita Little Theatre right here in Mena. Over abundance of wild life all around. Lots of birds we never saw before. Can find inexpensive houses if you take some time and look. Crime rate in this area very low compared to most of the rest of the country. Sorry to say YES they do have a drug problem in Mena just like everywhere else. You can't get away from it anywhere you go. Another negative is employment. If you need high paying employment look elsewhere. Mena is a fabulous place to live. We thank God everyday that we listened to His Holy Spirit and moved to God's Country known as Mena, Arkansas

[bk21]

thank you iffytiffy05 for your insight. We will be moving to Mena in early August--we are excited. I'm sure that we will like it very much. We are retired so employment isn't a concern. I'm sure our teenagers will be able to find work.

[arkansas21]

[quote=bk21;253279]We are considering a move sometime in 2007 from New Mexico to Mena. We have visited several times, and like it. Does anyone have any opinions to share? good or bad---

We have 3 high school aged children-any thoughts on the high school?

mena is the worst place to move unless you want to retire and you love the woods. i am 23 years old and i lived their for 9 years. it was horrible. their is no place for kids to hang out so they all turn to drugs and drinking. hardly anyone likes other races to move into the town.their are no jobs and alot of people get stuck living there and the school systems arnt that great and their arnt alot of opportunities for your kids to be invloved in a variety of sports.bad move..

[bk21]

thanks for your perspective, arkansas21. We are moving from a small town, that has less for kids to do than Mena. According to my research, the schools are better than the one we are leaving, and where we live one has to go to a larger town for jobs. As far as the race situation, we are white. I hope you find a place to live that suits you. Small towns are not for everyone.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Southern Girl

Mena High School has a good reputation. It's a great small town area. May not have as much night life as your children would like.

That depends on where in NM they are. Most of NM is very rural, probably more so than Arkansas. NMnita

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Ravenasque

Yes, there's always something being projected in Arkansas. It tends to be something far off. With the way Mena is ran, I would not doubt such projections are in the very distant future.

But on the other hand, if you like the secluded and retirement atmosphere, its quite alright. Teenagers and Young Adults will not find a lot to do here. The ones I have known tend to get in a lot of trouble due to the lack of other things to do. There's a couple problems though that you may face, I don't know if you know about them:

1. The roads are pretty bad... year round. (they tend to have huge potholes and sinkholes for awhile, esp. if you live outside of the city limits)

2. Its VERY humid here. If you haven't been here for the summer, I'd suggest strongly to visit then, because it is the worst time of the year arguably, so if you can stand the worst, you should be alright. I'd say late July or early August to experience the heat. I came from CA so I am used to the dry heat, the humidity is something that I find hard to deal with.

The other things, the ice snaps, aren't too bad, but at times you can literally be stuck at home. A lot of people around here have a generator because the power can go out at bad times.

please tell me where you lived in California where the weather was dry. Unless you lived inland, Californis is anything but dry. Of course the humidity and rainfall is nothing like the mid west, but dry? I don't think so unless you call foggy nights and mornings especially in the spring and summer dry? NMnita

[leftyelysium]

I'm from Mena. I graduated high school there. The school is ok but all government schools do a bad job anyway. I learned quite a bit from there but they could offer more. Overall, It's not a bad town. There is absolutely nothing to do for teens. Just keep an eye on them. You wont have to worry about them getting into gang fights or anything like that but as nice of a little town it is, teens is small towns with nothing to do take drugs. There are plenty of church groups for them to get involved in. Just keep them in extracurricular activities at school and in church, they will do just fine. I don't want to live anywhere else, though. It's the most beautiful town I've ever lived in. I'm biased, though. I was born there. I just can't find a job there. If you find anyone doing industrial xray there, drop me a line.