[RTTNFAM]

Originally Posted by GetmeoutofAR

if you compare the cars per roads per the sizes of the towns yeah the roads are crowded

Maybe so, but the roads here in Mount Ida can get crowded and seem just as big an inconvenience as in a big town. I don;t think that is a NWA problem, I think that it is a general national problem. Our road systems just were not desgined to keep up with the growing population. Bottom line, you can deal with crowded roads anywhere!

[DC at the Ridge]

Originally Posted by GetmeoutofAR

if you compare the cars per roads per the sizes of the towns yeah the roads are crowded

Some of the main roads get a little congested. But it isn't anything like the regular gridlock during rush hour in some cities. When you are sitting on I-35 with 4 lanes going southbound, and all the lanes are at a standstill (meaning you can turn off the car) during rush hour, taking over an hour to get from one exit to the next, that is a traffic problem. When you are on 540 during rush hour, and traffic slows from 70 to 45 mph, it may make you impatient, but it's a slight delay.

[GetmeoutofAR]

I now live in Springfield, MO and I notice a HUGE difference in the way the traffic is handled. Excellent outflow, not any significant gridlock, tons of wide avenues to use. I love it. NW AR has a severe problem and its only getting worse.

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by nmnita

people here are very open, very friendly and very unassuming. Like anywhere, if someone moves in and attempts to make changes or compare their new enviorment with the old, they may not find it all that friendly. If new people accept Arkansas for what it is they will be warmly welcomed. This goes for any area, people living in an area, do it for a reason and can get defensive when their home is being attacked...

Nita

Yer talkin' Bella Vista there, nmnita. A retirement mecca where probably 70 percent of everyone has moved from some place else. Take a trip to Lead Hill or Yellville or Hardy or Omaha and your opinion about folks being "very open, very friendly and very unassuming" might change a notch or two.

Mind you, I love Arkansas and the people there. They just take some gettin' used to - especially in small towns. Your advice about not wanting to change their new environment is spot on, though. One of the worst things a newbie can do.

20yrsinBranson

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by GetmeoutofAR

I now live in Springfield, MO and I notice a HUGE difference in the way the traffic is handled. Excellent outflow, not any significant gridlock, tons of wide avenues to use. I love it. NW AR has a severe problem and its only getting worse.

Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale, OMG it's a nightmare to drive there. The road development has NOT kept up with population growth. The city fathers have really botched that one, big time.

20yrsinBranson

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by GetmeoutofAR

I now live in Springfield, MO and I notice a HUGE difference in the way the traffic is handled. Excellent outflow, not any significant gridlock, tons of wide avenues to use. I love it. NW AR has a severe problem and its only getting worse.

Disclaimer: This is not a defense of NWA or how it manages traffic issues which is beast of a different sort altogether...

Springfield, MO is a characterless expanse of suburban wasteland. It is a featureless grid of 4 lane arterials and freeways built as if there were no tomorrow connecting strip mall to strip mall to strip mall. It is a blight and in no way should be offered up as an example of fine urban planning in any context.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by 20yrsinBranson

Yer talkin' Bella Vista there, nmnita. A retirement mecca where probably 70 percent of everyone has moved from some place else. Take a trip to Lead Hill or Yellville or Hardy or Omaha and your opinion about folks being "very open, very friendly and very unassuming" might change a notch or two.

Mind you, I love Arkansas and the people there. They just take some gettin' used to - especially in small towns. Your advice about not wanting to change their new environment is spot on, though. One of the worst things a newbie can do.

20yrsinBranson

I agree with most of what you say, but we have found people all over the area friendly, in stores, restaurants, casinos, just about everywhere. Our granddaughter graduated for AR last spring and I have met many of her sorority sisters, from all over the country, but mostly AR, they are much friendlier than her older sisters friends were at the same age. This does not mean everyone we run into would go out of their way to give you the time of day, but it certainly beats NM or VA.(no VA near DC that is)
I don't know how long it has been since someone carried my groceries to my car. They don't even ask, they just do it.
Nita

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by 20yrsinBranson

Yer talkin' Bella Vista there, nmnita. A retirement mecca where probably 70 percent of everyone has moved from some place else. Take a trip to Lead Hill or Yellville or Hardy or Omaha and your opinion about folks being "very open, very friendly and very unassuming" might change a notch or two.

Mind you, I love Arkansas and the people there. They just take some gettin' used to - especially in small towns. Your advice about not wanting to change their new environment is spot on, though. One of the worst things a newbie can do.

20yrsinBranson

Dissing Lead Hill is fighting words... I may never ever move back there but I'll drop the gloves over it. Even if you're correct in your assessment

[GetmeoutofAR]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

Disclaimer: This is not a defense of NWA or how it manages traffic issues which is beast of a different sort altogether...

Springfield, MO is a characterless expanse of suburban wasteland. It is a featureless grid of 4 lane arterials and freeways built as if there were no tomorrow connecting strip mall to strip mall to strip mall. It is a blight and in no way should be offered up as an example of fine urban planning in any context.

Have fun living in the nightmare NWA will be in 10 years....You'll be leaving 3 hours early just to get to work

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by 20yrsinBranson

Yer talkin' Bella Vista there, nmnita. A retirement mecca where probably 70 percent of everyone has moved from some place else. Take a trip to Lead Hill or Yellville or Hardy or Omaha and your opinion about folks being "very open, very friendly and very unassuming" might change a notch or two.

Mind you, I love Arkansas and the people there. They just take some gettin' used to - especially in small towns. Your advice about not wanting to change their new environment is spot on, though. One of the worst things a newbie can do.

20yrsinBranson

I gotta disagree about Hardy.

I'm over there every once in a while for this 'n' that and have found the populace friendly.

Now....if you count the "big" houses up in the hills as "Hardy", you may have a point. However, I doubt if those folks were friendly before thye came here and built the McMansions.