[1717Guy]

Originally Posted by genielamp

As far as Beaver Lake goes, where have you been? It's not safe to swim there. Read the Arkansas Times for the low down. Arkansas used to be "The Natural State". Now it is "The Chicken State". All of the waterways are affected by chicken house runoff, all the way out to the last dead end roads of Newton County, Boone County, etc.. Kings River used to be clean enough to drink from, about seven or eight years ago to be exact. Now it's not as clean, although it's still pretty nice.

My point is- telling someone to buy land on Beaver Lake is bad advice. I welcome outside agreements or disagreements on this point, just to get a consensus. jm

Got any actual data to back up your claims? Almost all of Northwest Arkansas drinks Beaver Lake water. I have seen the water quality testing results for Beaver Lake water and it is excellent. To tell someone not to swim there is just plain nuts.

[Luvvarkansas]

Originally Posted by magrack

Actually they bite...
...and you're right, they suck. Loose clothing, long pants, heavy application of insect repellant and avoidance (as much as possible) of areas they like and you can minimize your exposure.

And tea tree oil is good if you do get any bites. They have it at Wal-Mart.

[DedTV]

Originally Posted by true559

I live in CA and want to relocate. The politics here are to liberal(slightly left of Stalin and Moa).

Politics here are the same as everywhere else. Most people are sheep and do whatever someone they trust tells them to. Since this is the Bible belt, the people telling them what to do tend to be related to the church so politics tend to be more conservative. But there does tend to be more liberalism among the younger generations. From a business perspective, Arkansas doesn't tend to be very business friendly throughout much of the state. Much of the state is rural area so rural politics tend to be the norm.

Energy costs aren't too bad, but they're still pretty high. Gas prices are a lot better than CA though. Property taxes and such are pretty low, sales taxes vary and tend to be in the 8-11% range in most of the cities.

The people here though are very friendly. My cousin broke down when he visited out here and 3 people stopped to help him out. In CA, anyone who stopped was likely planning to rob you.

From the sound of things, you'd probably do best in the Springdale/Bentonville/Rogers area. It's absolutely beautiful there. Hills and trees everywhere, a bit of snow in the winter but rarely anything crippling, beautiful fall colors and plenty of lakes and streams for things like fishing. In summer though, it's often very hot and extremely muggy. 90 degrees here feels worse than 120 did in the San Juaquin Valley of CA where I grew up. And Heat+Water+tons of vegetation =You might be carried off by the bugs.
It's also a fairly business friendly area due to the presence of Walmart's HQ. Local business regs are pretty much centered around keeping Walmart happy and other business reap the benefits. The only business that wouldn't do well there is something that competes with Walmart or has a heavy tech needs.

[Stone1]

The wife and I are from WI and passed through Arkansas twice. The first time was with the kids in a hurry to get to the Motel to swim so no comment on the area, the second trip was in 2010 with no kids but just 2 days around Fayetteville and Eureka Springs and we really liked the area.

[IwLam]

Originally Posted by simplesouthernman

This past weekend I went with my buddy Capt. Dan to Mena. We went fishing at Lake Wilhelmina St Park. WOW! What a beautiful place! The lake is surrounded on all sides by the Ouachitas. Everything was so green. all the guys fishing were very helpful with thier local knowledge. The people at the restaurants, motel and stores were very friendly and helpful.The town seems to be still recovering from the tornadoes,but they seem to be self sufficient and I think will be okay. Mena seems like a great place to live if youre looking for "laid back."

Mena sounds real fine! Maybe some local folks can feed me more about Mena, like, what about the I-49 worries or otherwise? Are the exact alignment make known already? And when will constructions begin?
(I am assisting my sister-in-law and her hubby living in Gulfport MS in house-hunting) Thanks in advance.

[pattynap]

I was born and raised in California. Then reorganizations came with Boeing, and my husband lost his job. We had my parents in Glenwood Arkansas so after losing everything, and I mean everything, we moved there. Nice tiny town. Anyway, we now live in Hot Springs Arkansas it is a very beautiful town, resort town, alot of people live here and work in Little Rock area. Prices are lower, rent, homes, food, gas (for now) so this could be an option for you

[Tinaval]

I applaud and fully agree with the person who wrote about the life in AR. I've lived here for 8 years and I believe it is the dullest state of all, even if I have not visited most of the states ))))

Do you know what people say about AR? It is the place you must leave!!!!!!

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by Tinaval

It is the place you must leave!!!!!!

Then I hope for your sake, you can. There seem to be more people with the opposite opinion, based upon the growth of NW AR.

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by Tinaval

I applaud and fully agree with the person who wrote about the life in AR. I've lived here for 8 years and I believe it is the dullest state of all, even if I have not visited most of the states ))))

Do you know what people say about AR? It is the place you must leave!!!!!!

Watch that door on the way out, hoss.

[Dutchman01]

Originally Posted by Tinaval

I applaud and fully agree with the person who wrote about the life in AR. I've lived here for 8 years and I believe it is the dullest state of all, even if I have not visited most of the states ))))

Do you know what people say about AR? It is the place you must leave!!!!!!

The last time I looked we still have roads and airports that should accomodate you quite well.