[trueredneckwoman]

well i was born and raised in Mountain Home..lived there the first 26 yrs of my life..well met my now hubby online in a chat room (corny i know..but it worked..lol)..ended up moving to Jersey..getting married, and having two kids.

My hubby loves it in Arkansas and wants to move to the Mountain Home area..but there are no job openings in what he does in that area..but there is in the Fort Smith area..and they want him...SOON...lol..now being a Mountain Home native through and through..i really dont know much about Fort Smith, sadly.

I have looked and looked all over the net trying to find rental homes in the Fort Smith metro area (anywhere really within a 50 mile radius)...and havent found much at all..very little actually.

I have read up some on the schools, and surroundings..but again..most things only show the good in things..lol

So anyone personaly from the area who could tell me..within a 50 mile cirlcle of Fort Smith what is the best for small children (3 yrs and 1 1/2 yrs)...schools, accomadations, activities (daughter is in preschool and gymnastics now)...crime rates, housing,..all the info

i am so sorry to come here and ask like this..but i really cant seem to find anything online that says much about things.

so any help would be great..all i have really gathered is...its more for older folks..or really young..not much for the teenagers or middle of the road...Van Buren has pretty good schools..alot of schools in Fort Smith are religious based (not sure if this applies to public schools or not..which is what my kids would be going to)...also stay away from Greenwood ( think thats waht it was) and the north side of Fort Smith

im probably really off with all this..lmao..thats why i was wanting some first hand knowledge from someone who knows

thank you all so much

[Bail_Khan]

so any help would be great..all i have really gathered is...its more for older folks..or really young..not much for the teenagers or middle of the road...Van Buren has pretty good schools..alot of schools in Fort Smith are religious based (not sure if this applies to public schools or not..which is what my kids would be going to)...also stay away from Greenwood ( think thats waht it was) and the north side of Fort Smith

Most of these things are generaly true. FS is largely consevative christian but there are also Buddhist temples here.
I went to Fort Smith public schools and hated it. I attend UAFS now and this college is one of the few things the city has done right in the recent past. There are a lot of new fraternitys and sororitys it's actually kind of neat. But there still isn't much of a nightlife.
The factory I work at is actually expanding but it is the exeption to the rule. Exactly what does your husband do?
I am pretty sure the city has gymnastics programs for children. The crime rate has gone up a little in the last 10 years but is still very low. The Northside has always had a bad reputation but is nothing compared to a real ghetto.

[beauku]

Hey Bail...looks like we are neighbors. I graduated from UAFS in 2006...them converting to a university was the best move they could have made.

I grew up in Van Buren...and I recommend it or Alma. Football rivals I might add....
I currently live on the northside of FS and it really isn't so bad if you like fiesta music. East side or southside is really the best way to go if you want to be in Fort Smith, but Van buren is just across the river and is a short drive to anywhere in FS. Alma is a little further, but the school system in Alma would top any that I've mentioned and the town is growing rapidly since 540 was finished.

Good luck to you. Funny that I'm on here looking for info on Little Rock since I'll be moving there in the next couple of weeks. (Not because I dislike here, just got a job I can't turn down.)