[cleach]

Hi! We are interested in moving to this area, but are worried that it will become another commuter town for Springdale/Fayetteville/Rogers/etc.
We have also heard that there is a Super Center going in...
For those familar with the area, what do you think will happen in the future as far as growth? Will the new WalMart location change the dynamics or the downtown area?
I'd also love to hear your thoughts about the schools, people, and town in general.
Thank you for any opinions!

[tmsmith06]

Huntsville, Arkansas is a beautiful area. Currenlty my family lives on 412 East close to Beaver Lake (you will cross this area traveling to Springdale on your commute), and I am very familiar with the aHunstville. Most people who live in Huntsville travel to Springdale/Fayetteville/Rogers/Bentonville to work. However, some do travel to Berryville as well. This area is not growing like it was, so to respond to the commuter theory would jbe a quess. However, you WILL be traveling to NWA a lot for shopping, medical and dental care, and leisure. There is very little to do in Huntsville...I think the only fast food is Sonic and one pizza joint.

[cleach]

Originally Posted by tmsmith06

Huntsville, Arkansas is a beautiful area. Currenlty my family lives on 412 East close to Beaver Lake (you will cross this area traveling to Springdale on your commute), and I am very familiar with the aHunstville. Most people who live in Huntsville travel to Springdale/Fayetteville/Rogers/Bentonville to work. However, some do travel to Berryville as well. This area is not growing like it was, so to respond to the commuter theory would jbe a quess. However, you WILL be traveling to NWA a lot for shopping, medical and dental care, and leisure. There is very little to do in Huntsville...I think the only fast food is Sonic and one pizza joint.

Thank you for your response.
We currently live in MT and drive 120 miles to shop. So, the commute would be a breeze . We would like to stay in a small town, but without the worry of the exponential growth that so much of that area has seen.

[luvarkansas]

I love Huntsville! It's a small town, but in a beautiful spot of Arkansas, near many opportunities for outdoor recreation, and close enough to Springdale/Fayetteville for shopping that it doesn't feel isolated. The town is neat, clean, and right in the middle of beautiful, rural land. They have a nice little town square. It's true that the only fast food is Sonic and Pizza Hut, but there are several more restaurants....one of which I have eaten at before and it was good. Can't remember the name of it. It's very hilly and has some neat old houses (which I like).

I don't know where the new Wal-Mart will be located, so I don't know if it will change the dynamics or the downtown area.

I also don't know about the schools or people. Try doing a search on here and see if Huntsville has already been discussed before.

Have you actually been to Huntsville?

[cleach]

luvarkansas~ Yes, we've been there several times. I actually used to live in a house on Hwy 45 between Goshen and Mayfield when I was a little girl.
My husband still has family in NWA, which is why we are considering the area. We're thinking Huntsville in order to stay rural and become part of a small community. This will hopefully be our last move and the place where we raise our kiddos, which is why we are concerned with the future changes in the town.

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by cleach

luvarkansas~ Yes, we've been there several times. I actually used to live in a house on Hwy 45 between Goshen and Mayfield when I was a little girl.
My husband still has family in NWA, which is why we are considering the area. We're thinking Huntsville in order to stay rural and become part of a small community. This will hopefully be our last move and the place where we raise our kiddos, which is why we are concerned with the future changes in the town.

I think Huntsville is going to be pretty insulated from a lot of growth over at least the next 5-10 years. I personally think that NWA's growth spurt has run it's current course and it's going to be fairly stable with a very modest growth trend over the next decade. With the way it's overbuilt and the fact that home prices are already very reasonable to start with, there isn't a lot of incentive for new relocaters to head out into Madison County. Admittedly, I'm reading the tea leaves here so take my info with the proper cautions.

For restaurants, I've eaten at the Crossbow once and thought it was pretty decent for a small town sit down homecooking type place. I'll caveat that with the fact it was 8+ years ago that I ate there!

[Towhee]

We ate at Crossbow a year or so ago and were very disappointed in all aspects of it....food, service, and price! I believe it had changed hands in recent years.

[GetmeoutofAR]

Huntsville is the heart and soul of rural Arkansas. It's simply beautiful out there. Huntsville represents the Arkansas I grew up in

[luvarkansas]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

I think Huntsville is going to be pretty insulated from a lot of growth over at least the next 5-10 years. I personally think that NWA's growth spurt has run it's current course and it's going to be fairly stable with a very modest growth trend over the next decade. With the way it's overbuilt and the fact that home prices are already very reasonable to start with, there isn't a lot of incentive for new relocaters to head out into Madison County. Admittedly, I'm reading the tea leaves here so take my info with the proper cautions.

For restaurants, I've eaten at the Crossbow once and thought it was pretty decent for a small town sit down homecooking type place. I'll caveat that with the fact it was 8+ years ago that I ate there!

I think Stormcrow's assessment is pretty much right. I personally would like to live on Hwy. 74, between Hwy. 23 and Kingston....beautiful out there! There is an old Victorian house on the left, not too far from 23, white with blue trim....I LOVE that house! Anyway, you wouldn't be far from a grocery store (and Pizza Hut!) in Huntsville (the turnoff to 74 is, I think, 4 miles south of Huntsville), but also not far from the Buffalo River. Perfect spot.

I don't remember if the restaurant I ate at was called the Crossbow or not....that name doesn't sound familiar, though. The one we went to was on one of the main highways leading out of town to the north (not the one going to Eureka Springs). It was a fairly large restaurant, rustic, decorated very nicely, with lots of colorful stuff on the walls. The food was good, but what we got was burgers and curly-Q's. And it's been probably 4 years ago now since we were there.

[itsrich]

Dear Cleach, You mentioned on blog about a year ago that your husband once worked on the medical clinic in Lame Dear, MT and said he loved it. I am considering a position there as a Locum Temp to work as a Physician Assistant for about 3 months through a company called Staff Care. They will provide housing/car rental, could he give me any hints about the clinic and its patients?
Thanks
itsrich