[aircum]

A couple of quick questions

My wife and I are 40, and our son is 9, realtors have been telling me that the age of residents has gone down, and it is no longer all retired folks. Is this true?

I see Lake Balboa lakefront homes are the most expensive, how do the other lakes compare for a water sports family?

[JeffAtkins]

Yes, the Village is getting younger, it is not just retirees anymore.

The Hot Springs Village website has information about the lakes:
Hot Springs Village, AR - Recreation - Lakes, Pavilions, Marinas, Beaches

[SusanG_O]

98% of the homeowners have no kids. My grandson who lives with us has ONE kid to play with and we have to either drive or go pick up. Yes, there are school busses with kids in them driving through the village but to see kids OFF the bus is something unusual except at the pools during summer. EVen the big church we attend has no more than a dozen kids of any age.
If you move here wanting to fish, forget it. We have never heard of one person catching a fish here and to SEE a boat on a lake fishing is Very rare. The boats and barges stay in the dock.
This is a retirement community; trust me on that. We've lived her 9 years. It takes me 22 minutes to get to Walmart driiving 50mph. But, then, we live on the opposite end of the village. That gets so old.
I have never seen a fence at anyone's home. I wish we had one; we have 2 dogs in the house.
If you crave peace and quiet and no traffic? You'd like it here; we do.

[JeffAtkins]

(1) Most of the kids live on the west end of the Village (closer to the schools). It sounds like Susan is on the east end and there aren't many children on the east end.

(2) I used to drive 22 minutes to get to a Walmart in Little Rock, the difference was that it was only 5 miles!

(3) I have a friend who fishes the lakes all the time, he isn't there to get a sunburn! There are pictures in the local newspaper all the time "showing off" the local catches, and there are active fishing groups.

Examples from the the local newspaper (there is something almost every week):
http://www.hsvvoice.com/news/2009/08.../B_Section.pdf Page 5 - Bass Seminar
http://www.hsvvoice.com/news/2009/08.../B_Section.pdf Page 3 - Bass Tournament Results
http://www.hsvvoice.com/news/2009/08.../B_Section.pdf Page 3 - Picture of 6# Bass
http://www.hsvvoice.com/news/2009/08.../B_Section.pdf Page 5 - Fishing news

And if the HSV lakes aren't enough, its a short hop to Lake Ouachita (a huge lake, and one of the cleanest lakes in the world), and another short trip to Lake Maumelle (NE of HSV), Lake Catherine or Lake Hamilton (South of Hot Springs), or DeGray Lake (further South of Hot Springs).

Susan is right, there are no "privacy fences", the maximum height allowed is 4 foot, no chain-link unless vinyl coated.

[nmnita]

Like Bella Vista Hot Springs Village is changing rapidly but yes, there are still a majority of residence who are seniors. This doesn't mean you will have no kids for your son to hang with. If there are no kids, why would there be a school? We have the same thing here, the west side is newer with more kids. If I had any complain about HSV is would be the restrictions which are a little stricter than what we have but the lack of kids would not be one.

Nita