[Kraken]

Well I have been reading these forums for a while and have finally decided to register and start talking. So "Hello" everyone!

I grew up in Arkansas and decided to move to the Los Angeles area about 4 years ago. Needless to say, California is NOT what I envisioned it to be and after 4 years we are heading BACK to Arkansas.

California is WAYYYYY too crowded, dirty, expensive, unkempt and the job market here absolutely SUCKS. I was cruising the want ads for Arkansas and I can make as much, if not more, money doing what I do in Arkansas as I was doing here in California. That says a lot about the job market out here...and even better? There are jobs all over Craigslist in Los Angeles wanting 10 years experience, a Bachelors degree, and a portfolio and they want to pay $10 an hour. It is ridiculous.

I will say that most of the reason that I am moving back to Arkansas is because California is completely overran with illegal immigrants and the situation has bankrupted several hospitals, school systems, and has caused the registration on vehicles to triple in order to pay for their social services.
Illegal immigrants have also ruined the job market here. People can no longer make a decent wage working in any service industry, construction, skilled trades, or even retail because illegal immigrants are often willing to work for minimum wage out here on jobs that used to pay $15-$20 an hour.

The other issue is that the real estate market has been completely ruined by illegal immigration. We have been trying to buy a house here and the houses are anywhere from $400,000 and on up because of the demand from illegal immigrants who were getting crap loans. Lots of them have been foreclosed on and thus, there are tons of empty homes that have been destroyed with graffiti and looted for copper plumbing and cabinets.
Most of the houses that we looked at had been "remodeled" in some way by an illegal immigrant and the electrical and plumbing systems were most often not up to code. The other problem is that the illegal families here like to live with 10 - 15 people per household so the houses have had almost ALL of the garages converted to 'bedrooms' and bathrooms have been added in weird places and incorrectly. The houses literally look like a herd of elephants have run through them because they are so damaged and in such disrepair.

It isn't just the illegals that are a huge problem here. Everything is ridiculously expensive: from groceries to vehicles, it just costs WAAYYY too much to live in these conditions.

I probably will be posting a lot more in here and would like to hear feedback from other people who have moved BACK to Arkansas after leaving the state.

We have just sold our house and it was paid for so we will be buying a house outright in Arkansas and are thrilled to get back to a nicer state that is beautiful with kind people who believe in taking care of their houses. I can even deal with the Republicans just knowing that we can fish as much as we want

Thanks,
Kraken

[CESpeed]

You just named most of why I'm moving from LA to Arkansas. Thank you for the validation.

[Kraken]

Originally Posted by CESpeed

You just named most of why I'm moving from LA to Arkansas. Thank you for the validation.

No prob CE!

You are going to LOVE Hot Springs! It is so beautiful there and diverse and friendly and there are a ton of things to do there.

[Rogter]

We live in Oregon and CANT wait to get out of here. We have been wanting to move to NW Arkansas for a year now. I cant stand the west anymore...it is ridicuolus...everything is out of control.

ARKANSAS HERE WE COME!!

[Kraken]

Originally Posted by Rogter

We live in Oregon and CANT wait to get out of here. We have been wanting to move to NW Arkansas for a year now. I cant stand the west anymore...it is ridicuolus...everything is out of control.

ARKANSAS HERE WE COME!!

YAY Rogter! I think you guys will really enjoy Northwest Arkansas, it is really beautiful there and much less expensive.

Ahoy Arkansas!

[PurpleLove08]

With that post blaming everything on illegals, I was under the impression you were a Republican.

In any case, welcome to AR.

[Kraken]

Originally Posted by PurpleLove08

With that post blaming everything on illegals, I was under the impression you were a Republican.

In any case, welcome to AR.

Ha! No way, I'm actually a Democrat and bleeding-heart liberal who used to think that illegal immigrants should all just be legalized until I saw what they do to a social system and the culture that they move into.

I cringe when I think of the Northwest Arkansas region and the potential for the illegals working for Tyson there to devastate an area that I think it so beautiful.

[Michael T]

So it's the poor, voiceless, minimum-wage workers that have destroyed our economy.
Thanks for your insight. I had been blaming it on corporate greed and corrupt public officials.
I think Arkansas is perfect for you. Adios

[Kraken]

Originally Posted by Michael T

So it's the poor, voiceless, minimum-wage workers that have destroyed our economy.
Thanks for your insight. I had been blaming it on corporate greed and corrupt public officials.
I think Arkansas is perfect for you. Adios

I should win a bet. I knew that if I voiced my disapproval of illegals that someone, somewhere would say it's because I'm from Arkansas.

Newsflash: There are people in this country who are tired of paying the way for illegal immigrants and seeing other states (like California) being destroyed by the plague of illegal immigrants.

And yes, the economy has been destroyed by illegal immigrants who buy houses knowing that they can't afford them, who run up credit cards and then run back across the border, who crap out their 50 babies at hospitals and then don't pay their bills, who like to hit-and-run vehicle accidents causing everyone else's insurance to go up, who are willing to do skilled labor for $5 an hour when other people who are here legal can demand $10, and who demand to speak Spanish on job applications, voting, and testing simply because they are too ignorant or lazy to learn English.

So yeah, Michael (or is it Miguel?) illegals are destroying the economy of this nation.

As far as corporate america being responsible for this? They wouldn't be able to do what they do unless ignorant people who are illegal were willing to slit their own throat for a dollar while the corporations put their money in offshore accounts.

If these illegals had any dignity at all they would go through the legal system properly and WORK for a living instead of demanding that everyone else take care of them.

[ridicter]

Kraken, there are tones of demagoguery in your posts. It's completely bizarre that you give financial institutions the benefit of the doubt when it is widely agreed that it was through their shenanigans that we got into this mess. You prefer to blame illegals--those "honorless" illegals, oh boy--with no evidence. The same ones that those corporations have been lobbying the government to keep because they provide---you got it, cheap labor. There's a reason why you don't find your opinions on the economic state of America in any economic publications.

I know it's probably too much to ask for some dispassionate logic.

And I agree, something needs to be done about illegal immigrants, but I can't stand the xenophobia that often results...IF you have a legitimate case then STATE IT. That's all. Beware, your latent feelings are spewing out. ("Miguel?")