[Spence&Kim]

My wife and I are 30-somethings with a newborn. After talking about it for years we are thinking of making the move to Arkansas. I grew up in Hot Springs and still have such a romanticised picture in my head of that state that my family is intrugued enough to give it a shot. We are moving from the east coast and it looks like this "boom" in northwest Arkansas may just provide the perfect opportunity for us. So, I have a few questions for y'all.

First of all I am in the safety shoe business so I need to find an area with a good solid base of industry to support either a new store or a mobile shoe truck. How is the heavy industry / manufacturing business over there?

How about the cost of living? One of the key factors for us deciding to take this leap is the fact that a 2200 sq ft. home in the Chesapeake, VA starts around $360k and up! I'm hoping the areas surrounding Fayetteville will provide a little easier pill to swallow.

Finally, how good is this boom anyway? Are the roads, the stores, the schools and most importantly the locals prepared for such a surge of new residents? Or is there a sense of "Too big, too fast." floating around?

And one more thing... of the 3 towns that seem to make up this area, Rogers, Springdale and Fayetteville which would be the nicest place to set down some roots? Thanks.

[Stormcrow73]

Hey guys! We're Arkansans who got transplanted just up the way from you in MD and we're really getting close to heading back this summer. We've only been away for 6 years and the "boom" was just starting when we left NWA. I'll tell you for a fact that while the boom was substantial, property values where we are went up much faster than NWA. We've spoken to realtors back there in the past week and have been told that there are LOTS of new construction homes just sitting there. This data is corroborated by news reports of data from the realtors association there that says there are 3000 new construction homes surplus in NWA. The boom is over and the market is soft and it's a great time for buyers. You need to consider NWA as 4 towns now. Bentonville has gone from a little town that never got mentioned to a thriving "city". While we haven't lived there for a while, we usually made it back to visit most every summer and I would recommend either Fayetteville or Bentonville. I suspect the Bentonville housing market will be more like the one here with sellers not really willing to accept that its over yet. I think you'll get better deals right now in the Fayetteville area. We're personally planning on going right back to Farmington and getting our son right back into the same school system he left after kindergarten. That is if everything goes well in the next couple of weeks.

Cost of living: I know from our looking from a distance that you can get a very VERY nice home around that size in Farmington area for around 100K less than your area.

Just my 2 cents!

[boulder]

I would recommend Fayetteville or Bentonville as well - although if you elect to live in Bentonville you will regularly commute to Fayetteville if you enjoy nightlife, unique shops and restaurants and sporting events. It's an easy and quick drive though - 20 minutes on average.

Springdale is the blue-collar community that may provide a base for your business but I would avoid living in Springdale as the school system is the least desirable in the area. Not to mention Springdale is just unsightly and overall a dirty, noisy, smelly town.

There is a surplus of houses on the market in both Benton and Washington counties and it appears the surge of growth has tapered off. You will find a nice variety of houses in the square footage you mentioned for far less than what they start at in your current town.

Good luck with your relocation.

[Meg Lesher]

I'll also suggest Fayetteville as a good spot for you. It's a nice, liveable city. There are some industries in town, notably Tyson's and Superior on the south side. As for your shoe business, you might also want to check out Siloam Springs, which has some manufacturing, including Lazy Boy and Allen Canning Company, among others. Rogers and Bentonville are likely to be more expensive than Fayetteville; Springdale has its problems, but if you move to the area definitely check out the Jones Center for Families there; it's a nice community center with lots of fun things offered, including ice skating, swimming, gyms, computer rooms, etc. etc.
Housing is quite affordable in the area; you can find a decent home for around $150,000. N.W. Arkansas's economy is robust, although a lot of the jobs there are not all that high paying. Much of the growth is associated with immigration of Hispanics, which has caused some growing pains but has helped the economy. Traffic is a problem, yes. But I doubt it's worse than where you're coming from. But avoid Hwy. 412 at I-540 at rush hour if you can. Joyce Blvd. at 71B in Fayetteville is another nightmare.