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Anyone ever live in both places and care to share your subjective pluses and minuses for both locations? Also, which area do you find more scenic and which area offers more for the outdoor enthusiast/nature lover?
Thank you.
Doubt you'll find many people who've actually lived in both. There might be someone on here...
I'm from Arkansas. A lot of people seem to like Northwest Arkansas (NWA). It's not my cup of tea. That region is either anywhere suburbia or regular old Arkansas. Not a whole lot to make it stand out other than Walmart and being a somewhat popular place for outsiders to move to.
Personally, I find Little Rock to be much more appealing even with its issues.
I've only seen pictures of Oregon but I've been to Washington and other places that are probably similar. Just based on that alone, Oregon/Portland would easily win out for scenery.
Fayetteville is near some okay scenery but the city itself isn't exactly awe-inspiring. It has hills, but nothing any different than a hundred other upper-south places out there.
The city tries to portray itself as an outdoors destination. It seems to do well with that, but the muggy weather half the year kept me indoors too much. Some people don't mind.
As someone who abhors excess political activism, I would find Fayetteville much more palatable than Portland in that regard.
Portland has the ocean nearby. Fayetteville has... Ozarks reservoirs. They can be nice I guess.
Arkansas has bugs. Lots of bugs. And it's humid if I didn't already mention that, with a certain degree of heat for lengthy amounts of time. I always hated being outdoors there. People say the PNW is better with the insect situation and the more consistent cooler temps would be nice.
There's very little in the way of public land in Arkansas, especially compared to any state out west.
The Ozarks could never be seriously compared to the Cascades.
If it weren't for the politics, Oregon would be on my radar. If that's not a problem for you, then it's the one I'd recommend.
Doubt you'll find many people who've actually lived in both. There might be someone on here...
I'm from Arkansas. A lot of people seem to like Northwest Arkansas (NWA). It's not my cup of tea. That region is either anywhere suburbia or regular old Arkansas. Not a whole lot to make it stand out other than Walmart and being a somewhat popular place for outsiders to move to.
Personally, I find Little Rock to be much more appealing even with its issues.
I've only seen pictures of Oregon but I've been to Washington and other places that are probably similar. Just based on that alone, Oregon/Portland would easily win out for scenery.
Fayetteville is near some okay scenery but the city itself isn't exactly awe-inspiring. It has hills, but nothing any different than a hundred other upper-south places out there.
The city tries to portray itself as an outdoors destination. It seems to do well with that, but the muggy weather half the year kept me indoors too much. Some people don't mind.
As someone who abhors excess political activism, I would find Fayetteville much more palatable than Portland in that regard.
Portland has the ocean nearby. Fayetteville has... Ozarks reservoirs. They can be nice I guess.
Arkansas has bugs. Lots of bugs. And it's humid if I didn't already mention that, with a certain degree of heat for lengthy amounts of time. I always hated being outdoors there. People say the PNW is better with the insect situation and the more consistent cooler temps would be nice.
There's very little in the way of public land in Arkansas, especially compared to any state out west.
The Ozarks could never be seriously compared to the Cascades.
If it weren't for the politics, Oregon would be on my radar. If that's not a problem for you, then it's the one I'd recommend.
Thank you for your response. I appreciate the info as well as your personal observations of Arkansas. I’ve spent about four months combined living in Portland, and I like scenery and the fact that it’s so close to many rivers, mountains, beaches, etc. It’s a very scenic area with much to offer for outdoor recreation. The politics, of course, are a different story. If you can ignore the way the city is managed (or perhaps mismanaged would be a better word), then it’s not a bad place to live. But the homeless issue is enormous in Portland, and large swaths of the city have huge homeless encampments as well as just large areas of trashy, unkempt, poorly maintained houses and neighborhoods. But there are also many nice areas as well, so it just depends on where you happen to be.
But the drug use is off the charts as well, with large chunks of the population walking around in a seemingly drug-induced stupor (which does make for some very interesting people watching though). You definitely see some very interesting characters walking around town, many of whom seem as if they just landed on Earth from a far away galaxy.
Portland is, of course, weird, but that’s one of its charms, I guess.
And my frame of reference is that of a lifelong Southern Californian: I was born and raised in Los Angeles County, and I’ve had enough of the crowds, the traffic, the high cost of living, and just the hustle/bustle of big-city/metro life. I’m ready to move. And right now, I’m looking at Oregon and Arkansas as two solid options. Oregon is nice, but it getting more expensive nowadays in the larger metros, so Arkansas would definitely win for cost of living.
But I don’t know much about Fayetteville or Bentonville or any of the other NWA areas. But I know it’s a popular place, and many transplants settle in NWA from other areas. It looks like a pretty area from the pictures that I have seen. I do have family in Tulsa, Oklahoma as well as in eastern Oklahoma (not far from Fort Smith, Arkansas), and I have spent a lot of time in both areas. I like Tulsa well enough, but I think I would probably like NWA better (at least on paper) because it seems like it would be a bit more scenic and more oriented towards the outdoors. I do love the area around Poteau, Oklahoma as well, but it would be too hard to make a living there. Fort Smith is ok, but nothing special in my opinion.
But the Fayetteville/Bentonville area seems nice.
So, I’m tempted to go visit and stay in NWA for a while to experience it up close and personal. I already know that I like Oregon. But Arkansas has been on my radar for a while as well. However, I’m like you in that I dislike hot, humid weather, so I know that I would be uncomfortable in NWA for several months per year, so that’s a big drawback. I remember how oppressive the heat/humidity was in eastern Oklahoma every summer when I stayed there during summer vacation. Pretty area, but oh so muggy and hot.
Thank you for your response. I appreciate the info as well as your personal observations of Arkansas. I’ve spent about four months combined living in Portland, and I like scenery and the fact that it’s so close to many rivers, mountains, beaches, etc. It’s a very scenic area with much to offer for outdoor recreation. The politics, of course, are a different story. If you can ignore the way the city is managed (or perhaps mismanaged would be a better word), then it’s not a bad place to live. But the homeless issue is enormous in Portland, and large swaths of the city have huge homeless encampments as well as just large areas of trashy, unkempt, poorly maintained houses and neighborhoods. But there are also many nice areas as well, so it just depends on where you happen to be.
But the drug use is off the charts as well, with large chunks of the population walking around in a seemingly drug-induced stupor (which does make for some very interesting people watching though). You definitely see some very interesting characters walking around town, many of whom seem as if they just landed on Earth from a far away galaxy.
Portland is, of course, weird, but that’s one of its charms, I guess.
And my frame of reference is that of a lifelong Southern Californian: I was born and raised in Los Angeles County, and I’ve had enough of the crowds, the traffic, the high cost of living, and just the hustle/bustle of big-city/metro life. I’m ready to move. And right now, I’m looking at Oregon and Arkansas as two solid options. Oregon is nice, but it getting more expensive nowadays in the larger metros, so Arkansas would definitely win for cost of living.
But I don’t know much about Fayetteville or Bentonville or any of the other NWA areas. But I know it’s a popular place, and many transplants settle in NWA from other areas. It looks like a pretty area from the pictures that I have seen. I do have family in Tulsa, Oklahoma as well as in eastern Oklahoma (not far from Fort Smith, Arkansas), and I have spent a lot of time in both areas. I like Tulsa well enough, but I think I would probably like NWA better (at least on paper) because it seems like it would be a bit more scenic and more oriented towards the outdoors. I do love the area around Poteau, Oklahoma as well, but it would be too hard to make a living there. Fort Smith is ok, but nothing special in my opinion.
But the Fayetteville/Bentonville area seems nice.
So, I’m tempted to go visit and stay in NWA for a while to experience it up close and personal. I already know that I like Oregon. But Arkansas has been on my radar for a while as well. However, I’m like you in that I dislike hot, humid weather, so I know that I would be uncomfortable in NWA for several months per year, so that’s a big drawback. I remember how oppressive the heat/humidity was in eastern Oklahoma every summer when I stayed there during summer vacation. Pretty area, but oh so muggy and hot.
I know I downplay it, NWA just rubs me the wrong way for some reason, but on the plus side NWA has a lot of California transplants.
So far, they're avoiding most of the problems of other places.
Perhaps one issue I have with it is that a lot of the people in that region would love for it to be the next Austin/Portland whatever, and that's something I try to avoid. The growth patterns suggest it might be headed in that direction, but they're years if not decades away so it's safe for now.
As for weather, NWA would be very similar to Tulsa.
Portland use to be one of my favorite cities. But my wife and I visited in 2019 and I will never go there anytime in the foreseeable future. I was in a sandwich shop and several Antifa people saw my NC Tarheels shirt, started making comments about me being from the South/white supremacist, etc., and threatened us (all unprovoked). The shop owner stepped in, helped us, and convinced them to leave. Portland's Mayor (voted for by the citizens) openly support Antifa. The level of bigotry and hate there is unreal. Plus it's very expensive and the climate is miserable. The geographical surrounding are beautiful, but its downside easily destroys its overall appeal.
The Fayetteville/Springdale area, on the other hand, is beautiful, affordable, great residents, great climate, good economy, and offers a lot for its size.
So, to me, this is no contest. Fayetteville/Springdale all the way.
Coming from Denver, I get your disdain for Portland. I feel like both cities could never get away with the grime and uncleanliness if it weren't for the nature nearby. When I visited Southern and Central Oregon, I was pleasantly surprised that the Portland stigma of grungy dreadlock people didn't hold down there. Plus the scenery is better. I could have seen myself living in Grants Pass or Medford or Eugene, that's the better part of the state.
Arkansas is an undiscovered gem in that there's so much open land and beauty (forests and blue rivers and mountains) but it's priced like it's Iowa. Below's a pic I took so you can have an idea.
Ft. Smith is great in that it's flanked on both sides by huge National Forests. I'd rather live somewhere a hair smaller because places grow over time. When my parents moved to Colorado Springs in the 80s, it was the small city they were looking for, less than half the size it is now. It's since grown larger than they like.
I'd like Arkansas a lot better if the weather weren't so poor. But, then, hot + humid is my absolute least favorite weather, behind even subzero with wind.
I'd like Arkansas a lot better if the weather weren't so poor. But, then, hot + humid is my absolute least favorite weather, behind even subzero with wind.
Same here. I prefer cooler weather as opposed to warmer weather, which is one of the reasons why I want to leave Southern California — because of the constant sun and warmth. It’s nice for a while, of course, but when it’s pretty much warm-ish and sunny for most of the year, it does get old. But I’m not so sure I could handle the Arkansas summers — the heat and humidity would be tough.
I can't imagine too many people that familiar with these too, very different places.
Yeah they’re just not on each other’s radar.
I’m from Arkansas and Oregon might as well be on Mars to a lot of people there. Oregon people probably feel the same about Arkansas.
Based on weather alone and wanting to have access to outdoor activities, I’d recommend finding someplace else out west.
Arkansas weather is kind of terrible for way too many months out of the year. It’s not the worst, but it’s not inviting at all either.
Same here. I prefer cooler weather as opposed to warmer weather, which is one of the reasons why I want to leave Southern California — because of the constant sun and warmth. It’s nice for a while, of course, but when it’s pretty much warm-ish and sunny for most of the year, it does get old. But I’m not so sure I could handle the Arkansas summers — the heat and humidity would be tough.
These are just my thoughts as I have only visited both areas, at a few different times.
Portland sounds like a better fit if you prefer warm, sunny weather once in a while but not for months on end. It seems like their occasional heat waves tend to coincide with low humidity and break after a few days. I think the "weird" social dynamic there would be less prevalent in the suburbs, or across the border in Washington.
Everywhere in the south central US has summers that are hot and humid, including Fayetteville, although it is not usually as oppressive as the Gulf Coast or major river valleys. There are a number of state parks in the area plus the Buffalo National River which runs through a scenic wilderness corridor. I haven't been there in awhile but the nice outdoor spots were very uncrowded, unlike venues around major Western cities.
I doubt you would regret leaving southern California - there are plenty of alternatives that are much more pleasant places to live, whether one of these two cities or somewhere else.
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