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My family and I currently live in central Texas and are considering moving to NWA. We will be there next week to see what it's like.
Right now we live in a suburban area, with lots of conveniences (shopping, restaurants, movie theaters, parks, entertainment, etc.). We are looking for an area that also has a similar level of conveniences, but also natural beauty & outdoor things to do. I've read that NWA has true "four season" weather...is that right? Because here it's basically HOT & humid, and very mild winters...really no in between. I am hoping there's nicer weather there so we can enjoy being outside more. We live in a close-knit neighborhood where we know almost everyone, and there's lots of young families.
Now that you know a little about us- here's our top priorities in looking for an area to live:
1- MOST important is having good schools. We have children ranging from infant to high school.
2- NEXT would be a family friendly neighborhood/area.The hard part is, we would REALLY love to find a community that has large lots/land around each house so you're not right up against each other in a tract home community. We do not want to live somewhere that has no trees & houses up against each other.
3- Natural beauty of the area- we have looked at Bella Vista and it seems gorgeous, but I'm not sure if it has many conveniences?
*Commute time/ job opportunities are not an issue because my husband works from home.
ALSO- because of the differing tax rates and all that, I'm not sure how much home we could afford. Per month we can afford $1700 on a mortgage, and we must have a 4 bedroom (preferably a 5 though!)
Also, any ideas on fun things we should check out on our visit?
My parents retired from CA to that area and love it. I live in a very rural area of OK and they couldn't handle (sold out within a few years because of no big shopping centers) Bella Vista at least on the West side of the highway seems rural but it takes you 15 minutes to get to everything you have in Texas. Now, for me it takes me 30 minutes to find a grocery store!!! So, if I sell this ranch I want rural but withing 20 to 30 minutes for everything possible and that would be Bella Vista. I do like Eureka Springs but again that is at least a good 40 plus minutes to get to "everything".
Bella Vista would be a good choice, because it has the country feel and certainly all the natural beauty anyone could want. It is part of 2 school districts: 1 is Bentonville which is one of the best in the state. the other school district is Gravette, which is much better than some might think, but Gravette is a rural community which gets you a little different type of schools. The test scores are not low by any means, but not near those in Bentonville. The nice thing about Bella Vista is: the cost of property is lower than some of the areas in NWA. Another positive: the demographics are changing and younger, middle income families are moving in all the time.
You might also want to consider Bentonville itself, Rogers and Centerton. Centerton is a very fast growing, family friendly neighborhood in your price range but it doesn't have the natural beauty some of the other areas have. Of course there is Fayetteville as well, but it will be a little more expensive.
If you consider Bella Vista, the east side of 71 is closer to shopping, entertainment, etc and Bentonville schools, with a very small part of the area, Pea Ridge school district. The west side is mostly Gravette schools.
How much you can afford will depend on your down payment. Our property taxes will be much lower than in Texas. We have a lot of people relocating from various parts of Texas to NWA.
Before we moved here, we spent a day or so with a realtor. She took us around the area and answered all our questions. We didn't move for about a year. When we were ready we gave her a call and the rest is history.
Yes, we have 4 beautiful seasons and none are severe. The summers, though humid are nothing like Texas. We lived in the Dallas area for 13 years; one of the main reasons we left was the miserable summers.
If you need any other information, I am sure any of us would love to help you out. Good luck, I am sure you will like this part of our wonderful country.
Areas that fit that description, specifically 1-2 acre lots include:
Tontitown - Springdale Schools and feeds into Har-Ber High School
Clear Creek area of Johnson - Fayetteville Schools
Goshen - Fayetteville Schools
Bella Vista isn't all that inconvenient and would be in Bentonville School district.
Prairie Grove and Farmington both have areas where most folks have 1-3 acres, but unless you are working in Fayetteville, that can be a long commute.
Of the big towns, Springdale schools have the lowest reputation. Fayetteville and Bentonville schools are great. The smaller town schools in Farmington and Prairie Grove are pretty good.
Most people who live around Fayetteville claim that tornadoes skip over this area. I have heard the local weatherman refer to the "Fayetteville Fizzle". I don't know how much stock to put into that idea, but here's what they say about Fayetteville specifically. You'll notice when you visit that Fayetteville is surrounded by mountain ridges, especially in the SW approach to the city. The Ozarks are actually a plateau that bumps up rather quickly from the plains, starting in eastern Oklahoma. There is talk that this phenomenon lessens the chance of a large tornado, simply because the air is all bumped up suddenly. I have noticed that weather can be influenced by the topography here.
I have heard of tornadoes, although very small ones, happening in the Benton County end of the metro. It is flatter terrain between Fayetteville and Bella Vista, which are the hilliest cities here.
I don't know if something massive, like the plains tornadoes in Oklahoma recently, is even possible here. I think there is something to the "Fayetteville Fizzle" personally.
That's not to say that there isn't the possibility of smaller tornadoes spinning up. We are in the traditional "tornado alley". I have been here for several years and I just don't see it being as much of a threat in the Ozarks as it is in the central plains. We get warnings, but they seem to either drastically weaken or completely fall apart when they hit here. Its not a big concern of mine.
Most homes do not have basements here. Some people will build shelters, but its not nearly as common as on the plains.
I wouldn't forsee any issues finding a build on your lot builder here. With the amount of construction always happening here, I would imagine you'd be able to find a builder for just about any purpose. I can't speak to which ones are better as we bought an older home in Fayetteville. If you like unique custom homes, you might look up Mark Zweig Houses on Facebook. He does wonderful renovations and has recently begun building to suit.
As for choosing a realtor, there should be some who will specialize in the entire region, but maybe it would be better to choose one after you have narrowed down your preference to a couple of cities and find a realtor who specializes in those areas.
I will be sure to check out all of these areas next week
A few more questions I thought of- if we decide to rent first, would $1700/month get us a 4 (possibly even 5) bedroom house?
-Are there any "build on your lot" type of builders in the area?
-Are tornadoes a big problem in the area? Do most homes have basements or shelters?
-Any recommendations on realtors who would be willing to show us around?
Thanks again! I am getting excited for our visit!
n
We can't send names of realtors but you can email or PM any of us and we can give you a name or two. Will $1700 find you a decent rental? Probably, but our granddaughter who moved here with her family this past summer did find rental a bit on the high side.
Yes, there are many builders who will build on your lot.
Tornados, strong ones, are very rare here, but anything is possible. Some homes have basements, others do not. I haven't seen many shelters, but most of us worry more about things like ice storms than tornados. We have lived here for 6 years and have never had a tornado touch down. The closest we had was the Joplin disaster 2 and 1/2 years ago. We did get a lot of wind damage from it, but no tornados.
Hope this helps answer some of your questions.
Most people who live around Fayetteville claim that tornadoes skip over this area. I have heard the local weatherman refer to the "Fayetteville Fizzle". I don't know how much stock to put into that idea, but here's what they say about Fayetteville specifically. You'll notice when you visit that Fayetteville is surrounded by mountain ridges, especially in the SW approach to the city. The Ozarks are actually a plateau that bumps up rather quickly from the plains, starting in eastern Oklahoma. There is talk that this phenomenon lessens the chance of a large tornado, simply because the air is all bumped up suddenly. I have noticed that weather can be influenced by the topography here.
I have heard of tornadoes, although very small ones, happening in the Benton County end of the metro. It is flatter terrain between Fayetteville and Bella Vista, which are the hilliest cities here.
I don't know if something massive, like the plains tornadoes in Oklahoma recently, is even possible here. I think there is something to the "Fayetteville Fizzle" personally.
That's not to say that there isn't the possibility of smaller tornadoes spinning up. We are in the traditional "tornado alley". I have been here for several years and I just don't see it being as much of a threat in the Ozarks as it is in the central plains. We get warnings, but they seem to either drastically weaken or completely fall apart when they hit here. Its not a big concern of mine.
Most homes do not have basements here. Some people will build shelters, but its not nearly as common as on the plains.
I wouldn't forsee any issues finding a build on your lot builder here. With the amount of construction always happening here, I would imagine you'd be able to find a builder for just about any purpose. I can't speak to which ones are better as we bought an older home in Fayetteville. If you like unique custom homes, you might look up Mark Zweig Houses on Facebook. He does wonderful renovations and has recently begun building to suit.
As for choosing a realtor, there should be some who will specialize in the entire region, but maybe it would be better to choose one after you have narrowed down your preference to a couple of cities and find a realtor who specializes in those areas.
Rock Climber, you are right about waiting til they decide on a location, but the problem: without a realtor it can be a little tough even just driving around. One would have no idea what they were looking for. I think I would suggest, if they are going to be here a few days, they line up a couple realtors in different areas.
The thing is that when thinking about tornadoes, stats don't really mean much. This area could go without a large tornado for several years, but one year it could suddenly get bad. In the first month that I lived here, the Sirens went off twice and while there were reports of a few small tornadoes in Bentonville/Rogers, I don't believe any were actually confirmed aside from I believe one. Several trees did get uprooted though. Also keep in mind that you need to always be prepared. Arkansas is tired for 5th with the most average tornado deaths per year with five deaths, but we are ranked 16th when it comes to the actual average of tornadoes per year. That is likely largely in part to people assuming that it doesn't happen here, so therefor they aren't prepared for it. Keep if mind that if you choose Bentonville, Rogers or Centerton...you are in a completely different location than you would be in Fayetteville. Unlike Fayetteville, there isn't enough hills/mountains to slow down or stop oncoming tornadoes, which 95% of the time come from the SW. I was not living here at the time, but apparently a couple tornadoes occurred in Benton County in 2006, one in Centerton and the other in Bentonville. The Centerton tornado was an F3 while the tornado in Bentonville was an F2. While an F3 isn't near as bad as an F5...it definitely has the ability to destroy homes. April, May and September are typically the most active months in Arkansas.
The thing is that when thinking about tornadoes, stats don't really mean much. This area could go without a large tornado for several years, but one year it could suddenly get bad. In the first month that I lived here, the Sirens went off twice and while there were reports of a few small tornadoes in Bentonville/Rogers, I don't believe any were actually confirmed aside from I believe one. Several trees did get uprooted though. Also keep in mind that you need to always be prepared. Arkansas is tired for 5th with the most average tornado deaths per year with five deaths, but we are ranked 16th when it comes to the actual average of tornadoes per year. That is likely largely in part to people assuming that it doesn't happen here, so therefor they aren't prepared for it. Keep if mind that if you choose Bentonville, Rogers or Centerton...you are in a completely different location than you would be in Fayetteville. Unlike Fayetteville, there isn't enough hills/mountains to slow down or stop oncoming tornadoes, which 95% of the time come from the SW. I was not living here at the time, but apparently a couple tornadoes occurred in Benton County in 2006, one in Centerton and the other in Bentonville. The Centerton tornado was an F3 while the tornado in Bentonville was an F2. While an F3 isn't near as bad as an F5...it definitely has the ability to destroy homes. April, May and September are typically the most active months in Arkansas.
ok, you see the glass 1/2 empty, most of us see it 1/2 full. What you are saying would be like saying, watch out for hurricanes in say, Washington DC. of course they an occur, most of us have said this, but the chances are slim and we can't go through life thinking: what if? You mention AR being number 5 in deaths, we are talking NWA not the Delta, the southern part, etc. It is pretty safe to say, the chances of Tornados that do a lot of damage striking NWA (any part of the region) are pretty slim, and yes, it could happen next spring. Mother Nature has a mind of her own. None of us think we are 100% safe. Heck we could also have a flood here tomorrow, but it isn't likely.
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