Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
When someone asks me about moving to NWA from anywhere, my best advice is don't. My husband and I moved here in August from Hot Springs, and it has been nothing but miserable. For the two years I have lived in Arkansas, all I have heard from people is about how awesome NWA is and how it's the "place to be", yet I am less than impressed with this area. First off, the traffic is absolutely horrendous because these towns are not large enough to accommodate so many residents. It takes about an hour to drive fifteen miles on any given day at any given time because the traffic is bumper to bumper. Not to mention the construction on the major highway (I-49) is atrocious. I can no longer shop at my favorite stores because the lines to wait to check out are twenty people deep at all times of the day. Most days, I don't even feel like leaving the house because there are TOO MANY people. I grew up between Cleveland/Pittsburgh and have never experienced such traffic issues in either of the two cities.
Secondly, the people tend to be rude when they see that you're from out of state (either via ID or license plates) and try to talk down to you about how NWA is much better than wherever you came from. When people ask me where I'm from (probably because of my accent) and I tell them "I'm from the Midwest, but have lived in Hot Springs for two years before moving here", they tend to tell me how sorry they are that I had to live in such a deprived area like Hot Springs. Ha! I loved every second that I lived in Hot Springs and thought it was one-hundred times better than this place.
Thirdly, there is nothing "southern" about NWA. in fact, you will see businesses that try to advertise that NWA is in the Midwest (i.e. "Midwestern Concrete" - probably not a real business, but you get the example) when clearly it's not. It is almost as if people from NWA are ashamed to be in the southern region of the US.
One good thing, though, is that there are tons of different churches to choose from and people seem pretty religious here. You may love it here, I don't know, but I know that I am counting down the days until my family gets to leave, which is approximately 690 if i'm counting correctly. If you are bound and determined to move here, make sure you choose Rogers or Bentonville and NOT Springdale.
When someone asks me about moving to NWA from anywhere, my best advice is don't. My husband and I moved here in August from Hot Springs, and it has been nothing but miserable. For the two years I have lived in Arkansas, all I have heard from people is about how awesome NWA is and how it's the "place to be", yet I am less than impressed with this area. First off, the traffic is absolutely horrendous because these towns are not large enough to accommodate so many residents. It takes about an hour to drive fifteen miles on any given day at any given time because the traffic is bumper to bumper. Not to mention the construction on the major highway (I-49) is atrocious. I can no longer shop at my favorite stores because the lines to wait to check out are twenty people deep at all times of the day. Most days, I don't even feel like leaving the house because there are TOO MANY people. I grew up between Cleveland/Pittsburgh and have never experienced such traffic issues in either of the two cities.
Secondly, the people tend to be rude when they see that you're from out of state (either via ID or license plates) and try to talk down to you about how NWA is much better than wherever you came from. When people ask me where I'm from (probably because of my accent) and I tell them "I'm from the Midwest, but have lived in Hot Springs for two years before moving here", they tend to tell me how sorry they are that I had to live in such a deprived area like Hot Springs. Ha! I loved every second that I lived in Hot Springs and thought it was one-hundred times better than this place.
Thirdly, there is nothing "southern" about NWA. in fact, you will see businesses that try to advertise that NWA is in the Midwest (i.e. "Midwestern Concrete" - probably not a real business, but you get the example) when clearly it's not. It is almost as if people from NWA are ashamed to be in the southern region of the US.
One good thing, though, is that there are tons of different churches to choose from and people seem pretty religious here. You may love it here, I don't know, but I know that I am counting down the days until my family gets to leave, which is approximately 690 if i'm counting correctly. If you are bound and determined to move here, make sure you choose Rogers or Bentonville and NOT Springdale.
Good luck!
I'm sorry you're unhappy. Given that you were so happy in Hot Springs, why did you move from there?
When someone asks me about moving to NWA from anywhere, my best advice is don't. My husband and I moved here in August from Hot Springs, and it has been nothing but miserable. For the two years I have lived in Arkansas, all I have heard from people is about how awesome NWA is and how it's the "place to be", yet I am less than impressed with this area. First off, the traffic is absolutely horrendous because these towns are not large enough to accommodate so many residents. It takes about an hour to drive fifteen miles on any given day at any given time because the traffic is bumper to bumper. Not to mention the construction on the major highway (I-49) is atrocious. I can no longer shop at my favorite stores because the lines to wait to check out are twenty people deep at all times of the day. Most days, I don't even feel like leaving the house because there are TOO MANY people. I grew up between Cleveland/Pittsburgh and have never experienced such traffic issues in either of the two cities.
Secondly, the people tend to be rude when they see that you're from out of state (either via ID or license plates) and try to talk down to you about how NWA is much better than wherever you came from. When people ask me where I'm from (probably because of my accent) and I tell them "I'm from the Midwest, but have lived in Hot Springs for two years before moving here", they tend to tell me how sorry they are that I had to live in such a deprived area like Hot Springs. Ha! I loved every second that I lived in Hot Springs and thought it was one-hundred times better than this place.
Thirdly, there is nothing "southern" about NWA. in fact, you will see businesses that try to advertise that NWA is in the Midwest (i.e. "Midwestern Concrete" - probably not a real business, but you get the example) when clearly it's not. It is almost as if people from NWA are ashamed to be in the southern region of the US.
One good thing, though, is that there are tons of different churches to choose from and people seem pretty religious here. You may love it here, I don't know, but I know that I am counting down the days until my family gets to leave, which is approximately 690 if i'm counting correctly. If you are bound and determined to move here, make sure you choose Rogers or Bentonville and NOT Springdale.
Good luck!
Sorry you are so miserable!
We are moving to Bentonville at the end of December and can't wait. If you don't plan for your commute well then yes you will be sitting in traffic. Pretty much like any other thriving metro. If you go out at lunch time, there is a lot of hustle and bustle but not able to go to stores because of the crowds???
As far as out of town license plates it really isn't an issue and as we are buying a second home, will have at least one car licensed in Arkansas but may show up with CA plates. Not worried about it in the least. I found drivers here to be almost courteous to a fault and have met some friends and neighbors and never has anyone tried to tell me how much better NWA is compared to my current state and you know what? Even if they did I would be inclined to agree with them.
When someone asks me about moving to NWA from anywhere, my best advice is don't. My husband and I moved here in August from Hot Springs, and it has been nothing but miserable. For the two years I have lived in Arkansas, all I have heard from people is about how awesome NWA is and how it's the "place to be", yet I am less than impressed with this area. First off, the traffic is absolutely horrendous because these towns are not large enough to accommodate so many residents. It takes about an hour to drive fifteen miles on any given day at any given time because the traffic is bumper to bumper. Not to mention the construction on the major highway (I-49) is atrocious. I can no longer shop at my favorite stores because the lines to wait to check out are twenty people deep at all times of the day. Most days, I don't even feel like leaving the house because there are TOO MANY people. I grew up between Cleveland/Pittsburgh and have never experienced such traffic issues in either of the two cities.
Secondly, the people tend to be rude when they see that you're from out of state (either via ID or license plates) and try to talk down to you about how NWA is much better than wherever you came from. When people ask me where I'm from (probably because of my accent) and I tell them "I'm from the Midwest, but have lived in Hot Springs for two years before moving here", they tend to tell me how sorry they are that I had to live in such a deprived area like Hot Springs. Ha! I loved every second that I lived in Hot Springs and thought it was one-hundred times better than this place.
Thirdly, there is nothing "southern" about NWA. in fact, you will see businesses that try to advertise that NWA is in the Midwest (i.e. "Midwestern Concrete" - probably not a real business, but you get the example) when clearly it's not. It is almost as if people from NWA are ashamed to be in the southern region of the US.
One good thing, though, is that there are tons of different churches to choose from and people seem pretty religious here. You may love it here, I don't know, but I know that I am counting down the days until my family gets to leave, which is approximately 690 if i'm counting correctly. If you are bound and determined to move here, make sure you choose Rogers or Bentonville and NOT Springdale.
I will admit this area isn't the garden of eden like Nita makes it sound, but nowhere really is. I guess some things bother people more than others, but it is a give and take. I live in about the worst part of Northwest Arkansas you can possibly be, and I can't really complain overall. Yea they are taking too long on 49 to finish it, and there is absolutely no reason I can ascertain as to why they haven't painted and opened up a third lane north of exit 81 or maybe it's 82 to make it less of a bottleneck during rush hours. My biggest complaint would be people seem to drive extremely slow compared to where I have lived in the past. This may be the retired folks, but I am not sure. There seems to be a good amount of jobs, I see a lot of rich people in nice vehicles and quite a few good neighborhoods when I drive north, and the area seems to be growing and growing. I don't know when the housing bubble will burst, but it seems to just keep going up and up.
interesting comments from you. I do agree, if you still live in Springdale, it isn't a garden of eden. That being said, it is so much better than most places and we have lived in several cities and states. No place is perfect and no place is right for everyone. That is why we have so many choices.
Now that being said, the comment made by asiam are so off the wall. Yes, traveling on the freeway right now is a night mare because of the construction. For most of us we do what we can to avoid it, but when the work is complete we will be happy with the additional lanes. Otherwise, she is making almost no sense.
And yes, from 80 years plus of living I do think NWA is about as good as it gets: I am a true loyalist about that. I even laugh at myself from time to time. Of course I am used to looking at the bright side of things as well, most of the time. That is just me.
Of course I am used to looking at the bright side of things as well, most of the time. That is just me.
You're smart to look in the bright side because we're hardwired by the Creator to function better if we think things are going well for us. Unfortunately, if we're always negative and down we get deluged with negative feelings and thoughts and things end up going worse for us.
Keep up the good thinking patterns and yes, NWA is a good spot to live. For sure. May not work for everyone but I'm glad it's working for you!
When someone asks me about moving to NWA from anywhere, my best advice is don't. My husband and I moved here in August from Hot Springs, and it has been nothing but miserable. <snip>
Good luck!
While some of amsim's rant might be construed as being rooted in truth, understand that it is his/her perception. Coming from Hot Springs, yes you will experience lots of traffic as well as lots of people.
If you are only out and about at peak travel times, yep you'll get stuck in traffic.
NWA has experienced explosive growth over the last 4 years that I've been living here and there will be growing pains associated with that. I usually avoid traveling on the highway and major roads during peak travel times. I feel like there are lots of people who prefer to stick to the main travel pathways and that's fine by me.
Back to the OP, my 2 cents would be for you and your family to visit NWA, to see for yourself.
I think the area is beautiful and it offers a laid back vibe that we enjoy.
Good luck!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.