Considering Move to NWA area or Tulsa - Pro's & Con's of NWA? (Fayetteville: car insurance)

[Kittycakes127]

Hello All,

I am considering relocating either to the NWA area or Tulsa and I am hoping to get some insight on the some of the pros and cons of NWA specifically.

About me: I would be moving from Phoenix area and I am looking to be in a smaller city / metro area. I work from home so don't need to worry about commute times, mid - 30s, single, no kids, leans conservative. Ideally, I do need to stay in the central time zone for my work, which I why NWA landed on my radar.

NWA is attractive to me because the cost of homes and living seems to be much lower than Phoenix, from the pictures I've seen it looks gorgeous there, very scenic! and seems to have the small town atmosphere I am looking for but still offers some of the amenities of a larger city.

My questions or areas of concern about NWA as follows:

1. I am not religious and have no intention of going to church. I am not against religion at all, everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. I am however against being in an area that I could be judged or frowned upon for not attending church.

2. Tornado & Hail. - Cost of living seems low in NWA, but on average does car insurance / home insurance tend to be more due to the risk of severe weather? I am terrified of tornados, how often do they actually occur in the NWA metro area? Same goes for hail that damages cars. Does anyone know the ballpark cost of having a storm shelter installed, and is one needed?

3. Bentonville or Fayetteville? - I would looking to live in an area with easy access to dining and shopping and some nightlife. That being said, I have no desire to hang out with college kids on the regular (mid-30s and single), which area would offer decent dining, shopping and nightlife options that are not geared more to the college crowd? Also, which area has a better farmers market?

4. If I decided to move to NWA, I would potentially be considering building a home. I have done some research and seems like there is a lot of land available in Bella Vista - my concerns there are about the POA (seems very strict) and how far is it to Bentonville and shopping and dining? Also, is that predominantly a retirement area? Alot of the homes I have looked at online in Bella Vista have gravel in the front yard - I am moving away from Phoenix to get AWAY from that, is that a requirement in Bella Vista? I would also be open to buying a home, though building would be the first choice. If I decided to buy, would I be better to focus on Bentonville area or Fayetteville? Overall budget to buy or build would be up to about 315k.

Thank you all in advance for the help!

[Take a History Class]

Originally Posted by Kittycakes127

Hello All,

I am considering relocating either to the NWA area or Tulsa and I am hoping to get some insight on the some of the pros and cons of NWA specifically.

About me: I would be moving from Phoenix area and I am looking to be in a smaller city / metro area. I work from home so don't need to worry about commute times, mid - 30s, single, no kids, leans conservative. Ideally, I do need to stay in the central time zone for my work, which I why NWA landed on my radar.

NWA is attractive to me because the cost of homes and living seems to be much lower than Phoenix, from the pictures I've seen it looks gorgeous there, very scenic! and seems to have the small town atmosphere I am looking for but still offers some of the amenities of a larger city.

My questions or areas of concern about NWA as follows:

1. I am not religious and have no intention of going to church. I am not against religion at all, everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. I am however against being in an area that I could be judged or frowned upon for not attending church.

2. Tornado & Hail. - Cost of living seems low in NWA, but on average does car insurance / home insurance tend to be more due to the risk of severe weather? I am terrified of tornados, how often do they actually occur in the NWA metro area? Same goes for hail that damages cars. Does anyone know the ballpark cost of having a storm shelter installed, and is one needed?

3. Bentonville or Fayetteville? - I would looking to live in an area with easy access to dining and shopping and some nightlife. That being said, I have no desire to hang out with college kids on the regular (mid-30s and single), which area would offer decent dining, shopping and nightlife options that are not geared more to the college crowd? Also, which area has a better farmers market?

4. If I decided to move to NWA, I would potentially be considering building a home. I have done some research and seems like there is a lot of land available in Bella Vista - my concerns there are about the POA (seems very strict) and how far is it to Bentonville and shopping and dining? Also, is that predominantly a retirement area? Alot of the homes I have looked at online in Bella Vista have gravel in the front yard - I am moving away from Phoenix to get AWAY from that, is that a requirement in Bella Vista? I would also be open to buying a home, though building would be the first choice. If I decided to buy, would I be better to focus on Bentonville area or Fayetteville? Overall budget to buy or build would be up to about 315k.

Thank you all in advance for the help!

1. Lots of churches/attendees, but not very judgy in my experience. You shouldn't have a problem there.


2. Possible, but the terrain here seems to provide some protection. Most of the severe weather seems to go north into Missouri, or south to the river valley. In the 16 years I've been here, a couple F0-F1 tornadoes in Bentonville/Rogers, and one significant hail event.


3. Downtown Bentonville is a "perfectly curated experience for the managerial class" to paraphrase an article in Jacobin magazine. I don't agree with all the author's conclusions given that it's a very leftist publication, but it's pretty spot on about Bentonville. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/03/w...s-company-town



Fayetteville is our Austin - as far left as NWA gets and very college oriented. Fun to visit for some things, but I wouldn't want to live there, and tends to be even more expensive that Bentonville overall.

4. I don't like Bella Vista, either the terrain or the POA, and I don't golf, so it was never on my list of places to buy and we settled in Bentonville. More affordable though, and people seem to like it for that reason. I think the tree cover and slope makes growing grass hard, hence the rocky yards.