[big dawg 1]

Lady Jean - Bull Shoals is in Marion County and Woodstone subdivision is in the corporate city limits of Bull Shoals. Very few native Arkansans live in Bull Shoals as the town was built after the completion of Bull Shoals Dam.

That "local gal" was more than likely a transplant from somewhere else as transplants outnumber natives in Marion and Baxter counties. It seems that the Civil War is still being fought here sometimes - if only verbally. Oh Well. I stay out of that mess as I have friends from about everywhere.

I resent your remarks about our library having "fewer than 25 new books on the shelves". Did you actually make a count of them? Concerning all of the primary doctors being overweight, did you see all of them. I think not! Primary is spelled as I just spelled it, not primarmy as you spelled it.

You are wise to rethink you decision on relocating to this area. You probably wouldn't be happy.

Just so you'll know, I am a transplant here.

[Dakota60279]

I too have spent a great amount of time in California, though while it is less than the time you spent there, I grew up in southern Cali. I came here by accident a little over a year and a half ago and I am still shocked about many of the truisms you stated in your note. I had never before met a girl who was only 20 and working on her third divorce. Nor had I ever met a woman who was 45 who could claim 9 grand children. (I work with her) I am 28, I have one child, and my mother is over 50. That is pretty much part of a common theme out west. Out here, I have been told numerous times that I needed to get married because I was getting old. Can you believe this??? I have to laugh at this ignorant statement because while I have, in my opinion, a very open mind, it just blows it away that young men and women would throw away any chance they had at real success to marry right out of high school, which is also what my younger brother did last year. (He also got divorced before their first anniversary). One thing you didn't touch on was the rampant amount of people who are on public assistance, ie. food stamps, TANF, etc. Except for one fellow Californian, all of my Arkansas friends have food stamps, recieve disability for some form of depression or another, have a family member who receives TANF, and they all frequent the local food handout at various churches. And this is a completely accepted way of life here. I live in White County and I would have to say that while there are many drawbacks to living in Arkansas, such as ignorant people, horrible drivers, and an even worse educational system, I am glad I ended up here for the basic reason that I don't have to worry about the drive by shootings that were encroaching on the neighborhood I grew up on, the general decay of city life, the unaccessable real estate market, etc. Out there, you cannot, absolutly CANNOT buy a house for less than 300K. That is a house with a neighbor so close you can hear them blow their nose. Here in White Co. I am buying a house for about 30K with an acre of land attached. Not too bad considering I am not working in the same field of work I did in Cali and making much much less than I did out there. For all its drawbacks, there are still some good things about Arkansas, even if you do have a nasty chicken farm for a neighbor or a hick with the bucket and pills in the house behind you.

[arguy1973]

a friend forwarded this to me..and I figured this was the appropriate place to post it...
Rules of the South

1. Pull your droopy pants up, you look like an idiot.

2. Turn your cap right, your head isn't crooked.

3. Let's get this straight; it's called a "gravel road." I drive a
pickup truck, because I w ant to. No matter how slow you drive, you're
going to get dust on your Lexus. Drive it or get out of the way.

4. They are cattle; that's why they smell to you. They smell li ke
money to us. Get over it. Don't like it? I-40 goes east and west,
I-65 goes north and south. Pick one.

5. So you have a $70,000 car. We're impressed. We have $250,000 cotton
strippers that are driven only 3 weeks a year.

6. So every person in the south waves It's called being friendly. Try
to understand the concept.

7. If that cell phone rings while a bunch of doves are coming in, we
WILL shoot it out of your hand. You better hope you don't have it up to
your ear at the time.

8. Yeah, we eat catfish & cr awfish. You really want sushi & caviar?
It's available at the corner bait shop.

9. The "Opener" refers to the first day of football season. It's a
religious holiday.

10. We open doors for women. That is applied to all women, regardless
of age.

11. We say "sir and ma'am", "please and thank you", "excuse me and I'm
sorry," when we are wrong or impolite. Do not make the mistake of
thinking it makes us weak. It's just good up-bringing.

12. No, there's no "vegetarian special" on the menu. Order steak. Or,
you can order the Chef's Salad, and pick off the 2 pounds of turkey.

13. When we fill out a table, there are three main dishes: meats,
vegetables, and breads. We use three spices: salt, pepper, and
ketchup! Oh, yeah...We don't care what you folks in Cincinnati call
that stuff you eat...IT AIN'T REAL CHILI!!

14. You bring "coke" into my house, it better be brown, wet and served
over ice. You bring "Mary Jane" into my house, she better be cute, know
how to shoot a gun, drive a truck, and have long hair.

15. College and High School Football are as important here as the
Lakers and the Knicks, and a dang site more fun to watch.

16. Yeah, we have golf courses. But don't hit the water hazards it
frightens the fish, and aggravates the alligators.

17. Colleges? We have them all over. We have State Universities,
Universities, and Vo-techs. They come outta there with an education,
plus a love for God and country, and they still wave at everybody when
they come for the holidays.

18. Don't think that since we talk slow, we think slow. You will be in
for a surprise.

19. We have more folks in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines...So
don't mess with us. If you do, you will get whipped by the best.

20. Turn down that blasted car stereo! That thumpity-thump stuff ain't
music anyway. We don't want to hear it any more than we want to see
your boxers! Refer back to #1 above

[Sam I Am]

Just because you didn't meet 'em in Cali doesn't mean they didn't exist, Dakota. I assume your younger brother must live in Arkansas with you because he surely couldn't have made such a mistake in California.

I'm sorry - I take offense at your sweeping generalization of everything Arkansas other than our cheap land, which you seem to be only too happy to own. This is my state and my home, and yours, too, whether by accident or by choice. You're looking down your nose at us - and you are just feuling the fire that is out there....and newcomers wonder why we don't fling open our arms and welcome them....because you don't want us near you.

Not a ONE of my family is on assistance - I live in Pope County and lived outside Cabot for a while, so I'm not unfamiliar with rural living. To call the people who live around you hicks, drug pushers, and ignorant, horrible and undereducated makes me think your career in Arkansas may be short-lived.

I really think you owe the hardworking people of Arkansas an apology....remember, we ARE the ones keeping you safe from the drive-bys and general decay, and you now own a piece of our land that is our heart.

[DC at the Ridge]

Sam I Am speaks for DC as well. No member of my family has ever received assistance or welfare checks or disability payments. I live in Benton County, and most of the people I know are well-educated, hard-working people concerned about the education of their children and the well-being of the community.

DC

[Stormcrow73]

Grew up in Boone county and while there were and probably still are a fair number of welfare and food stamp recipients, it was neither ACCEPTED nor COMMON! I do fully admit that some members of my family, with whom my side of family refused to associate, abused the disability system. So I do know that it happens but those people did tend to be outcasts and were not generally accepted.

I too take offense at your sweeping generalizations. I currently reside in the "richest state in the country", Maryland. There are plenty of welfare and social security abusers here too. Just as I'm sure there are many in your native CA too.

With any luck Dakota, your new neighbors will abuse your ignorance like good hillbillies tend to do with your type and you'll turn tail back to CA!

[Greenmon]

ARGUY that was a Funny Post thanks for the chuckles. I just wanna say , we moved from SOCAL , when my Wife's Mom died. Fell in love with the beauty and friendly Folks we met here in No Central Arkansas.

There is Full Glass positive people all over , and some that just need our helping hand , life is for giving ,Living and Helping others. There are those who are Builders and others who would rather tear down. Y'all Have Choices , thats what makes life so interesting-

Thank G-D we have the Freedom to do something positive for one another .
Bless our Natural State that has so much to offer, we never seen the earth so alive than here with so much wildlife too many to mention- maybe some people wanna make our State sound bad to keep others out , good strategy.

All i know is we have clean water, Air, no traffic congestion, Safe place to raise a family or retire .
The only reason my Wife is looking to move is, she always wanted to live in New Mexico since she visited there years ago- if we move from Arkansas , we will truly miss our friends, and this wonderful ,well kept secret .

PS my 11 yr old lives with my Ex in SOCAL and wants to live here when he graduates High School, true he might change his mind ,but he sees the value of this Gem.

[ctfmon]

Originally Posted by DoILikeJello

Well I am new to this board but I will say that I have lived alot of places and when I went to visit any thread about the areas I have been, most of the people paint a very rosy picture of these areas. I know its hard to really see your own area faults for some people. I have tried to make it a habit to really see things as they are. Having said this, I do agree with alot OP has said. Sadly there is not enough for the youth to do in the River Valley area once they get out of the sports minded high schools. They were the heroes to many a high school football fan only to be a has been as most are not college bound and turn to drink and drugs to dull the pain of it all. I like the River Valley area but it is not for me.

Not enough for the youth to do, my ass. Have they ever thought of going to school, there are more than enough 'anytype' schools around the area and especially if they have that much spare driving time. Or hey, they could even work two jobs. As that stupid cliche' says..."Gimme' a Break"

You know really, 'the pain of it all"? What the heck does that mean? Get a grip, you're talking about high school football not Vietnam or Iraq!

And these other people paint a very rosy picture because they are all very politically correct and would never say anything detrimental. Bah Humbug. That doesn't solve anything.

You and my Mom keep giving them outs until they are what? 30-35?

[ctfmon]

Dang 'ya made me cry jens

[Littlexred]

My boyfriend and I are looking into moving to Arkansas due a job offer he was made and while we were decided if we wanted to move or not, we visited Arkansas and did a bit of researched online, which led me here.
I have to say first of all, reading all this as an outsider, that while most (but definatly not all) of the people defending their state of Arkansas on here, don't come of friendly at all. They come of as just plain angry and rude, which I find funny, since in most of those posts I read so many of those people saying that one of the great things about Arkansas is how friendly the people are.
Which I actually I have to agree with. Most people I met while visiting the state were very friendly (until they found out I was in a bi-racial relationship) and the state was very beautiful and completely different from the Southern California beach town I was raised in.
While I'll be the first to say that California does have it's flaws. A lot of them, one of them was never racism, which I have never full on experienced until visiting Arkansas. It's a visually beautiful state, but I not for me.