[justsomeguy]

Expensive. Cold winters and Hot summers=high utility bill. For my parents 3br, 2ba home I think they ranged anywhere from $150-$250

[ArkansasBound]

"All types of crimes worry me. My wife is Hispanic so that worries me a bit after hearing about racism. Murder, rape, breaking into houses, drugs and assaults I guess are on top of the list. I also read on other posts that all the lakes and creaks are polluted due to the chicken industry and then some place where chemical weapons are stored really freaked me out."

I don't know that much about the Hot Springs area. I recently moved to the Yellville area, and in my opinion most of the people don't like minorities. They
don't even care for white outsiders moving into the area. But I was picked on for 31 years in Texas cause I'm from Chicago......ya know, one of them thar Yankees. So what to do?

I am from Elgin, Texas. I got tired of it and picked Arkansas. I picked it for the beautiful area, low property prices and low property taxes.
Compared to Travis County, they are nothing. It's not easy to get work up here, although a friend of mine did. He was very very lucky. And the pay is not very good, compared to Texas. But I guess it depends on where you are in Texas. My last job there didn't pay all that well either, but I did have benefits. I just couldn't stand the 'rat race' of Austin anymore.

I've had my trials and tribulations since moving to North Central Arkansas,
but I also had them in Texas. So I don't know what to tell you. It's still much better in Arkansas for me so far.

This is strictly my opinion now, but I would say it might be harder for your wife to get a job because she's Hispanic. Plus she probably won't get $13.00 an hour, but maybe you could research that on the web. Check out
the minority population in that area too. That might give you some insight.
Check the local paper's employment section.

My utilites here are pretty low, but I conserve as much as I can.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by justsomeguy

Expensive. Cold winters and Hot summers=high utility bill. For my parents 3br, 2ba home I think they ranged anywhere from $150-$250

Where did your parents live before moving to Arkansas and what do you mean by cold winters and high utility bills? 3 bedrooms,2 baths in the price range of $150 plus, will buy a damn nice place.

Nita

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by justsomeguy

Expensive. Cold winters and Hot summers=high utility bill. For my parents 3br, 2ba home I think they ranged anywhere from $150-$250

WOW!! They must have liked it really warm in winter and cold in summer because when we lived in Farmington in a 1500sq ft. 3bdr we only averaged about $75/month.

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by nmnita

Where did your parents live before moving to Arkansas and what do you mean by cold winters and high utility bills? 3 bedrooms,2 baths in the price range of $150 plus, will buy a damn nice place.

Nita

Nita, some of your comments are killing me here. That was a price-quote for the monthly utility bill.

They've always lived in the South. It can get in the 20s-40s during the winter.

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

WOW!! They must have liked it really warm in winter and cold in summer because when we lived in Farmington in a 1500sq ft. 3bdr we only averaged about $75/month.

Utilities are not all the same in Arkansas are they? But I think they just have an old unit that's inefficient. But I don't think they've ever had a bill under $100.

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by justsomeguy

Utilities are not all the same in Arkansas are they? But I think they just have an old unit that's inefficient. But I don't think they've ever had a bill under $100.

You're totally right there. I had actually always thought that NWA had higher utilities because SWEPCO and Ozarks Electric Co-op don't have the leverage or generation capacity of Entergy but I've never researched that.

[DC at the Ridge]

SWEPCO is now a part of AEP, out of Ohio. I think the rates are just higher because everything is higher in NWA.

DC

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by justsomeguy

Nita, some of your comments are killing me here. That was a price-quote for the monthly utility bill.

They've always lived in the South. It can get in the 20s-40s during the winter.

Sorry, I miss read this: thought you were referring to the cost of housing as being $150,000 to $250,000. $150 to $250 is a bit high, but living in TX is was nothing to have an air conditioning summer bill of well over $200.00. I guess buying a house for $250 would be very interesting to say the least...

Nita

[Bravo35223]

I'd suggest you consider moving to a smaller community outside Birmingham, Alabama.

Reasons:

1) The Hispanic community in Birmingham is booming.
2) Birmingham is a huge healthcare center and has lots of jobs for someone like your wife.
3) Alabama has the lowest rate of taxation in the United States.
4) The Birmingham/North Alabama area looks almost identical to Arkansas. Rolling hills and forests.

Towns around Birmingham I would suggest for you include Springville and Montevallo. They would have good schools and low crime.

Other than that, Marshall County Alabama currently has an Hispanic population of about 30%. The town of Guntersville is there and is very pretty....