[KathrynAragon]

Hello, Arkansans!

My parents (in their 70s) are moving from Magnolia to HSV and in helping them make this move, my husband and I have become very interested in the area ourselves.

I'll tell you a bit about us and I'd like some input FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIVED THERE or own(ed) property there. In other words, I want opinions backed my actual experience rather than hearsay or based on some sort of stereotype.

My husband is 54 and I am 50. He is an oilfield consultant and I am a domestic diva. We've lived in East Texas most of our lives in a midsize town close to Dallas. My husband is politically conservative and I am a libertarian - live and let live is my dogma. We are Christians and we do attend a Methodist church, but we are not "of the Baptist bent" - Moderator cut: rude, and we do love to dance and drink! LOL I'd say we are very tolerant of others and expect the same in return.

My husband loves golf, and I love fitness activities - the gym, swimming, walking trails, etc - so you can see why we like a lot of features of HSV. We can afford a nice home there, even new construction on a golf course if we choose, so we're not worried about home prices or property taxes.

I love to be active in whatever community I live in. We both love to travel, in the US and worldwide when we have the opportunity. I am into the arts and healthy cooking and my husband would love to find a group of golfing buddies (I bet that's not a problem). We are both gregarious and enjoy entertaining casually - nights out on the patio with friends sounds ideal.

We have a large extended family - five grown kids and seven grandkids - and I am sure we'll have more over time since three of our kids haven't even started families yet.

We have a boat - 22' so I know we can put it out on most if not all of the lakes.

My concerns are:

1. In our early fifties - are we too young for this crowd? Do you think we would fit in age wise and interest wise?

2. Is the POA anal? I mean, we understand the reasons for restrictions and actually APPRECIATE restrictions, but is the POA oppressive or troublesome?

3. Are there hidden fees we don't realise are there? (we have a fee schedule for the amenities - fees seem very reasonable)

4. I am very into gourmet cooking, organic foods, ethnic cuisines (cooking, not necessarily eating out) - are there decent shops in either HSV or Hot Springs proper where I can buy specialty food items? Any place like Whole Foods?

5. What are some adjectives you would use to describe HSV?

6. Will I age prematurely if we move there????? I mean, I think it is BEAUTIFUL, there are some lovely properties there, and I'm very impressed with the amenities and security. I'm a former military brat and wife, so I feel very comfortable with the "gated" aspect of the area. I just don't want to move someplace that's full of a bunch of fuddy duddies. I enjoy living a very full life and having a lot of activity and fun and a circle of active, intelligent, interesting friends. This is very important to me.

Please advise!

[JeffAtkins]

I've lived in Hot Springs Village for 10 years. Here are my responses...

1. You are not too young. I'm not 50 yet.

2. I don't consider the POA 'oppressive' at this time, but it is always a concern.

3. There are no 'hidden' fees. There are some fees not on the recreational fee schedule, such as home construction permits, car window stickers, and electronic gate cards.

4. Not sure about the specialty stores, but I don't think there is a Whole Foods in Hot Springs.

5. Quiet, Safe, Secure, Natural, Unique.

6. You can stay as active and busy as you want. There is a wide varienty of clubs and groups.

Let me know if you have other questions.

[JeffAtkins]

Originally Posted by seventysfeaver

HSV does not have anything for shopping at all. A gas station with some greasy fired chicken is about all.
Lots are all small sub acre for the most part no large acreage that I know of..

For shopping, there are full sized grocery stores at both the East and West gates. There aren't currently many businesses at the East gate, but it is growing. The West gate has a variety of businesses including a Sear Home Town store, Walmart, Auto Repair, etc. There are several restaurants, it isn't just "greasy fried chicken". There are also restaurants withing the gates, both at the golf courses and free-standing.

Some lots are over an acre. Most are 1/4 to 1/2 acre. There are several subdivisions east of Cortez golf course with 5+ acre lots.

[KathrynAragon]

Good information - if you think of anything else, bring it on!

[JeffAtkins]

Sure Kathryn. Forgot that there is also a Walgreens on the West end.

I went to the post office today, and on the way "back in" I was thinking how beautiful everything looks, even though it has been a dry summer. Hopefully we'll get a few inches of rain from the remnants of Issiac.

I love the Hill Country of Texas, and I get the same relaxed feeling here. We even have a couple of decent Tex Mex places ;-)

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by JeffAtkins

Sure Kathryn. Forgot that there is also a Walgreens on the West end.

I went to the post office today, and on the way "back in" I was thinking how beautiful everything looks, even though it has been a dry summer. Hopefully we'll get a few inches of rain from the remnants of Issiac.

I love the Hill Country of Texas, and I get the same relaxed feeling here. We even have a couple of decent Tex Mex places ;-)

Whew that's good to know!

The Hill Country is our next runner up for places to move, by the way. Still haven't completely ruled it out. It's a big decision!

[rmissourimule]

The problem with Hot Springs Village is that many people find they are away from the amenities of Hot Springs which is about 20 miles or so away. Additionally, one has to drive through the DT area of Hot Springs which is a pain. Most of the more desirable areas of Hot Springs are on the south end of Hot Springs such as shopping and easy access to highways, etc.

While Hot Springs Village offers great golfing and does have shopping areas and medical facilities nearby it is not as adequate as found in Hot Springs.

The main advantage that we found was that Hot Springs Village would offer easy access to Benton, Arkansas which has excellent shopping malls and eateries, etc.

As was put to us by the realtor who sold our house to us, most people who move to Hot Springs Village eventually wind up coming back to Hot Springs itself. If one is content to stay in their house most of the time, and watch the scenery and play golf, it is great. There are a great many wonderful homes there although the older section has very reasonable prices. The more recent homes built there are quite nice and some are even reasonably priced. But on balance we passed on it.

In Hot Springs where we live, we are within two miles of the main hospital facilities and doctors and about the same distance to shopping and eateries. And we are only a short distance from Lake Hamilton. This was an easy decision for us but not for everyone.

[ce56385]

Hi, Kathryn,

I moved here 7 months ago and am 55. I'm a co-leader of Boomers Rock (mentioned above), a club that formed because there are a surprising number of boomers here who feel as you do -- impressed with many aspects of HSV, concerned about others.

1. You will not hang with the WHOLE crowd. You will need to find your niche of people to hang with -- I have found great friends in Boomers Rock and it has made ALL the difference in my early experience here.
2. The POA is appropriately restrictive, in my opinion (my husband and I are currently building a home, so we have several opportunities to experience their evaluation and approval of our work.) I appreciate their oversight, and find them easy/reasonable to work with. Realize, the press sometimes gives more airtime to negative experiences.
3. The fees ARE almost too reasonable in some cases. I've found no hidden fees anywhere!
4. Any specialty food must be bought in either Hot Springs or Little Rock. The local grocery stores -- right outside the east and west gates, plus Walmart -- are very substandard, in my opinion. This is my greatest criticism of HSV, the poor access to even daily/regular grocery needs.
5. Beautiful, secure, serene. Most of all, it is what you make it. Again, we found a need to convene boomers for social reasons, and to be a positive influence in the Village, and so we just created the club for this purpose-- and it has taken off.
6. Same answer. If you look, you'll find people like yourself here. But you have to look, as we did in creating Boomers Rock. It is not apparent on the surface.

This is as objective as I can be. All in all, I love it here because of its beauty, climate, security, and my new group of friends in Boomers Rock. I'd give my eye teeth for a decent grocery store however.

For more information about Boomers Rock, see [url=http://www.BoomersRockHSV.com]Boomers Rock[/url] as well as our latest weekly newsletter at [url=http://eepurl.com/wQRlD]Boomer Blast Newsletter 21MAR13[/url]. Good luck!

[Bobcat45]

So happy to stumble upon this feed. My husband and I are 'retiring' to the Village in June with our three kids, ages 14, 12, and 10. We've lived abroad in various countries for 18 years working in the oil and gas industry. We are both liberals and are active in various sports, which makes living in HSV very interesting. Problem is we are 45 years old and I am very concerned about finding like minded people to socialize with. In fact, my husband is an avid softball player but he is 'too young' to play in the HSV league. I have to ask, Kathryn, did you move to the village? If so, how did you cope? We are looking forward to the move and really hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

[CptnRn]

Hot Springs Village


More data here describing the demographics. //www.city-data.com/city/Hot-Sp...-Arkansas.html