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Old 05-19-2013, 07:20 PM
 
Location: Not where you ever lived
11,535 posts, read 30,173,564 times
Reputation: 6424

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Amelia9, I lived in most of the states in the Midwest, lived in Florida and California. I lived in OK and MO and spent considerable time in Arkansas. Humidity and mosquitoes abound where ground water collects, where crops grow, and where forests, natural environment, and flowers thrive. If you do not like creepy-crawlers such as fire ants, fleas, flies, mosquitoes, chiggers, wasps, bees, slugs, snakes, etc., stay in WI. Most of these critters live in the ground, and they don't die off in the winter because the ground does not get cold enough, or stay cold long enough to kill them where they nest.

Rural America -- I don't care where you live -- is not blessed with great or even mediocre doctors. With your medical history you need to be near a larger town with a hospital such as Fayetteville, or Little Rock, that has a Rheumatologist. Allergist, etc.. It is a giant pain to drive 150 miles to see a Cardiologist and Pulmonologist as I did when I lived in OK.

For those who would like to say I am wrong about doctors, I will challenge you with my 35 years of being intimate with the doctor/hospital/pharmacy games while I cared for family in crisis and watched them die one by one.
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Old 05-20-2013, 04:46 AM
 
Location: Bella Vista, Ark
77,772 posts, read 104,390,522 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by amelia9 View Post
I'm from WI and am thinking of relocating to Arkansas. I have found small town retailers to be friendly in WI but not necessarily the general populations. Many "cold Germans" in WI, and I'm from here!! I have many questions ... I want to move to a "smaller" town that I can get involved in, volunteering for local causes. I'd like a town that has some culture ... I LOVE folk music and want to learn about Arkansas history. I hate two things: mosquitoes and humidity. I know that I can't escape all of that but I have been given the impression locating in the "river valley" is worse than higher. Any suggestions for smaller towns that might minimalize (I realize not eliminate) mosquitoes and humidity? Last thing ... I have many health issues, so I need to live within 20 minutes of good medical facilities. Not necessarily emergency but a variety of doctors for my fibromyalgia and serious arthritis, and other issues. I will be working from home so, yes, I'll be hoping to buy a 2 to 3 bedroom home on my savings and Soc. Sec. Income. I don't need much but some GREAT windows for my cats to look out of and nature around me. OH, I forgot, I need to be very near a state park that has "easy" walking/hike trails because with my health issues, Arkansas is going to keep me healthy!!! I live in Milwaukee ... a little bit of hell for people who want to walk. I grew up on a dairy farm in Central WI and absolutely LOVE nature and Arkansas IS nature. WI also has a ton of humidity! I just read in a previous posting that the mosquitoes and humidity were worse in certain area. Give me a great park, with easy walking trails, medical nearby, a community who wants an avid volunteer who loves Arkansas music and culture, and minimal mosquitoes and humidity. I don't ask much, do I? It is just me ... a 57-year-old woman and two cats. Any insights are GREATLY, GREATLY appreciated!!!!
I can think of a couple of places, right off the top of my hat that might work for you: 1-Hot Springs, but I am not sure about eh housing prices. You can certainly find plenty of volunteer work and lots of great places for walking. The temps might be a little higher than you would like. I don't know what your budget for housing would be.

Of course the other idea would be any of the small towns in NWA. You will get some cultural climate, certainly plenty of volunteer work. There are people in our church, that seem to have full time jobs, just doing volunteer work. I can't go that far, but I do my share as well. Another positive thing about this area, which might be true in Hot Springs as well, is there are so many people from other places, yes, a lot from WI and MI as a matter of fact.

Certainly there are mosquitos but mostly near the water and mostly early in the season. Right now, we have had so much rain, we have more than normal. The humidity can be bad and has been the last few days. It isn't anything like Texas or the deep south, like LA or Mississippi or Florida and doesn't last as long.

As for living near good medical facilities; we do have some excellent doctors here; lots of specialists and good hospitals. In Washington County, we have Wash Regional Hospital and in Benton County we have Mercy and NWA Medical Regional, with 2 hospitals, one in Springdale and one in Bentonville. Many of the doctors have practices in both counties and work for all or at least 2 or 3 of the hospitals. We have been much happier, overall with the medical care here, compared to Albuquerque. No, it isn't Dallas or Houston, or So California but it is not rural, country doctor care either. We really do know a little about this, my husband has had some life threatening concerns since moving here 5 years ago.

It sounds like AR would be a good fit for you. Certainly we have what you are looking for in nature and you can find a little home for you and the kitties I am sure. Hope this has given you some food for thought.

Nita
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Old 01-10-2014, 07:46 AM
 
Location: Not where you ever lived
11,535 posts, read 30,173,564 times
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Funny we should talk about country doctors. I have had three in my life that were awesome. One was a WWII vet who went to DVM school and practiced before he changed careers and became an MD & FAA physician. He was 9x and still practicing when he died. The current doc charges $10 for an office call. Doctor has practiced 60 years in the same little town, and still makes house calls on occasion. The third is a D.O. who gave up big city practice to move to small town America. None do hospital rounds, see patients in hospital, rotate in ER, or have Contracts with hospital admin or their boards. All are well trained and independent.
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Old 01-10-2014, 08:11 AM
 
Location: Bella Vista, Ark
77,772 posts, read 104,390,522 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by linicx View Post
Funny we should talk about country doctors. I have had three in my life that were awesome. One was a WWII vet who went to DVM school and practiced before he changed careers and became an MD & FAA physician. He was 9x and still practicing when he died. The current doc charges $10 for an office call. Doctor has practiced 60 years in the same little town, and still makes house calls on occasion. The third is a D.O. who gave up big city practice to move to small town America. None do hospital rounds, see patients in hospital, rotate in ER, or have Contracts with hospital admin or their boards. All are well trained and independent.
??What brought this up after almost a year of a dead our inactive thread?
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Old 01-12-2014, 10:22 PM
 
7 posts, read 10,117 times
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It's hard to know without having been there, but I think the key is that you were in the part of NWA full of executives brought in from elsewhere. I grew up in the Springdale area when it was still like Mayberry, moved away when I married in 1974. We've lived in the river valley near Fort Smith ever since. It is hard now when we go to NWA to visit relatives because the area is like a foreign country compared to when we lived there. The traffic is sometimes frightening.

From what I read in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Little Rock seems like it is overrun with constant crime in the downtown area. You couldn't pay me to go there.

My SIL, a northern transplant herself, moved back to Iowa for a few years and said the environment up there seemed very rude and harsh after having lived in NWA for several years.

Anyone can have a bad experience anywhere, but in general, I believe Arkansas is a place where people are still polite and friendly, although some of the cities have areas it pays to know to avoid.
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Old 01-13-2014, 04:01 AM
 
320 posts, read 576,641 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by deadtreereader View Post
It's hard to know without having been there, but I think the key is that you were in the part of NWA full of executives brought in from elsewhere. I grew up in the Springdale area when it was still like Mayberry, moved away when I married in 1974. We've lived in the river valley near Fort Smith ever since. It is hard now when we go to NWA to visit relatives because the area is like a foreign country compared to when we lived there. The traffic is sometimes frightening.

From what I read in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Little Rock seems like it is overrun with constant crime in the downtown area. You couldn't pay me to go there.

My SIL, a northern transplant herself, moved back to Iowa for a few years and said the environment up there seemed very rude and harsh after having lived in NWA for several years.

Anyone can have a bad experience anywhere, but in general, I believe Arkansas is a place where people are still polite and friendly, although some of the cities have areas it pays to know to avoid.

LOL. According to another thread on C-D the most dangerous cities in the south are Memphis, New Orleans, Atlanta and Miami. I've been to all four cities and I'm from Little Rock. If you think Little Rock is bad you need to get out more.
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Old 01-13-2014, 12:46 PM
 
7 posts, read 10,117 times
Reputation: 29
Why would I "need" to get out more to places that are dangerous and crime ridden? I'm proud and thankful to live in a small community where I can go anywhere at any time with no fear. I've lived in this bedroom community twenty years, and there has been ONE shooting, and the parties knew each other. It wasn't random crime.

And seriously, if you think the number of car jackings, robberies, stabbings, muggings and shootings in Little Rock constantly reported in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette is normal, YOU need to get out more, to communities where people don't accept that way of life.
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Old 01-13-2014, 04:00 PM
 
Location: The Great State of Arkansas
5,981 posts, read 18,235,423 times
Reputation: 7735
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Spock View Post
Last year I was working as a trainer for a national company doing management skills training in Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas. I spent a month in your fine State and interacted with hundreds of people at the offices I visited and hundreds more out in public. Here are some observations:

The people in an around Little Rock were incredibly nice and friendly. I have never met so many outgoing and friendly people in my life and I have visited all fifty US States. It was such a nice time in Little Rock.

For the second part of my time in Arkansas I spent two weeks in a number of communities in North West Arkansas. I felt like I had returned to Minnesota (my home state). People were nice enough but a little reserved and formal. A completely different social and cultural environment than Little Rock.

Have you experienced the same thing and if so, how do you explain it?

^^^This. Let's stay on topic, please - there are lots of other threads regarding crime in Little Rock or whatever. Thanks...Sam
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Old 01-13-2014, 06:01 PM
 
Location: Not where you ever lived
11,535 posts, read 30,173,564 times
Reputation: 6424
I loved Western ArK from the Pea Ridge National Civil War Battlefield, to Eureka Springs and War Eagle, to Tontitown, to Fayetteville, to Hot Springs. I neither wanted nor needed to go any farther. The people I met in NWA 30-years ago are still good friends today.

It's gets a bit crazy in tourist season. Fasten your seatbelt.
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Old 01-13-2014, 06:02 PM
 
Location: Not where you ever lived
11,535 posts, read 30,173,564 times
Reputation: 6424
Why would you ask me a question like that? The threads are not closed unless a Mod closes it.



Quote:
Originally Posted by nmnita View Post
??What brought this up after almost a year of a dead our inactive thread?
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