[nmnita]

Originally Posted by songinthewind7

Hard to make up my mind completely now anyway but it's been fun checking out the places online. I don't see anyone talking about the southern part of Ark. past LR. or even up in the NE area where Jonesboro is.
I'm thinking that NW, LR and Hot Springs along with the surrounding areas of these places to be the best places and being in S Ark. is not the thing to do.

I was living in an isolated mountainous area that was nice in the summers but snow and ice in the winters. A lot of times, we were without power. I don't mind for a day but like MissouriMule says, getting too old for that to go out and scrape ice and all that jazz. No such thing as perfect weather though.

One thing for sure I miss in that part of the country, there are a lot of things but, the fruits and veggies. I just got off the phone with my mom (lives in Mo) and she was talking about the stuff she was eating and my mouth was watering. Home grown tomatoes, peaches, strawberries. I love Farmers Markets and I'm really into supporting the local farmers. We have a market here that just opened and will be open for only a month or so because we don't get the stuff here like Ark and Mo get and I miss that. Other things I miss, other than bbq that I mentioned in my other post is fried catfish and hushpuppies or fresh seafood period. They had some kind of baked catfish here one time. NASTY!

Is this an okay place to ask about politics in the area? I'm guessing mostly conservative, guns and Ted Nugent type folks?

As for politics, as mentioned, until recently AR has been pretty blue though many of the Democrats are extremely conservative. In the past 10 years there has been a gradual change. Now the Republicans are pretty much in control. And I would certainly call AR conservative, but it is diverse and very few people are in your face with their views. NWA is very much a Republican area, with the exception of maybe, Fayetteville and Eureka Springs. The rest of the state is more a mixture. Little Rock would be the most Democrat leaning part of AR.

[DC at the Ridge]

Originally Posted by northbound74

Northeast Arkansas is growing at a pretty good rate, but the eastern half (diagonal from NE to SW) is flat land that most outsiders don't go gaga over. Not a horrible area compared to the rest of the state, but it isn't as trendy. It is a good place to go for catfish and BBQ though.
In Little Rock, check out Maumelle and other places in the western parts to be closer to the hills.

From my personal experience, Arkansas appeared to be noticeably worse with the ice storms than Missouri, who seemed to get mainly snow. Where we lived in MO, they at least had salt trucks. I don't recall ever seeing anything used in Arkansas to melt frozen stuff. Just sand for traction. And yes, occasionally it sticks around for a week or so. Expect the particularly bad ice storms every 2-5 years. I know it's probably not a deal-breaker, but it wouldn't be a good idea to make a place like Arkansas into something it isn't.

As for politics, it's far more diverse than people might think. Just a short time ago, democrats controlled the state by a very wide margin. It took 150 years, but it looks like things are balancing out.

Ice storms are the worst. But the city and county governments in Northwest Arkansas have really worked hard to address it. They don't just have salt and sand, but they've got supplies of beet juice and other icemelt chemicals. I can't remember ice sticking around for a week or so, it's usually gone within a couple of days, but the power outages can outlast the ice, and that makes them all the worse. Also, the real bad one, that Nita mentioned happened several years ago, the damage to the trees was EVERYWHERE. Clean-up just went on and on and on. But people were so great. People volunteered at area parks to help gather branches, and they volunteered their trucks to load up and haul away debris. People just really pitched in, and were happy to do so.

[songinthewind7]

Originally Posted by rmissourimule

Well, I haven't heard anyone talk about Ted Nugent lately. In fact, the subject of guns never comes up. We are just a laid back type of folks who believe in minding our own business. Generally conservative but we have a Democratic governor and Democratic senator who may very be reelected next year.

As I haven't seen all of Arkansas I can't tell you specifically but the western part around the Ouachita Mountains is pretty much all pretty. There is much I need to get to see before I clock out. I may ruffle a few feathers here but the one place I'm not exactly wild about is Pine Bluff. Arkansas flattens out on the eastern side per my recollection.

Ouachita Mountains - Encyclopedia of Arkansas

Thanks MissouriMule for the link. I like the idea of laid back folks. I brought up Ted Nugent because he's the first person that comes to mind when I think of guns. Nothing against guns at all but it seems some states want more gun control more than others. I don't want gun control.

[songinthewind7]

Originally Posted by ArkansasSlim

missourimule - I'm happy you settled in AR . Welcome . As you have learned, we are one of the best kept secrets in the USofA. I also appreciate the positive way you write about AR, so now you can join our "We know where to live club" . I never lived in HS but worked there off-and-of for several years and still visit friends there. If circumstances permitted I would have been happy to live there.

songinthewind - south and southwest AR is mostly flat with mostly pine plantations. East and southeast AR is mostly flat farm land. Politics - We were a Democratic state except north west until the "Obama backlash" hit, then there were many Republicans elected. But even with that, there are many independent SOBs in AR and I'm happy to be counted in that group ! Oh, and we now have a legal concealed carry gun law; but I'll not step on that snake!

My husband and I are Independents also, voting Libertarian when they are available.

[slingshot]

As I haven't seen all of Arkansas I can't tell you specifically but the western part around the Ouachita Mountains is pretty much all pretty. There is much I need to get to see before I clock out. I may ruffle a few feathers here but the one place I'm not exactly wild about is Pine Bluff. Arkansas flattens out on the eastern side per my recollection.

Ouachita Mountains - Encyclopedia of Arkansas[/quote]

I live in Mena, in the Ouachita's. We welcome your visit to the second highest mountain in Arkansas and the Talimena National Scenic Byway.

Talimena National Scenic Byway

[songinthewind7]

I've checked some stuff out in Mena too. So many places.

The thread on Pine Bluff doesn't sound all that good.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by songinthewind7

Thanks MissouriMule for the link. I like the idea of laid back folks. I brought up Ted Nugent because he's the first person that comes to mind when I think of guns. Nothing against guns at all but it seems some states want more gun control more than others. I don't want gun control.

Don't worry, most people in AR don't want gun control either.

[slingshot]

To clarify....In my last post, the first paragraph is a quote from rmissourimule.

[ArkansasTgirl]

When I think of Ted Nugent anymore the first thing I think of is draft dodger.

Most people probably aren't big on gun control but I don't think most people are nuts either. I think a deer rifle that actually is used for hunting and .22 would be considered fairly normal here.

Good luck on moving to Arkansas.

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by FriendlyFeller

When I think of Ted Nugent anymore the first thing I think of is draft dodger.

Most people probably aren't big on gun control but I don't think most people are nuts either. I think a deer rifle that actually is used for hunting and .22 would be considered fairly normal here.

Good luck on moving to Arkansas.

You know, it depends on where you are.

In Bella Vista, an ol' boy in a mule with an AR and a shotgun leaning against the seat would probably be arrested.

Around here, if it's not there, people ask, "Where's your gun, hoss?".

When you're checking cattle, a fenceline, the firebreak or any other rural type setting, once encounters mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, rabid skunks, and many other critters that react very badly to human presence if the kids are around, or they're having a bad day.

In areas like Bella Vista, what are you going to encounter? A rachety HOA officer?