[Venezuela]

Hi, everyone. I need some help and orientation. My husband and I are in ours late thirties and we are looking forward to relocate to AR. Let me tell you about us: we don’t have kids but we have pets (more or less our kids in a way), we were living in Florida for 14 yrs., but we moved (even we absolutely LOVE the beaches) because the high crime rate, extremely crowded cities and a high cost of living . Two yrs. ago me moved to Billings, Montana, (the biggest city in the state) for us this is a small town (about 100K people) it is nice but is NOTHING for us to do here. We don’t like to camp or go hunting (the two mayor attractions here).
We like hiking, photograph, bicycling, fishing, we like bodies of water lakes channels, rivers, go to a good theater (movie or play), museums, galleries, go to the library or a book store (with a very tasty coffee), we are part of the new age/tree huggers generation nevertheless we are also respectful of other people’s believes . We both work for a living but our main entertainment is buying houses and renovate them, rent it or sale it and start all over again, needless to say we both are pretty handy .
My big questions: is there in AR a place that we can do all and still have the friendly small town feeling? We would not mind to drive few miles to get to a Home Depot or Lowe’s (unless the place have a great hardware store) as well as to go to the theater or restaurants. We are like to see the different seasons (we just love them) but if the winter and the snow don’t last 6 months we’ll be very glad. Any kind of natural disasters that we need to be aware (like FL have the hurricanes/tornadoes & MT have blizzards)
Ours choices are: Alma, Arkadelphia, Bryant, Conway, Hot Springs, Jonesboro, Little Rock and Springdale.
We are planning to make a trip this month for 5 days we know is a very short time and because of that we need to know which are the best places for us to go and visits that will have the most of our likes.
We appreciate all your “insight views”, advice and recommendations of each place.

[Pearlbob]

I would NOT recommend Jonesboro. It is a very close-minded town, and outsiders are not very welcome. It is a dry county (no alcohol sold anywhere) and is run by Baptists. "Tree hugger" type people would not be treated very well there. There is nothing to do, as most good restaurants do not want to open there because they cannot serve alcohol. Nothing to do, I can't repeat that enough. For people in their 30's, I think it would horribly, horribly boring. I have gone back a few times in the past, and although they are slightly growing (for example, a new Target) it is still the same old tiny little hick town. Maybe 70,000 people? I have no clue these days. But there are no museums, no culture, nothing like that in Jonesboro.

I think the market for house flipping there would be nonexistent. It's a small town. There is a college there, but ASU is basically just like a big high school. Very small, no one lives on campus, it's basically a commuter college and not a very good one. They are desperate for students there. It is NOT a "college town" in any sense of the word.

You may be respectful of other people's beliefs, but they will not be respectful of yours. Trust me on that one, myself being "one of the outsiders."

Alma? My god. No.
Fayetteville and the NW area is MUCH MUCH better. It's where Wal Mart is headed, and thus there are a lot more wealthy people and thus a lot more money out there. Plus, Fayetteville is more of a college town with UA there.
Hot Springs is nice but is more of a retirement/tourist town.
Little Rock is pretty crime-ridden, if you are looking to get away from that.
Conway is pretty small too. Really, there isn't much in Ark besides Little Rock that isn't small.

Why Ark? If you are looking for small town, maybe try something more coastal, like South Carolina? Ark is more redneck, poor, uneducated small town, much like you'd find in Miss or Ala.

[Jcoon]

I agree with Pearlbob and would like to add...Springdale/Fayetville is close urban spaces with Rogers and Bentoville...giving you a big town feel and is growing leaps and bounds and offers a variety of things to do. Yet, if you live just outside more country you can be surrounded with hills, lakes and trees giving you some seclusion and do the hiking, beach and outdoor things as a second to the city adventures. There is a lot of commercial things coming to those towns which adds to the culture.

[JeffAtkins]

You should include Hot Springs Village in your search. Many of the things you like are here. I'm living in a VA repo that I fixed up. There is golf, fishing, boating, trails, etc.

You can research online at the Property Owner's website hsvpoa.org, or the Chamber of Commerce website hotspringsvillagechamber.com, but you'll need to contact a real estate agent or a property owner such as myself in order to get through one of the gates

[undertheironsea]

Originally Posted by Pearlbob

I would NOT recommend Jonesboro. It is a very close-minded town, and outsiders are not very welcome. It is a dry county (no alcohol sold anywhere) and is run by Baptists. "Tree hugger" type people would not be treated very well there. There is nothing to do, as most good restaurants do not want to open there because they cannot serve alcohol. Nothing to do, I can't repeat that enough. For people in their 30's, I think it would horribly, horribly boring. I have gone back a few times in the past, and although they are slightly growing (for example, a new Target) it is still the same old tiny little hick town. Maybe 70,000 people? I have no clue these days. But there are no museums, no culture, nothing like that in Jonesboro.

I think the market for house flipping there would be nonexistent. It's a small town. There is a college there, but ASU is basically just like a big high school. Very small, no one lives on campus, it's basically a commuter college and not a very good one. They are desperate for students there. It is NOT a "college town" in any sense of the word.

You may be respectful of other people's beliefs, but they will not be respectful of yours. Trust me on that one, myself being "one of the outsiders."

Alma? My god. No.
Fayetteville and the NW area is MUCH MUCH better. It's where Wal Mart is headed, and thus there are a lot more wealthy people and thus a lot more money out there. Plus, Fayetteville is more of a college town with UA there.
Hot Springs is nice but is more of a retirement/tourist town.
Little Rock is pretty crime-ridden, if you are looking to get away from that.
Conway is pretty small too. Really, there isn't much in Ark besides Little Rock that isn't small.

Why Ark? If you are looking for small town, maybe try something more coastal, like South Carolina? Ark is more redneck, poor, uneducated small town, much like you'd find in Miss or Ala.

You don't know how bad I want to argue with you, being from small town Mississippi. But I won't. I'm a gentleman. Your post, however, seems silly and judgemental to me. I'm sure that you wealthy, educated types have better things to do.

Poster, I would recommend NWA if you're looking for a bigger place with more to do. I wouldn't live there personally, a town with more than 25K people drives me crazy, but it sounds like it's more up your alley. Alma isn't bad...it's small but right outside of Fort Smith. But if you're not happy in Billings, Montana, I don't see how you think it's gonna be drastically different here.

[Venezuela]

I have to said that Billings is a very friendly place but the my problem is that here are too many casinos , too much alcohol, just 1 library, two movie theatre and one theater; as you can see no much entertaining (we don’t drink or gamble ). I really appreciate all you comments and advise, I'll think about it and pondering a lot what you all had said. I thank the people whom had added their two cents and look forward for more insights and recommendations

[Pearlbob]

I lived in small town AR for years, and there is nothing to do in Jonesboro. If you are wanting libraries, culture, restaurants, you would be so, so unhappy. THe no drinking thing would go well with you, since it's a dry county, however because it's dry most good restaurants do not want to open there. The Baptist church buys up any liquor license the city allows. (there are a few private clubs that are allowed to sell alcohol that the baptist church has allowed)

I'd like to mention that I'm not wealthy...I'm just cultured and well educated. I've lived in lots of different cities, big and small, and Jonesboro was by far the worst. The people there are so close minded. It's very sad to see the ignorance. It's not about being uneducated, it's ignorance. I've never heard such racism and predjudice before I moved there. Maybe it's a southern thing mixed with a small town thing, but it's annoying and not my style. I don't think all of AR is like that, but Jonesboro sure was.

Again, this is my opinion based on my own experiences there. I don't find that to be silly and judgemental. When I lived there, I had a lot of friends who were "outsiders" as well, moved there from bigger cities outside of the south, and they had the same feelings I did.

If you do AR, I would look more into the NW cities. I did not mean to make it sound like due to the wealthy people it would be a better place to live. What I mean is, that there is just more money, thus more culture, more to do, more people from all over the world living there, an SEC school (lots of sports), etc etc. Just more variety.

[Ira500]

1. The Hillcrest neighborhood of Little Rock is pleasant, hip, and full of great old houses. Much nicer than the rest of Little Rock.
2. Check out Eureka Springs...artsy, new agey tree hugging Capitol of Arkansas, also full of cool Victorian houses.
3. Yes, Hot Springs has tourists and retirees, but has a growing and well respected arts community. It's a bit small (35000) but not too far from Little Rock, but has a classical music festival, a jazz and blues fest, and a documentary film festival.

[belle30]

I would like to put in my 2 cents in favor of Conway. It's a college town with 1 state and 2 private colleges. UCA has an art gallery and a performing arts center. Hendrix college probably does too. Since Conway is a college town it's fairly open to different cultures and beliefs. It's a small town and has a close community feel.

Conway is in central AR so it's a great location for outdoor activities and cultural events. It's close to Greers Ferry Lake, Petit Jean State Park, Lake Dardanelle, Pinnacle Mountain, and Lake Conway which are great places for hiking/fishing. Just about anywhere in AR is a great place to enjoy the seasons. Right now there are daffodil festivals in two AR towns - Wye Mountain and Camden. The Ozark Mountains in NW AR are beautiful in the fall.

Little Rock is about a 30 minute drive. It has several museums, theaters, great restaurants and shopping. It would also have the best job opportunities.

I work for a title company and can assure you Conway has a booming real estate market and would be a great place for your flipping hobby.

Also Conway is in a dry county and has no gambling.

You should look into Conway. It sounds like it would suit your lifestyle and interests.

[Pianojazz]

I agree with previous posters that NW Arkansas would be excellent for your tastes. While I do not now live in Arkansas, we own property near Ft. Smith Arkansas. NW Arkansas has fine cultural attractions, as does Little Rock. But, Eurkea Springs is definitely the artsiest tree hugging place in Arkansas. My son lives in that area. It has fabulous possibilities and lots of coffee shops and art galleries!