[feelalive]

Hi!

We will be doing a week long road trip from Kansas City the end of April with our 2 young children. We are looking at possibly relocating to somewhere in Arkansas and want to get a good feel for the state. We are originally from the Blue Ridge mountains of NC, and have decided to try somewhere new. We are in KC currently because my husband is getting his Doctor in Chiropractic. We would be relocating so he can start up his practice. This would be a long-term move for us. Any ideas on routes and where to go would be greatly appreciated! We want to see the state and do some fun things with the kids in the process.

Thanks!

[Stormcrow73]

What types of activities are you interested in for your family, what types of landforms would you like to live around, and what size of towns would you think would be minimum? That will help us give you some more directed advice.

[feelalive]

Hi - Based on what I've read so far we probably will end up in NW Arkansas - -it seems like the best place in terms of me finding a job. We don't really want to live in Little Rock. I'm really interested in checking out the towns there and checking out the scenery heading sout from NW Arkansas. It would be interesting to pass through Little Rock. We love the outdoors, but we are travelling with a 6 year old and a 3 year old. I didn't know if there were any places they might enjoy.

[HotSpringsLiving]

Since you will be passing through LR, it would be fairly easy to visit Hot Springs. (We are only about 30 minutes away). There are several fun things for a young family to do. I am not sure what time of the year you will be coming but we have an amusement park with a water park Magic Springs & Crystal Falls - Hot Springs, AR (http://www.magicsprings.com/index.html - broken link) , a great garden Garvan Woodland Gardens - The University of Arkansas' Botanical Garden , a riverboat cruise on Lake Hamilton Belle of Hot Springs Riverboat . If you like the outdoors, there are tons of great hiking trails that are a great way to escape the touristy parts of town and enjoy the beautiful outdoors we have here.
Check out Hot Springs – Hot Springs Arkansas – Hot Springs AR for more info.

While there seems to be some competition, Hot Springs should have a pretty good client base for your husband's profession.

Have fun on your trip and I hope you find the things that makes some of us love Arkansas!

[SwinerBock]

If you want more info and more ideas, you can go to www.arkansas.com. That is the official tourism site for the state of Arkansas.

[nmnita]

I think the idea of going to the website is a great start as well as contacting chambers or Home owners assoc for materials.

If you are heading toward LR I agree you will want to give Hot Springs and maybe HPV a look, but you will probably find more of what would work for you in the NWA area.. There are so many small and mid sized towns to consider. I would research Fayetteville, Bella Vista and Bentonville. If you want to be more out in the country there are some smaller towns. Fayetteville is more liberal and culturally diverse than Bentonville and Bella Vista. Bella Vista, originally was pretty much a retirement community but is rapidly becoming a popular location for young families.

I hope this helps you a little, at least gives you some ideas as to where to start your research trip. We did the same when we decided on our retirement move, we started in Hot Springs area, looked in Fort Smith, then here in Bella Vista and drove over to Grove Ok and visited a couple of other towns in NEO. We just fell in love with BV. Of course we had a great realtor which helped. She worked with us, showed us around and never pressured us at all. It was almost 1 year from the date we met her we ended up buying a place.

Nita

[feelalive]

Thanks for all the info. I've looked at quite a few states now and I think that arkansas.com is the best state website I've seen so far. It sells the state very nicely :-)

[JeffAtkins]

Hot Springs Village has an exceptionally low crime rate, a great place to raise a family. Most of the younger families live on the west end, as that area is closer to the schools. Chamber of Commerce website is Hot Springs Village Arkansas Live Life The Way You Deserve To Live It In The Ouachita Mountains.

[maryjane2]

you might trry Ferndale just out side of little rock. I have been here for 15 years. and love it

[jntinar]

I cant remember the name of the city! As a stop with little kids, if they are play in the dirt kids, the diamond mine would be a good stop. They have a water park next to it also.