Will Fayetteville "Rural areas" welcome a rainbow family? (Farmington: school districts, college)

[Thistledownstudio]

My partner and I are considering moving to Fayetteville for a career opportunity. Ideally we would like to find a few acres and a place where I can build and sculpt. We are also in the beginnings of the adoption process. We are both white gay men, and our child and/children will quite possibly differ from our ethnicty. Will we have problems living on the outskirts of Fayetteville? I know the city proper is considered very liberal, but I am apprehensive about the farmer on the next place over throwing off color remarks, or doing the hundreds of things a bad neighbor can do to make your life Hell...I am not being a bigot, I grew up in a very rural area not far from Arkansas and, well, I know we couldn't make a life there. I concerned...we live in a fairly awful city right now that is not at all liberal. I would love to find a quite, peaceful place to build our family and all of that...I just need to know how realistic that dream is, as framed by Fayetteville.

[jim9251]

I think you'll be fine. There are stupid neighbors everywhere, but in general I don't believe you'll have any problems in the Fayetteville area. Good luck to you.

[Rock Climber]

As far as medium sized towns in southern states, I don't know if you could do much better than Fayetteville in those categories. I don't know a whole lot about outlying areas as far as the culture. I assume you'd be more likely encounter potential issues in the smaller school districts, like Farmington or West Fork.

Anything in the country that you can get in Fayetteville school district I think would be ok. Fayetteville families and their children are exposed to many more liberal-minded people in their day to day lives than the other smaller towns. This will be important for you if you choose to stay and raise children here.

Fayetteville will offer you more opportunities to meet like-minded people and open-minded, supportive people than the other cities here. I doubt if your family would even get much attention at the Fayetteville Farmer's Market, for example.

The job is here for you, but if you were ever looking for a smaller community with a more rural feel, Eureka Springs has to be one of the most gay-friendly small towns in the U.S.A. based on my experiences there.

Good luck.

[nmnita]

you should be fine, remember, even in state like AR people are changing their views and are not a judgmental as they used to be. I would like to mention one thing, you made the comment about Fayetteville being very liberal; no, I don't think many would call it very liberal, compared to the rest of AR it is considered more liberal and it is a college town, but it isn't liberal like say, Berkeley or Boulder or even Austin. That shouldn't be an issue however. As I mentioned people are more open minded than they were 20 years ago. Oh, I am sure there are some that would not be accepting, but this would be the case anywhere you live. I am sure you realize that. Rock climber is right about Eureka Springs, but I don't know how that would work with the job situation and I am not sure how the school system is ranked, if that make a difference.

Good luck with both your move and your plans for adopting.

[socaldude101]

My partner and I moved here from Southern California over two years ago with all the same apprehensions you have. We've lived in both Fayetteville and Elkins (small farm town just east of Fayetteville) in that time and have never had any problems from anyone. We both just dove into the communities and have made a lot of friends in the process and I have to say we have both been very surprised at how well we have been received here. Surprisingly there are quite a few gay folks and couples here -- even in the countryside, and I know you guys can make a go of it here. Right past where we lived in Elkins is a large artist compound/ tourist attraction that openly flies the rainbow flag so that says something about the openness of the area. Check out Terra Studios web site here -- Terra Studios

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by socaldude101

My partner and I moved here from Southern California over two years ago with all the same apprehensions you have. We've lived in both Fayetteville and Elkins (small farm town just east of Fayetteville) in that time and have never had any problems from anyone. We both just dove into the communities and have made a lot of friends in the process and I have to say we have both been very surprised at how well we have been received here. Surprisingly there are quite a few gay folks and couples here -- even in the countryside, and I know you guys can make a go of it here. Right past where we lived in Elkins is a large artist compound/ tourist attraction that openly flies the rainbow flag so that says something about the openness of the area. Check out Terra Studios web site here -- Terra Studios

Thanks for a response that many can depend on because you are an example of a success story. I hope the OP is still reading this and finds your experience helpful.

Nita

[sherrenee]

Originally Posted by Rock Climber

As far as medium sized towns in southern states, I don't know if you could do much better than Fayetteville in those categories. I don't know a whole lot about outlying areas as far as the culture. I assume you'd be more likely encounter potential issues in the smaller school districts, like Farmington or West Fork.

Anything in the country that you can get in Fayetteville school district I think would be ok. Fayetteville families and their children are exposed to many more liberal-minded people in their day to day lives than the other smaller towns. This will be important for you if you choose to stay and raise children here.

Fayetteville will offer you more opportunities to meet like-minded people and open-minded, supportive people than the other cities here. I doubt if your family would even get much attention at the Fayetteville Farmer's Market, for example.

The job is here for you, but if you were ever looking for a smaller community with a more rural feel, Eureka Springs has to be one of the most gay-friendly small towns in the U.S.A. based on my experiences there.

Good luck.

Just an FYI about living in the Farmington area, some areas are actually in the Fayetteville school district.