Relocating to Bentonville (Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers: apartments, crime, tornadoes)

[bz88]

I will be relocating to Bentonville, AR soon for my job. I'm in early 20s, single, Asian, and liberal. I'm a quiet person; not really into parties or smoking or drinking.

Just looking for any suggestions on where to live like apartments, communities, etc. Any fun places to go and shopping area. Also, anything I need to know or be aware of.

Thanks!

[Rock Climber]

Originally Posted by bz88

I will be relocating to Bentonville, AR soon for my job. I'm in early 20s, single, Asian, and liberal. I'm a quiet person; not really into parties or smoking or drinking.

Just looking for any suggestions on where to live like apartments, communities, etc. Any fun places to go and shopping area. Also, anything I need to know or be aware of.

Thanks!

Early 20s, but not into parties or smoking or drinking...if you still like live music and pretty girls, downtown Fayetteville will be your primary spot to find both.

Shopping in Benton County is centered around the Pinnacle Hills Promenade and Pleasant Crossing area in Rogers, although the downtowns of Rogers and Bentonville have a little bit of unique shopping.

[gunslinger256]

I had a friend who was a young asian male living in Bentonville and working for Walmart ISD. He hated it here (working and living) but stayed for 3 years to get his experience and move on. At the end of those 3 years he did meet a nice young lady who lived in Fayetteville and the 2 of them moved to the east coast to further their careers.

In anticipation of your next set of questions:

Tornadoes: yes we get them but they are rare. Most seem to skirt around us. Don't worry about it but do understand where you might go to sit out a storm when you check out places to live.

Politics: I consider myself a left leaning moderate, but for some reason people seem to always identify as liberal or conservative. Almost never in the middle. Arkansas used to be fairly democratic but it seems NWA has leaned right lately. Not a huge deal, you do hear conservatives speaking poorly about the government and our President. If the conservative bumper stickers offend you just look the other way when a car or pickup is sporting one and certainly don't go to the bumper sticker wall at the local gun store. They don't bother me. Everyone has a right to their opinion.

Asian food: not sure what type of asian you are, I'm of Cantonese descent and can't find good cantonese food. Closest thing to good food is the China Cafe on 412 in Springdale. If you like Vietnamese, Thai, or Indian I feel like NWA has a good supply of those cuisines. No Filipino restaurants as far as I know but I hear there's a food store in springdale called: Manna

places to live: obviously for young folks Fayetteville is the place to be, however the commute from Fayetteville to Bentonville and back is not so good, but you might get used to it over the years. Apartments within walking distance to Walmart are booked solid due to the Indian consultants who most likely don't have cars due to their immigration status, it's just easier to not hold property if they have to leave the country on short notice. You'll find that Bentonville is more family oriented and so most likely boring even for someone who is quiet and doesn't party.

Crime: it's generally quite safe, but as the population increases, crime will also rise. People still leave doors unlocked but make it a habit not to just to keep people honest.

Transportaion: get a car or motorcycle, seriously it opens you up to finding a decent place for less money. Yes there is some limited public transportation but I don't think it's realistic living and working in NWA unless you live and work within fayetteville.

Weather: see tornadoes, also we do have 4 seasons so don't throw out all your winter clothes like I did before moving here.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Rock Climber

Early 20s, but not into parties or smoking or drinking...if you still like live music and pretty girls, downtown Fayetteville will be your primary spot to find both.

Shopping in Benton County is centered around the Pinnacle Hills Promenade and Pleasant Crossing area in Rogers, although the downtowns of Rogers and Bentonville have a little bit of unique shopping.

I totally agree with you except for 1 thing: are you assuming the OP is a guy? You talk about music and pretty girls.

OP, you will find lots of good things and young liberals in much of NWA, but you will also, even among the younger crowd a lot of conservatives. I doubt this should be an issue at all: NWA is very diverse.

[JWG223]

OP, I'm the White version of you (assuming you are male), except in my late 20's. Noone here messes with me or my stuff, and everyone is polite. I just chose the cheapest place to live that I could find. This place has virtually no crime, compared to what I'm use to, and I'm not typically the kind of guy that invites people to mess with him. So far I have enjoyed my stay here greatly. I was told that a gay couple lived where I presently do, previously, and everyone around said good things about them, so unless you're a "special" kind of liberal, I highly doubt you will have any problem fitting in here, if they didn't.