NW- Cell Coverage, Cable internet and other odd ??s (Fayetteville: for sale, insurance)

[needing more]

Its me again..lol

Trying to find out some more info.. The area we need the info about would be for Pea Ridge, Garfield, ES, Huntsville.. Basically all around Beaver Lake area...


Like whats the best cell phone for the area?? I looked at sprint coverage map (Crappy in the area), T-Mobile was a little better but Verizons looked the best. I know being in the mtns it will be dead one place and full bars the next.. but whats the best out there?? Sometimes those coverage maps dont mean squat.

What companys have cable internet? We currently have comcast for our phone, TV and internet and really like it. Do you have comcast there? We DONT want dial-up so what else is there out there? Heard satalite wasnt good either.. Prices?

Hows your other utility bills? Right now our gas is about $20 in the summer (hot H2O only then) and about $160 in the winter for a 2250 sq ft home. Electric is about $130/month.. With our biggest electric coming from our fridge, stand alone freezer, 2 big TVs... hows any of that compare to down there??..

Just wanting to know if the bills are higher or lower then here..

What about insurance? Home and car? MIs home is pretty reasonable but car is higher with these special extras MI stick to the final price

What about taxes?? Heard its 9% sales?? Thats a lot higher then here How are the property taxes?? Here its about 3% of our SEV.

Am I missing anything??.. Hmm....

Thanks! I really appreciate all the input.

[DC at the Ridge]

Originally Posted by needing more

Its me again..lol

Trying to find out some more info.. The area we need the info about would be for Pea Ridge, Garfield, ES, Huntsville.. Basically all around Beaver Lake area...


Like whats the best cell phone for the area?? I looked at sprint coverage map (Crappy in the area), T-Mobile was a little better but Verizons looked the best. I know being in the mtns it will be dead one place and full bars the next.. but whats the best out there?? Sometimes those coverage maps dont mean squat.

What companys have cable internet? We currently have comcast for our phone, TV and internet and really like it. Do you have comcast there? We DONT want dial-up so what else is there out there? Heard satalite wasnt good either.. Prices?

Hows your other utility bills? Right now our gas is about $20 in the summer (hot H2O only then) and about $160 in the winter for a 2250 sq ft home. Electric is about $130/month.. With our biggest electric coming from our fridge, stand alone freezer, 2 big TVs... hows any of that compare to down there??..

Just wanting to know if the bills are higher or lower then here..

What about insurance? Home and car? MIs home is pretty reasonable but car is higher with these special extras MI stick to the final price

What about taxes?? Heard its 9% sales?? Thats a lot higher then here How are the property taxes?? Here its about 3% of our SEV.

Am I missing anything??.. Hmm....

Thanks! I really appreciate all the input.

Pea Ridge/Garfield, cell phone coverage pretty much has to be Alltel/Verizon or AT&T. Also, Centel for land lines. Cox is the cable company and also provides internet. They bundle TV/phone/internet. A lot of people in the area have satellite and love it for TV, but it's only been recently that the satellite companies have been advertising internet capability. Centel is also offering internet (not dial-up).

Utility bills--water runs fairly high. Pea Ridge & Garfield are rural, so there's no cap on the water prices. I wouldn't expect it to be less than $50/month. But if you're going to be living out in the country, there's a good possibility you'll have a well. Out in the country you might be all electric, too, or you might have propane rather than natural gas. My highest elec bill this year was for that little heatwave end of July first week of August, $104. If I averaged my payments they would be $54/month. If I averaged my gas bills they would be $43/month.

You have to pay property taxes on your vehicle, depends on it's value. I have an older SUV and it runs about $80 a year. Tags are $25 a year. Insurance varies widely depending on the vehicle, your driving record, how much you drive, etc. I pay about $500/year for liability only.

Property taxes on homes is very low. Sales tax is high. Generally 9.25% in the area. The state has been rolling back on sales tax on food purchased at grocery stores.

[Luvvarkansas]

Cell phone service....my mom has had both Alltel and AT&T, and the latter works better in the mountains of NW Arkansas.

[needing more]

Originally Posted by DC at the Ridge

Pea Ridge/Garfield, cell phone coverage pretty much has to be Alltel/Verizon or AT&T. Also, Centel for land lines. Cox is the cable company and also provides internet. They bundle TV/phone/internet. A lot of people in the area have satellite and love it for TV, but it's only been recently that the satellite companies have been advertising internet capability. Centel is also offering internet (not dial-up).

Utility bills--water runs fairly high. Pea Ridge & Garfield are rural, so there's no cap on the water prices. I wouldn't expect it to be less than $50/month. But if you're going to be living out in the country, there's a good possibility you'll have a well. Out in the country you might be all electric, too, or you might have propane rather than natural gas. My highest elec bill this year was for that little heatwave end of July first week of August, $104. If I averaged my payments they would be $54/month. If I averaged my gas bills they would be $43/month.

You have to pay property taxes on your vehicle, depends on it's value. I have an older SUV and it runs about $80 a year. Tags are $25 a year. Insurance varies widely depending on the vehicle, your driving record, how much you drive, etc. I pay about $500/year for liability only.

Property taxes on homes is very low. Sales tax is high. Generally 9.25% in the area. The state has been rolling back on sales tax on food purchased at grocery stores.

So you have to pay taxes on food? ... Is that every county? and on you car??...Whats the property taxes like? 9.25% seems very high for sales tax... do people drive to MO to get their larger purchases? Here in MI people drive to IN to get cheap gas and smokes..lol

[DC at the Ridge]

Sales tax varies from county to county and from city to city, even. I can't say that 100% of the food purchased in the state is taxed, though. There is an annual property tax on your car and other vehicles you have, such as boats or motorcycles. The property taxes also vary depending on where you live. People in Benton County do drive to Missouri or to Oklahoma, possibly for some of their larger purchases, but the sales tax difference would in most cases be offset by the expense and time of travel, so it's generally runs to the liquor stores or for lottery tickets that seem to generate much of the travel between states. Gas used to be cheaper in either Missouri or Oklahoma, but during the past year or so, that situation has changed in many cases. I think gas is still cheaper overall in Oklahoma, but at least in Northwest Arkansas the stations close to the border don't entail that much of a savings.

[COUNTRY_ANGEL_HORSE]

T Mobile is no bueno in Arkansas!! Esp the rural, tree bountiful, and hilly areas. You know the pretty places where you cant call anyone to tell them how pretty it is cause You have T-Mobile!!!

[needing more]

My phone died so I had to get a new phone yesterday... I went with Sprint. Hows the sprint coverage down there?? Right now we are looking at places around rural Fayetteville... like Greenland, Elkins, West Fork... mostly 10 minutes outside of town on the east or south side of downtown. We found a neat house off of Black Oak Rd SE of town... anyone know that area??...

Thanks for all the help on here.. Ya'll are just great!!

~Needing More

[DC at the Ridge]

Originally Posted by needing more

My phone died so I had to get a new phone yesterday... I went with Sprint. Hows the sprint coverage down there?? Right now we are looking at places around rural Fayetteville... like Greenland, Elkins, West Fork... mostly 10 minutes outside of town on the east or south side of downtown. We found a neat house off of Black Oak Rd SE of town... anyone know that area??...

Thanks for all the help on here.. Ya'll are just great!!

~Needing More

Sprint? What sprint?

[needing more]

Originally Posted by DC at the Ridge

Sprint? What sprint?

... Sprint? The cell phone company... Dont you know of them?? The bought out Nextel several yrs back. My sister has Sprint and her phone worked alright when we were around Pea Ridge.. Just wondering how it works to the south.....

[OurGreatEscape]

Your sprint phone will probably work fine but I believe it will be using Alltel/Verizon or AT&T cell towers (isn't that how it works in "Roaming" mode).

Regarding, taxes, etc. Sales tax in Washington Co. is 9.5%; And yes, food is taxed. The hotel, motel, restaurant tax is even higher. To eat out at a restaurant is taxed at 12% I think.

If you are inside Fayetteville's city limits, your water bill will include your trash pickup. The bill has a fixed minimum (around $30); your actual water usage cost will probably be around $40. Your "guestimates" on other utilities are pretty good. If you have natural gas, be prepared for an increase as the company will be asking permission to raise rates (brain-freeze--I think it was the gas company that wants to raise rates, maybe it was the electric com).

The Black Oak Rd property will put you in the country while being close to town. I'm not positive if that is Elkins school district or Fayetteville (you can check here: Fayetteville Public Schools :: Schools & Staff - School Locator )

Double check if this property is inside the city limits. My concern would be fire protection. If located outside the city, your home insurance might be higher.