Posted on 01/14/2016 3:26:52 AM PST by Johnny B.
I just accepted a job in Bentonville AR, for a company supporting Walmart. I'm moving "blind", as I've never been to that area.
I would welcome any useful comments or suggestions about moving to, and living in, the Bentonville area. In particular, any suggestions about good or bad neighborhoods as I start looking for a place to live.
I'd prefer to rent a house rather than an apartment, but I have a large dog (70lb husky mix), and I realize that may make it more difficult to find a place.
Thanks in advance!
Bella Vista is a pretty golf community - Used to be a dry county - pretty area and cost of living was cheap. Mountains and streams fairly warm winters and hot humid summers. Housing used to be really affordable.
There’s a great museum of American art founded by Sam Walton’s daughter in Bentonville.
My husband grew up in Eureka Springs, AR. It’s a lovely part of the country.
My inlaws lived in Bella Vista and it’s very nice but my kids got carsick every time we would visit. Those winding hills are hard on those who get motion sickness. My oldest son once got out of my MIL’s car after a trip to town and kissed the ground when they finally pulled in to their driveway.
Grew up in rural Arkansas near Hot Springs.
1. Learn how to call the Hogs.
2. Deer and squirrel season are sacrosanct. Back in the day, school used to close for opening of these seasons.
3. If you don’t already hate Texas, start. Of course, continue to make shopping pilgrimage’s to Dallas. That’s ok.
4. Learn how to use y’all, fix’en, dad-gum correctly.
5. Lastly, learn Arkansas dinner table prayer; “Dear Lord, we thank ya for Mississippi, otherwise we’d be number 50!”
I believe I read that Eureka Springs has moved sharply leftward in an otherwise conservative part of the state.
Work in one state and live in another? That generally presents a tax penalty. You might think about that.
Employees where I worked in the ‘80’s who lived in one state and worked in another were forced to buy car tags for both states.
As for a dog, I’m a landlord. If you provide me with a reference to the other landlord and he says you’re a good tenant I generally will take you with a $200 bump in damage.
Visited SIL in nearby Rogers 10 years back. Entire sections of town looked one step above Tijuana, seriously.
Lots of Mexicans, with a fair percentage of illegals among them. A surprising population of Marshall Islanders. Bentonville is the cleanest of the “big 4” (Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville). Rogers and Bentonville are getting pricey. Fayetteville is also somewhat pricey due to being a college town. The whole area is modernizing fairly quickly, new housing developments everywhere, roads being widened and improved.
Since you’re working in Bentonville, look for a place in Bella Vista, or out west of B’Ville in Places like Gentry or Cave Springs. You can also try the Northern end of Rogers which actually extends up next to B’ville. Those are probably going to be your best bet for finding a house to rent rather than an apartment. Expect to pay around $1000 a month to rent that house, if not more, depending on the size. On the other hand, you should be able to get a place with a good-sized yard, and still be only 20 min or so from your work.
The downside to this area is that if something you want isn’t available right in the area, you’re looking at 2+ hours drive to the nearest large metro area (Tulsa). Fresh seafood is (expectedly) difficult to find, for example.
Eureka Springs is to Arkansas what San Fran is to America.
I’ll be your sort-of neighbor in the Tulsa Metro area. We travel over to NW AR for occasional weekends and have had opportunity to observe the area as visitors. The comments above mine contain good info on the area. If you like to fish, you’re going to love the opportunities for bass and trout.
Try mo ....what company are you with?
“Protect your cornhole dude”
Don’t drink the water.......
And learn that the proper term is “mash the button”.
I moved somewhat blind from Detroit to Baltimore (suburbs. I’m not stupid)
I did the same thing, asked FReepers and friends.
I don’t have a dog but did have 4 kids living at home at the time so I needed to purchase a house.
You may want to consider trying to find a monthly lease until you get the lay of the land. I was here for several months before I decided where I wanted to live. (I moved 8 months before the family did)
I was blessed to get hooked in to a good church that was the first one I visited. Still there.
When my corporate housing allowance ran out, I asked around at church and ended up rooming with a guy who needed a boarder for a while. That turned out to be a great situation.
Good luck and congratulations on the new job.
This site may be of some use.
More on our trip to NW Arkansas.
We were taking our semi-annual trip back out west, CA-NV, to visit family and since Mrs. panax had never seen the Grand Canyon we decided to go the southern route. She also wanted to see her super-LIB sister & husband who had moved to Rogers.
Just south of Rogers a few miles the alternator went out on our truck. Pulled off the highway at the next exit and found the first motel. Luckily, we found a Chevy dealer that was open on a Sunday that could replace the part..$400.00!
The truck was fixed by late afternoon and we could have continued driving the 25 miles to our destination, but since we had already paid for the motel room and were tired from the day we opted to stay the night and get a meal and rest. Plus it would have been one less day that I had to spend around them.
The nearest place to eat was KFC and the ‘All You Can Eat’ buffet just opened. We only had to wait 30 minutes to get in. By then most of the ‘food’ was gone. We sat next to a couple of good ol’ boys in their early twenties that I would guess that their combined weight would have exceeded 700 lbs. Both wearing bib overalls with no shirts on underneath. One was wearing a pair of mis-matched boots. Neither had showered in months. Both were eating mashed potatoes with their hands. For every piece of chicken they ate they stuffed another into one of the many pockets in their overalls. Judging by the pile of chicken bones on the floor surrounding their booth we calculated that they must have consumed at least 3-4 full chickens each, not to mention a dozen ears of corn and 5 lbs. of them ‘smashed taters’.
I swear they would go back to the buffet and fill their hands with more chicken without even putting it on a plate. We stopped eating our food when we watched them sorting through the tray of chicken with their bare hands, picking out the big pieces. That was it for us. As we got up to leave a bare-butted half naked little 3-4 year old girl ran by to do the same thing. No doubt on orders from her 500 lb. mother to go get another load.
We couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Glancing back at the scene as we ran for the exit trying not to trip on chicken bones, corn cobs etc. we noticed that everyone in there was grossly fat and/or Mexican. We both showered again when we got back to our room.
Beautiful country around there, good fishing and am sure there are some nicer upscale areas with really good folks, but I am certain of one thing and that is that I will NEVER ever step foot in Arkansas again.
Hope you will be making a lot of money on your new job. Learn Spanish and don’t go to KFC on All You Can Eat night.
That was my experience as well. Bentonville is a shytehole.
I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.
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