I mentioned in the DIY or PAY thread that we are relocating for work. We’re moving to Northwest Arkansas. Does anyone here live there? What do I have to look forward to? What should I be concerned about?
The Ozarks are beautiful. The toothless rednecks are scary. I haven’t been there in many many many years tho, so not sure if things have changed.
You’ll be close to some great canoeing rivers and a fine art museum.
ETA: And my mother-in-law, but no place is perfect*. 
*Actually, she’s a doll.
What is you work location going to be? Live close.
Have kids? Ages? School need or preferences?
What do you like to do when not working?
We = SO and/or kids/critters?
Sports you like to watch live or actually play?
Do you need to do business entertaining where location is important?
IMO:
As close to no commute as possible X 42
During rush hours, I-49 is not quick, safe or calming?
Schools if required.
Lots to do, climate is mild.
If you think of driving on ice, may God be with you. Don’t get much but better an understanding boss or walk to work. See #1
Less crime than bigger cities
More gun acceptance
Red necks in NYC also but put your nose in the air and you will not fair well.
Friendly except for a few racial enclaves unless you fit in one. Not a problem unless your work place is old time and now right in the middle of a less desirable location. Pretty much anyplace has the same problems.
Police are not too bad.
Lots of motorcycles due to the great scenery and fun roads.
Lots of churches of every kind, prolly got your flavor if you have a flavor. Keep in mind for living location if it is important to you.
The area actually runs from the Missouri border to just a bit north of I-40
You don’t want to work on one end and live at the other.
I like it and I’m a born & bred Texan with a lot of Okie living in between.
Love Eureka Springs as a vacation spot. Nice lakes nearby, too.
BTW, a giant Jesus lives near there.
It’s a Beautiful area of my state. Especially the fall foliage.
I’d try to buy a home out of town. You can get a nice home with an acre lot for a 100 to 125k. Traffic is usually light (compared to big urban areas). Commuting 15 miles to work won’t take more than 20 mins.
Lots of great places to go boating, water skiing and fishing. Outdoor living is part of my state’s culture. The long Spring and Fall seasons are ideal to be outside.
People are friendly. You’ll get greeted with a warm smile and hello often.
Btw, make sure the lawn tractor is included with the home you buy.
Any house with a big lot will have one to mow the grass. My dad had a lawn Vac trailer to pick up the leaves.
Deer graze in their yard late at night. I setup a night camera and got footage of them.
Here’s an example. 2400 sq ft 4 bedroom home. Half acre lot outside Rogers AR. 189k
The house prices here are so affordable. That example is very high end.
Here’s a smaller 1200 sq ft home on 5 acres for 110k.
Privacy and the peace & quiet is what I love most about living here.
Petit Jean State Park is quite nice.
Brian
Christ of the Ozarks.
I recall music blaring out on loud speakers and guys walking around in sunglasses and Bermuda shorts.
You can watch Royals prospects at the AA level play baseball as members of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.
Wow. Thanks for all the feedback. 
I’m sure we will be able to adjust to the area very quickly.
Arkansas is beautiful. One of America’s secret treasures.
Shh! That’s our little secret. Just for us natives.
I’ve had calls from Head Hunters offering very lucrative positions in other states and overseas contract jobs. I’ll never leave Arkansas.
How’s this for a view? 
I started hiking in college and never stopped. The Ouachita National Recreation Trail is 223 miles long. 177 miles in Arkansas and 46 miles in Oklahoma. I’ve hiked nearly all of it. In various trips throughout my adult life. Hiking segments of it in 5 or 6 day trips.
http://5ojo.com/files/2012/09/Ozarks-Fall-In-Arkansas135164430pc.jpg
I don’t blame you. It is a beautiful area and the cost of living is low. A whole branch of my family including my father and brother’s family migrated their by choice just because they like it so much. I am a co-owner of a farm near Devil’s Den state park. I have been on vacation twice there in the general area with my kids in the last year alone.
People always ask me, “Arkansas?, Why in the world would you want to go there?” There is a lot to do for one thing. Nature is obvious but we also went to a rescue shelter for exotic pets like lions, tigers and Grizzlies. I like zoos but that was way more intimate than that and you really got to see the animals up close.
There are also plenty of caves that you can crawl around in on your own. Eureka Springs, AR is one of my favorite towns in the U.S. It is beyond bizarre especially if you talk to the residents but it is gorgeous and a great place to spend a day.
Disney World can also bite my ass because Silver Dollar City in nearby Branson, MO beats it any day in my opinion. We went on a gorgeous spring day on a Thursday morning in April when there were almost no lines. It is also meant to be kid friendly but they have some impressive roller coasters and everything else as well. I found out my nine year old daughter was a thrill ride aficionado. Not only did they let her on every big ride, we also didn’t have to wait unlike even weekend carnivals in New England. The most mind-blowing thing is that most things inside the park cost normal dollars and not amusement park funny money. You can also just watch people demonstrate 1880’s frontier skills if you don’t want to ride anything.
If you think the ultra-rich people all live in places like New York and Los Angeles, think again. NW Arkansas is home to the richest family in the world, the Waltons, among several other extremely wealthy people and they keep things well funded. The Walton Art museum is one of the best the U.S. and it is free. I took my art loving older daughter too it and she loved it but she assumed that everything in it was reproductions. It blew her mind when I told her all of those famous paintings that she just walked right up to ARE the originals. The museum has an exchange program with the Louvre.
However, there are some true hillbillies in the area but they mainly live on the fringes well outside of Fayetteville, Springdale and Bentonville. I have run into them a few times and it is a sight to behold. The nearest store to our farm barely has any lighting, electricity or cash registers. Besides the beer, almost everything is just odd things stacked around on the floor or wherever you can find it. You just ask for what you need or find it yourself and they do the best they can at adding it by up hand. It doubt they ever get it right but you get the impression that, as long as they hit the ballpark, it is best not to argue with them and it is all cheap anyway. Then you pay - straight cash only.
He looks… peculiar.
And sounds like some sort of catchphrase exclamation from a movie or TV character “Christ of the Ozarks, that hurst!”
Don’t think that NW Arkansas is Hicksville. With about 400,000 citizens, it’s larger than Little Rock. So much of the growth has come from Walmart requiring companies they’re doing business with to setup their own offices there. Tyson Foods is the other giant company in the area.
I used to travel there on business every 8 weeks or so. Move there and you won’t want to live elsewhere. Things move a little slower there. But with The University, they have culture and SEC athletics. The lakes to the north and northeast are some of the premier fishing lakes in the U.S., too. The people are nicer than you’ll find elsewhere.
My mother was from Ozark, the seat of Franklin County, and my family lived in Fort Smith for about four years, from when I was two years old to a month before my sixth birthday, when we made the move to Texas. Northwest Arkansas is a gorgeous area. I’ve often thought we should have stayed put there. Even after we moved to Texas, we were frequently back for a visit to my grandparents until the last one died in 1995.
Fort Smith has an interesting historical district.
We’ll be in the Springdale-Rogers area.
My son is excited about the baseball team. My daughter is excited about the art museum.
This is looking better and better.
To a point, anyway.
My brother and I are native Arkansans (though I’ve since moved away), and he still lives in the Fayetteville area and wouldn’t dream of moving. Even has season tickets for the Razorbacks. Absolutely beautiful country. Great hiking, hunting, fishing, and all the outdoor stuff.
We’re also Asian. That’s ok in the city itself, but once you get out into the country a bit, you do get some stares and the occasional hick trying to rile you up or make trouble. But mostly, it’s the passive-aggressive stuff. There’s rarely any trouble, but if you’re not white and do venture out of the cities (and sometimes even in those), you will almost certainly start stockpiling a collection of anecdotes and stories you’d think came out of the 1950s.