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Hi everyone we are a family from Long Island, NY considering relocating to NWA. We will have two tweens and one in college that will be coming with us. This summer we are making a trip out to stay for a week and get an idea of the towns and communities. We can come anytime during July and August and we’re wondering if there are any weeks we should choose over others. We would like to be there for a festival or event if possible, so please feel free to share your favorites. We have family in both Dallas and Colorado Springs. NWA is a great mid location for us while offering the outdoor recreation and change of seasons we are looking for. Schools and colleges are important to us as well. Although my husband will be retiring from teaching HS here in NY, he may look into teaching in NWA if positions are available. We are excited to be visiting and possibly relocating to NWA. This is just the first of many trips we will make before we relocate, as it is a big decision and we want to make sure we find a neighborhood that we feel at home in. Thank you for any insight on what we should absolutely see/do in the week or so we are there this summer.
Was it by design that you picked the hottest time of the year to visit? You might check out AMP's schedule to see if there are any performers you'd like to see. In August, there's the Tontitown Grape Festival. Tontitown was settled by Italian immigrants who planted orchards and vineyards more than a century ago.
DC at the Ridge - As a high school teacher here on Long Island, my husband works from late August until the last week in June. Summers are always when we travel due to his schedule. Thank you for the information on the Tontitown grape festival. We will definitely look into it as my husband is a first generation Italian.
I go along with DC on this one. Yes, the grape festival is fun and if you have time be sure and visit Eureka Sprigs. I don't know of any festivals at the time as mostly we have our really fun ones in mid fall. Regardless you will want to see Eureka Springs.
Heat will be a challenge but it is easy to understand why you are coming during the summer. Of course you will not want to miss walking around one of our great farmers markets that have not only great produce and crafts but small town entertainment. I would suggest either Fayeteville or Bentonville as both markets on on the squares and both squares are fun to visit.
Your husband being a teacher I don't think anyone needs to advise you on picking a location with good schools. Most of the schools in NWA are rated high to very high. Again, Fayetteville and Bentonville tops the lists but some to the small towns are good and some, like the east side on BV are connected with other shool districts. Centerton is part of the Bentonville school district, rated high and very much family oriented. Our grand daughter lives on the east side of Bella Vista. They are also in the Bentonville school district.
good luck, as for your visit, I know NY can be prety hot as well with high humidity so this won't be too much of shock to you and it is a heck of a lot cooler than say, Dallas. .h a
Nmnita Yes Long Island is hot and humid in the summer so we know what we are in for. Last summer we spent July in Colorado Springs and it was a very hot but dry heat. As for as relocating we are thinking Rogers, Bentonville or Centerton. I love the small town and beauty of Siloam Springs but we feel like it may be too far out for our daughter who will be in college and commuting from home. If my husband lands a teaching position in NWA we will be factoring that in to where we move as well. We hope to possibly meet with a builder and get an idea on the up and coming communities with sidewalks and amenities such as a walking trail and community pool. Although we are moving from NY both my husband and myself have lived in other states throughout our lives (California, Florida and CT). We hope to assimilate with ease, as we have heard there are many transplants from all over relocating there. We look forward to the next chapter of our lives in NWA. Fayetteville and UARK will be on our list to visit while we are in NWA. Eureka Springs and the farmers markets have been added to the list too! Our kids loved the farmers markets in Old Colorado City last summer so it will be nice for them to experience them again this summer in Arkansas. Thank you for your recommendations!
Nmnita Yes Long Island is hot and humid in the summer so we know what we are in for. Last summer we spent July in Colorado Springs and it was a very hot but dry heat. As for as relocating we are thinking Rogers, Bentonville or Centerton. I love the small town and beauty of Siloam Springs but we feel like it may be too far out for our daughter who will be in college and commuting from home. If my husband lands a teaching position in NWA we will be factoring that in to where we move as well. We hope to possibly meet with a builder and get an idea on the up and coming communities with sidewalks and amenities such as a walking trail and community pool. Although we are moving from NY both my husband and myself have lived in other states throughout our lives (California, Florida and CT). We hope to assimilate with ease, as we have heard there are many transplants from all over relocating there. We look forward to the next chapter of our lives in NWA. Fayetteville and UARK will be on our list to visit while we are in NWA. Eureka Springs and the farmers markets have been added to the list too! Our kids loved the farmers markets in Old Colorado City last summer so it will be nice for them to experience them again this summer in Arkansas. Thank you for your recommendations!
Keep us posted and feel free to ask as many questions as you can think of. We are here to answer them and give honest opinions, not always the right answers but we try..
BTW I am originally from CA. I lived there for about 40 years with the exception of a few years, as a child in Fl and my freshman year in college, I went to U of Co.
Hi! We are also from CA and looking to retire somewhere more affordable and less crowded. As a CA transplant, how did you cope with the weather? specifically humidity/heat? Also, we love to grow a garden and different plants/trees. . . does everything die in the winter? Like 70sstyle, we are planning to make a few trips to Fayetteville and surrounding areas but would like some direction on where to look. . .would love to be near a lake or pond, a park for walking/biking, maybe something on the outskirts of town for peace and quiet and maybe more affordable? We love farmers markets and good places to eat, so don't want to be toooo far out of town. . . .any help is appreciated! or if you know a good realtor we can contact, please do!
Hi! We are also from CA and looking to retire somewhere more affordable and less crowded. As a CA transplant, how did you cope with the weather? specifically humidity/heat? Also, we love to grow a garden and different plants/trees. . . does everything die in the winter? Like 70sstyle, we are planning to make a few trips to Fayetteville and surrounding areas but would like some direction on where to look. . .would love to be near a lake or pond, a park for walking/biking, maybe something on the outskirts of town for peace and quiet and maybe more affordable? We love farmers markets and good places to eat, so don't want to be toooo far out of town. . . .any help is appreciated! or if you know a good realtor we can contact, please do!
Well it sounds like you are looking in the right place. As for the summers, coming from CA, depending on where, the humidity will bother you somewhat the first few years but nothing like the east coast, or the deeper south. The positive side, our summers are not as long as other parts of the south. In fact we are more a mixture of mid west and south.
Be sure you keep your eyes open and spend enough time here to enjoy all of NWA. We took about 5 days the first visit before deciding on Bella Vista. We returned and bought our home a year later.
You will find almost every type of ethnic dining you could want in the area, as it is such a mixture of rural and urban. In fact that is one of the things we love about living here. WE are never far from wide open fields, forests, wild life and yet we still have all the city amenities we love. You will find farmers markets in every town around here: some are awesome, right on the squares, like the Fayetteville farmers market and the Bentonville farmers market. In other towns you will find smaller ones, but regardless there are plenty. Many of us have found certain vendors we visit every week from the opening of the season til the end. Yes, most o the produce does die out in the winter, but the growing season is long enough for many of us to grow our produce and enjoy eating lots of stuff from our own gardens, large or small.
You ask about being near lakes, a pond, etc and walking trails. There are plenty of choices here. Now, to the best part: people here are just plain nice. There is no other way to put it. PM me and I will give you some names of realtors and realtor companies in the area that have good reputations.
I will add one more thing and this may not be an issue for you or a concern. Not that the region doesn't hae a good mixture of political views: Fayetteville is much more liberal than other parts of Benton and Washington county while other communities are more conservative
Keep us posted and feel free to ask as many questions as you can think of. We are here to answer them and give honest opinions, not always the right answers but we try..
BTW I am originally from CA. I lived there for about 40 years with the exception of a few years, as a child in Fl and my freshman year in college, I went to U of Co.
I'm going to recommend that your daughter stay at University of Arkansas campus if she goes to that school. I don't think the community college has a dorm. My children commuted 35 miles to Fayetteville for their charter high school. That kind of commute on the LIE would take well over an hour but was totally doable for 15/16 year olds to drive themselves.
Well it sounds like you are looking in the right place. As for the summers, coming from CA, depending on where, the humidity will bother you somewhat the first few years but nothing like the east coast, or the deeper south. The positive side, our summers are not as long as other parts of the south. In fact we are more a mixture of mid west and south.
Be sure you keep your eyes open and spend enough time here to enjoy all of NWA. We took about 5 days the first visit before deciding on Bella Vista. We returned and bought our home a year later.
You will find almost every type of ethnic dining you could want in the area, as it is such a mixture of rural and urban. In fact that is one of the things we love about living here. WE are never far from wide open fields, forests, wild life and yet we still have all the city amenities we love. You will find farmers markets in every town around here: some are awesome, right on the squares, like the Fayetteville farmers market and the Bentonville farmers market. In other towns you will find smaller ones, but regardless there are plenty. Many of us have found certain vendors we visit every week from the opening of the season til the end. Yes, most o the produce does die out in the winter, but the growing season is long enough for many of us to grow our produce and enjoy eating lots of stuff from our own gardens, large or small.
You ask about being near lakes, a pond, etc and walking trails. There are plenty of choices here. Now, to the best part: people here are just plain nice. There is no other way to put it. PM me and I will give you some names of realtors and realtor companies in the area that have good reputations.
I will add one more thing and this may not be an issue for you or a concern. Not that the region doesn't hae a good mixture of political views: Fayetteville is much more liberal than other parts of Benton and Washington county while other communities are more conservative
HI! sorry I have been out of commission last 2 weeks! Thanks for the info. . . I am hoping to visit soon, before it gets too hot. . .is Little Rock the closest major airport? and yes, I figured Fayetteville to be more liberal with the college being there. . . we are trying to balance so many diff needs & wants. . .we had been looking in Idaho (still a possibility) but I don't really like the cold! Anyway, thanks again for all the input. . . BTW, how do I PM you? I looked around for an icon but didn't see one
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