NWA Can't Come Soon Enough! (Benton, Bella Vista: lease, home, purchasing)

[duke944]

Originally Posted by sub

While the Ozarks aren't the absolute most tornado-prone area, that's among the most dangerous type of weather event to be mindful of, I suppose. Flooding is more common though. Ice storms at least every few years.
Arkansas is no weather heaven but could be worse.
Just because someone mentions the word "tornado" doesn't mean they're Chicken Little, looking up at the sky all the time.

I wouldn't buy a house in Bella Vista that wasn't on relatively high ground, you are right flooding can be a problem. The spring we moved here 2017 the rains were so severe a couple golf courses and other areas were totally flooded out, and many homes were water damaged in nwa. And while the summers aren't nearly as bad as say Phoenix or Houston, they are pretty hot and humid compared to central Illinois. I think it's a great trade off though, as I despise extreme cold much more than extreme heat.

[Bellacatahoula]

As someone stated earlier, there's no perfect place. Everywhere has its pros and cons. But you just need to figure out which pros are imperative and which cons you can deal with. After waking up to -23 at 6:00 am and no power, I'm willing to deal with any cons NWA has.
Oh power fortunately was back on by 6:30! Phewwwww

[DougStark]

Originally Posted by Bellacatahoula

We just finished our lunch and I'm savoring the last sip of my wine while staring out at the 2 - 3 ft snowdrift in front of the garage.
But it's ok, it's part of the deal living here. And so is the cold! But what I can tell you is that being cold or not cold is .......relative to YOU! If you are cold... it's cold. And vice versa for the heat. The humidity here makes the cold so much colder.
Here is why we are hurrying to get to NWA/BV
Here Tuesday, low -24F
BV low 13F
Here Wednesday, hi -13F
lo -26F
BV. hi 30F
lo 22F
Here Thursday. hi 2F
lo 1F
BV. hi 47
lo 38F

So my data says I am cold and you folks are not! Lol
And to further add to our pain, while pecking this out, the Nat. Weather Service has just stated that tomorrow, Illinois very well may be the coldest place on Earth!
This is just one of the reasons that we are looking forward to relocating to NWA!

Just curious, since avoiding cold weather is one of your main goals, why wouldn't you consider areas that are even warmer than NWA is? I'm in Phoenix, for example. 70s all this week, lows in the 40s. The summer is brutal, but there are trade-offs everywhere.

Another suggestion is the Carolinas. Generally milder than NWA- summer and winter.

Just a thought...

[Lizap]

Originally Posted by DougStark

Just curious, since avoiding cold weather is one of your main goals, why wouldn't you consider areas that are even warmer than NWA is? I'm in Phoenix, for example. 70s all this week, lows in the 40s. The summer is brutal, but there are trade-offs everywhere.

Another suggestion is the Carolinas. Generally milder than NWA- summer and winter.

Just a thought...

This is a good suggestion...

[duke944]

NWA is hard to beat when you look at all factors - climate, economy, crime rate, housing costs and col, things to do outdoors and beauty of the region. Personally a city like Phoenix would be ruled out by the summers. While it does get pretty humid I've yet to see a 100 degree high in the 2 summers here. I can easily see why the op would choose this region, probably for the same reasons I did.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Lizap

This is a good suggestion...

My guess; they do want a change of seasons for starters. They probably have family in the mid west or south and they prefer to have cooler summer temps, as well as the col between the two areas. Duke is right. This doesn't mean there is anything wrong with AZ or other states, but NWA is very special to many who live here and many who are considering living here.

[Bellacatahoula]

[quote=Lizap;54296783]This is a good suggestion...[/QUOTE

Yes it is a good suggestion!
But a warmer climate isn't the end-all be-all for us. The people, climate, cost of living, health care, tax burden, change of seasons, and being in or close to nature, all were important to us in deciding.

[Lizap]

[quote=Bellacatahoula;54297075]

Originally Posted by Lizap

This is a good suggestion...[/QUOTE

Yes it is a good suggestion!
But a warmer climate isn't the end-all be-all for us. The people, climate, cost of living, health care, tax burden, change of seasons, and being in or close to nature, all were important to us in deciding.

We really need to visit this area again. I've heard very good things about it in recent years. For the last 10+ years, we have travelled extensively over most of the U.S. looking for the ideal retirement locale. What we discovered is that every place has unique advantages and disadvantages. The items you listed were all things we considered. Places that were high on our list included Sedona, AZ, Boulder, CO, Naples, FL, Sante Fe, NM, Greenville, SC, Charlottesville, VA, and Hendersonville/Flat Rock, NC. We loved Coeur de Alene, ID, but too cold/snowy in the winter. The allure of the mountains of western NC won out in the end..

[Bellacatahoula]

[quote=Lizap;54301132]

Originally Posted by Bellacatahoula

We really need to visit this area again. I've heard very good things about it in recent years. For the last 10+ years, we have travelled extensively over most of the U.S. looking for the ideal retirement locale. What we discovered is that every place has unique advantages and disadvantages. The items you listed were all things we considered. Places that were high on our list included Sedona, AZ, Boulder, CO, Naples, FL, Sante Fe, NM, Greenville, SC, Charlottesville, VA, and Hendersonville/Flat Rock, NC. We loved Coeur de Alene, ID, but too cold/snowy in the winter. The allure of the mountains of western NC won out in the end..

Lizap, I appreciate your input but this thread was started because we can't wait to move to NWA for ALL of the reasons I stated. Cost of living is certainly one of them. So I did a data check on the towns you are/were looking at, because you stated that my criteria was what you were looking at as well.
Here's what I found for Cost of Living based on Nat. avg. in the towns you listed....
Sedona, AZ 146.5%
Boulder,CO. 186.9%
Naples,FL. 121.6%
Santa Fe,NM. 121.4%
Greenville,SC. 95.3%
Charlottesville,VA 118.9%
Hendersonville NC 106.9%
Coer de' Alene, ID 112%

Benton Co/NWA 95.3%

We clearly made the correct choice for US!

[nmnita]

[quote=Bellacatahoula;54307662]

Originally Posted by Lizap

Lizap, I appreciate your input but this thread was started because we can't wait to move to NWA for ALL of the reasons I stated. Cost of living is certainly one of them. So I did a data check on the towns you are/were looking at, because you stated that my criteria was what you were looking at as well.
Here's what I found for Cost of Living based on Nat. avg. in the towns you listed....
Sedona, AZ 146.5%
Boulder,CO. 186.9%
Naples,FL. 121.6%
Santa Fe,NM. 121.4%
Greenville,SC. 95.3%
Charlottesville,VA 118.9%
Hendersonville NC 106.9%
Coer de' Alene, ID 112%

Benton Co/NWA 95.3%

We clearly made the correct choice for US!

I also could add, but this isn't what everyone wants: people are basically friendlier here than most places, not all If you consider yourself conservative or to the right you will find common ground, but that is not to say everyone is to the right, both sides have a place. My favorite description of NWA, it is the perfect blend of urban and rural. I think the only downside and it wasn't a big deal for us is: when people find you are new here, one of their first questions is: do you have a church family yet? We had the perfect answer: yes, we have and others will say, we are not church goers. No one looks down on those who do not put religion at the top of their list. We certainly would not be considered by most as deep Bible belt.