[sandramast]

We are looking for a retirement town possibly in Arkansas in the next few years. I am a painter, clay and fiber artist and need a community/clubs where I can find like minded people. We currently live in an ungated over 55 community in Arizona that has a recreation center with a wide variety of fitness options, two pools, clay club, jewelers studio, woodshop, quilters, theater group, sports, and social events. Is there anywhere in Arkansas with similar amenities? Also, we want to be near or on a creek, river or lake.

[nmnita]

Bella Vista has all of what you are looking for. Yes, we have an art center, art club, about any type of club you could think of to fit almost everyone's interest. We have pools, lakes, rec centers, Low cost of living and plenty to do. It is not a retirement community I will add, though there are many seniors who live here. Hope this helps you some. I will also add, one of the things we love about living here is: we are a great combination of rural and urban. BTW, Bella Vista is in the NW corner of AR. You might want to post your question in the NWA section as well as the AR section. You will probably get more response. Come visit, we are a very friendly community.

[btoverdrive]

Try us out a little further south. We are gated and surrounded by lakes, creeks, golf courses and very friendly people from everywhere. We also have art clubs along with approximately 150 clubs of other interests.

Come visit!!

Hot Springs Village |

[nmnita]

I think you would love to visit both Bella Vista and Hot Springs Village. BV is not a gated community while HSV is. They are similar as they were developed by the same company. I think BV is a little larger but I am not sure. For us, we liked them both but decided on BV because it was a little closer to things like good medical facilities and good shopping. As I mentioned both are great communities.

[thewizard16]

From an amenities standpoint Bella Vista is probably a good fit, but Bentonville and Fayetteville may also interest you due to the arts/culture atmosphere in those cities. Eureka Springs is a very artistic community but it is much smaller depending on the size of the area you are looking for. Mountain Home is a beautiful retirement area with a lot of waterfront properties but it is not quite as artistically focused (there is a small arts scene there, it's just a smaller city) as the others.

[sandramast]

Thank you all for your suggestions. We have been looking strongly at NWA, Hot Springs, Bella Vista and Rogers. BV posts indicate some issues with compounding "fees" that seem to sprout up and the town management. Hot Springs posts mentioned some problems with town management/law enforcement. Eureka Springs looks like a great little town too, reminds me of Oregon City, Or. I am a Navy Vet (Vietnam Era) so being close to VA Medical may be important if the funds get tight in years ahead. One hour isn't too much of a drive to a VA Medical center and I saw that unlike Arizona there are numerous VA medical centers in the area. Holiday Island looks lovely but makes me nervous if there were any natural disaster (or unnatural) that would isolate it from the mainland. Any thoughts on that?

Fayetteville and Bentonville are on our radar, just haven't explored them yet online. Thanks for reaffirming these two choices.

I ran across the town of Mountain View with the Arkansas Craft School, any opinions there? Although their fees are beyond my budget I thought maybe the community in general would have independent artisans.



DH is in the Aerospace machining/high tech (GM), and may want a part time position. Hot Springs has many precision machining options but I don't know about the other areas. This is not a deal breaker, just a nice bonus possibility.



Although a windfall may befall us we are budgeting for worse case scenario which means SocSec income only. We need to keep the housing cost at $150k or below. But like many, we appreciate a nicely maintained modern home but don't mind a little fixing uppering.



Also, we both grew up with earthquakes and are nervous about tornados. Would higher elevations and mountains help to mitigate the tornado risks?



We are very excited to come visit NWA and anticipate that our gut will tell us what feels right. Wisely, we will rent for awhile to ensure our final decision is well informed.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by sandramast

Thank you all for your suggestions. We have been looking strongly at NWA, Hot Springs, Bella Vista and Rogers. BV posts indicate some issues with compounding "fees" that seem to sprout up and the town management. Hot Springs posts mentioned some problems with town management/law enforcement. Eureka Springs looks like a great little town too, reminds me of Oregon City, Or. I am a Navy Vet (Vietnam Era) so being close to VA Medical may be important if the funds get tight in years ahead. One hour isn't too much of a drive to a VA Medical center and I saw that unlike Arizona there are numerous VA medical centers in the area. Holiday Island looks lovely but makes me nervous if there were any natural disaster (or unnatural) that would isolate it from the mainland. Any thoughts on that?

Fayetteville and Bentonville are on our radar, just haven't explored them yet online. Thanks for reaffirming these two choices.

I ran across the town of Mountain View with the Arkansas Craft School, any opinions there? Although their fees are beyond my budget I thought maybe the community in general would have independent artisans.



DH is in the Aerospace machining/high tech (GM), and may want a part time position. Hot Springs has many precision machining options but I don't know about the other areas. This is not a deal breaker, just a nice bonus possibility.



Although a windfall may befall us we are budgeting for worse case scenario which means SocSec income only. We need to keep the housing cost at $150k or below. But like many, we appreciate a nicely maintained modern home but don't mind a little fixing uppering.



Also, we both grew up with earthquakes and are nervous about tornados. Would higher elevations and mountains help to mitigate the tornado risks?



We are very excited to come visit NWA and anticipate that our gut will tell us what feels right. Wisely, we will rent for awhile to ensure our final decision is well informed.

Ok, do let me try and feed some information to you: 1-as for fees in BV, our POA dues are much lower than most communities. They are $24 a month which is really low. They probably need to be raised but the last time there was a vote it was defeated by 6 votes is all. Right now there is no plans to try again in the near future:

You mention Mountain View; very nice from what I have heard but have only been through ther once. It is a bit isolated.

VA hospital is about an hour or a little less from BV. depending where you live in BV.It could be as close as 40 minutes.

You mention tornados; there are really very few of significance that hit here. We have lived her 11 years and only had the Joplin do any real damage. This is true with much of NWA though the further south you go the bigger chances of damage. Yes, the mountains certainly do help.

Housing at $150,00 depending on what size place you are looking for and how much work you are willing to do might be a little challenge. I know what you mean by living on SS. We do pretty much as well, with a few extra $$s for a few other sources. Yes, working part time might be your best bet even if it is only about 10 to 20 hours a week.

You mention the Mountain view craft school. We have nothing like that here but we do have a lot of awesome craft fairs. One of the best is in BV. There are others as well.

Hope this helps you some to be prepared for your visit whenever it is. And NO,I do not work for the Chamber of Commerce. I am just pretty passionate about the positives about living here.

I have lived all over the country from CA to florida and feel lucky we found BV for our autumn years.

[sandramast]

Thank you NMNITA,

Your detailed information is reassuring about BV. I was very excited about this town until I read some cautioning posts and will take them with a grain of salt after hearing from you. Thanks again!

[thewizard16]

Originally Posted by sandramast

Thank you all for your suggestions. We have been looking strongly at NWA, Hot Springs, Bella Vista and Rogers. BV posts indicate some issues with compounding "fees" that seem to sprout up and the town management. Hot Springs posts mentioned some problems with town management/law enforcement. Eureka Springs looks like a great little town too, reminds me of Oregon City, Or. I am a Navy Vet (Vietnam Era) so being close to VA Medical may be important if the funds get tight in years ahead. One hour isn't too much of a drive to a VA Medical center and I saw that unlike Arizona there are numerous VA medical centers in the area. Holiday Island looks lovely but makes me nervous if there were any natural disaster (or unnatural) that would isolate it from the mainland. Any thoughts on that?

Fayetteville and Bentonville are on our radar, just haven't explored them yet online. Thanks for reaffirming these two choices.

I ran across the town of Mountain View with the Arkansas Craft School, any opinions there? Although their fees are beyond my budget I thought maybe the community in general would have independent artisans.



DH is in the Aerospace machining/high tech (GM), and may want a part time position. Hot Springs has many precision machining options but I don't know about the other areas. This is not a deal breaker, just a nice bonus possibility.



Although a windfall may befall us we are budgeting for worse case scenario which means SocSec income only. We need to keep the housing cost at $150k or below. But like many, we appreciate a nicely maintained modern home but don't mind a little fixing uppering.



Also, we both grew up with earthquakes and are nervous about tornados. Would higher elevations and mountains help to mitigate the tornado risks?



We are very excited to come visit NWA and anticipate that our gut will tell us what feels right. Wisely, we will rent for awhile to ensure our final decision is well informed.

My grandparents lived near Mountain View until they passed. It's a very different culture than Eureka Springs but is artsy in it's own way (more crafts, folk music, etc. sorts of things there). It's pretty small and a little more isolated than anywhere in NWA or Mountain Home, etc. Medically speaking there may be a VA clinic in Mountain View but I'm not sure, the closest may be Mountain Home. The VA hospitals are in Little Rock (huge VA) and Fayetteville. Cost of living would not be a problem in Mountain View, Mountain Home, Eureka Springs, etc. Some areas of NWA will be a bit more expensive to buy a home but day to day costs are still very reasonable.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by sandramast

Thank you NMNITA,

Your detailed information is reassuring about BV. I was very excited about this town until I read some cautioning posts and will take them with a grain of salt after hearing from you. Thanks again!

Some the negatives have to do with the Stump dump which is causing a lot of problems on the east side of town. It is reason for some to be concerned. We are all upset and it and everyone wants to dump the blame on someone else. My opinion is: at this stage rather than argue over who is at fault. lets get the problem solved. it is too late for blame.