STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

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Originally posted by: june
1.  Good neighborhoods to look for a house.  We prefer an older house in an established neighborhood...one that we could fix up would be fine.  We saw a lot of very new developments...that's not really our taste.

There are a lot of new developments, but there are still plenty of places to look for older homes.  I'll have to get back to you on specific neighborhoods, I live in the Bentonville/Bella Vista area so am not as familiar with Fayetteville neighborhoods, but I have friends that are very familiar with them.

2.  How bad are the winters?  My husband grew up in cold weather and swore he'd never return to it.  Are the winters bearable?

Winter, what freakin winter.  Sorry, I'm a little bitter, it has been in the 60's all week and I'd actually enjoy a little cold and snow  Overall the winters are mild and kind of sporatic, meaning 50's one week 30's the next.  The few times a year that we do get winter weather it is usually more ice than snow and melts within a day or two.  There has been a handful of times in the 7 years that I've lived here that we have gotten around 6-8" of snow.  The only bad part about when there is bad weather is the area is so hilly making road conditions potentially hazardous in icy conditions.

3.  Arts and culture?  Is there any?  I've heard that this area is unlike the rest of the state (which isn't exactly known for its artsy side - I was born there, so no offense :), but just wanted to make sure.

No offense taken The area is making advances in this area and it is true that NWA is not like the rest of Arkansas.  You have the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville on Dickson St and I think it is called the Little Theater in Rogers.  There are however plenty of good places to eat (that qualifies as culture right).

4.  Community feel...not sure how to describe what I'm wondering.  But what is the feel of the town like?  I assume the university affects the community a lot, which is almost always good.  Anything else about the area that we should know about?  Thanks so much!"

I would say there is definately a good community feel.  Even though it is growing so rapidly it maintains a small town kind of feel and mentallity.  And yes the university does affect it in a good way, especially in Fayetteville. 

Other things to know about the area is that much of the growth is happening in Rogers although Fayetteville is doing it's best to keep up.  But because of this growth the traffic can be a real pain at rush hour in certain areas, they are working on getting the roadways up to par, but that takes time and is usually the last thing to catch up to the growth.  But it is still nothing in comparison to larger cities. 

 Overall I have really grown to love the area, it has its bits of history as well as new things happening.  The people are friendly and it is a very blessed area, lots of wealth and success (think Walmart, Tysons, JBHunt, etc).  It is also a nice centralized location, within driving distance to Kansas City, Dallas and many other fun places.  Let me know if you guys come to visit again and maybe we could meet up and definately let me know if you move.  Feel free to ask me any other questions you have and I'll do my best to answer them for you.  BTW, what company are you looking into if you don't mind sharing, maybe I could lend you some info on that.  Hope this helps!

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Originally posted by: june
"Thanks so much!  Glad to hear the winters aren't too bad.  I would like to actually have seasons...I've spent my life living in states with one long summer. 

We get all four seasons, although spring and fall are usually kind of short and summer is the longest season.

A couple of other questions - What would a commute from Fayetteville to Bentonville be like?  It seemed like a pretty short drive, but is the traffic bad on that 540 route?

For a commute from Fayetteville to Bentonville (depending on where at in Fayetteville) you should count on 45 minutes at best 30 minutes.  The traffic from Bentonville to Fayetteville between 5:30 and about 6:30 on any route is probably the worst.  I can't speak for it in the mornings (I'm not up and out that early).  I commute from Bella Vista to Springdale and coming home in the evenings going north on 540 is usually varyily smooth sailing but south bound looks like no fun!  The population of Bentonville literally doubles (if not more) during a work day, so it is almost like a whole town of people coming into town in the mornings and leaving in the evenings.  Again, it may not be that bad depending on what you're use to.  Also, it is just now in the talks so it may not even happen, but they are looking into a train from Fayetteville to Bentonville for commuters.  It'd easily be a couple of years before we'd see that though. 

The drive from Bentonville to Fayetteville isn't that bad during regular traffic though, 20-30 minutes tops.

What about shopping?  I saw a few shops that looked like they might have potential as we were driving around, but didn't go into any of them.  Anything good?  Or will it be internet shopping only if we move?  "

There is some good shopping here right now, Mason's boutique (there are 3 of these, one on the Fayetteville square, one in the mall and one in Villiage & the Creeks in Rogers, I work at this location once a week for some mad shopping money), By Request, Signature Style, Soho Clothiers, Pink Bamboo to name just a few.  They carry all the designer jeans and a lot of the same brands as Shopbop and the likes. 

Also in Rogers by the Embassey Suites and Pinnacle area they are building several new shopping areas, especially the Pinnacle Promanade an outside shopping and eating area that suppose to be very nice and high end.  I've seen the artist rendering and it looks pretty cool, but time will tell.  I've heard several different store names dropped but a lot of it is just here say right now.  I've actually done some work with the guys heading it up and I told them what I'd like to see there, now whether or not it meant anything to them is another thing 

And there is the mall in Fayetteville, now it isn't anything to write home about but it does have some decent stores in it.  Like BR, Express, Gap, Dillard's, VS.  All in all it won't be just internet shopping

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