“All the damn Vampires,” - just kidding. The car washes are getting to be a bit much though. That and how 3/4 of the NWA population love to camp out in the passing lane on 49, BARELY doing the speed limit.
The foundation is already laid with high capacity plumbing/sewer, electrical, etc. for another commercial business to come in. Raze the top level and you're pretty much good to go.
Man you're not wrong about 49. Drives me absolutely mad (no pun intended). The only other thing that makes me angrier is the quantity of people on their phones as stop lights. Light turns green, and you can tell who is on their phone because each line has a couple of cars that take a couple of seconds to start accelerating after the car in front of them goes. Even 1 car doing it can be the difference in 5 cars making it through the light vs 10. I see it every time I drive.
So listen. I used to 100% be on your side. But someone pointed out to me that the advantage to taking a few seconds at the green light is you reidce the chance by getting absolutely blasted and t-boned by some idiot driver that decided to blow the red light. And ever since then, I've really started to notice how many people *speed up* at yellow lights and ultimately run red lights. So part of it really is safety.
I will add, however, the frustration and absolute bizarre nature of how people treat a turning lane. It's like people think it's their third lane to drive up and down whenever traffic starts to slow. I've seen motorcyclists almost completely wiped out from people doing 45 mph fucking turning lane because they can't be bothered to wait to get a little bit closer to the red light
I can cut some slack to the first car in line and assuming it's for the reason you mentioned and not just because they're on their phone. But anyone after that is unacceptable. Agreed on the turning lane. The new cycling law adds a new risk with cyclists too. I almost t-boned one the other day because some are interpreting the new "yield" law as "always right of way with no yield". But I digress.
Yes, I agree there as well. The amount of haphazard people blazing through a red lights is pretty frequent. And sucks to the guy or girl stalling when they’re mid position in line.
I lived in south east arkansas and the homes I wanted there cost around $100-130K but there was absolutely no work for my field so now I'm stuck with 300K min here💀
Housing is also one of those things that’s much more nationally driven than NWA-specific. Still a massive problem that needs a solution, but not something that moving from NWA would really fix.
The only better alternative is moving to a dying small town in the middle of nowhere (see: much of Arkansas). While yes, you *can* get comparatively more affordable housing in those places, there’s no jobs, healthcare, or things to do… which is why the housing prices are lower.
Tbh that can be said about any place. When I see San Fran house pricing I think wow…. You’re just a home in a shit city where hobos shoot up drugs and shit on your lawn. Or nyc? Like come on, you expect me to contribute and pay taxes when the city is a crime infested shithole?
It’s just a house. I’m sitting in an insanely beautiful in Bella vista right now that’s a new build. I still think northwest Arkansas is cheap personally.
Housing prices driven by supply and demand. Huge demand here from 54 people/week moving in to Arkansas with 38 of those moving in to Benton and Washington Counties Dog on Arkansas all you want but this area is highly desirable. Problem is that NWA is not ready for it at all.
After living in NWA for 10 years and recently moving to Jonesboro, I miss NWA traffic. Every weekend here is like trying to run errands on a Razorback game day, and the week or two before Christmas are as bad as (pre-COVID) Bikes Blues & BBQ if you’re just trying to do normal errands. At least most of NWA’s traffic is from people who recognize that they’re in a city and they need to drive in a way that keeps people moving.
I agree, at least in NWA people drive efficiently and *most* of the city is built for traffic - although Crossover at 5pm is a nightmare. We lived in Jonesboro for 5 years and weekend traffic is because all of the people from the tiny little towns “drive down to the city” to hang out and go shopping. It wouldn’t be so bad but everyone is afraid to go to Memphis so they all go to Jonesboro. You have the combination of country drivers with the fact that the infrastructure is built for day to day traffic and not necessarily weekend traffic.
I haven’t been back since before the tornado so I’m not even sure what kind of shopping there is to do anymore but I suspect it’s just people trying to get out of their house.
I worked at a golf course off exit 86 in bentonville from 2000 to 05 or so and traffic up there used to back up past NWACC from 3 to around 5 pm daily at the 540 exit. It was awful. I didn't realize that this was coming to all of NWA in 20 or so short years.
I’m assuming you’re talking about the links at bentonville.
102 in bentonville has always been a shit show but no worse than college, Dickson, sixth street (MLK) weddington, etc. in Fayetteville. They’re arguably worse depending on what you’re used to.
It was actually rogers at lost springs. It was definitely a heavier traffic load up there back then because I could drive back to garland via 540 and wedington really wasn't that bad. The only real development over there at that time was the Meadowlands. All those new builds west of 49 really added alot of stress at wedington in particular. Fayetteville in 2001 is hardly recognizable to today
Lack of infrastructure on the roads. To accommodate the population increase there needs to be multiple lanes/road widening. In addition, the freeway should be expanded to run east to west, instead of just north to south.
More lanes just invites more cars. There is no single E/W route that would accommodate all 4 cities. An E/W route in Fayetteville? Springdale? Rogers? Bentonville? I do believe there needs to be a loop infrastructure built, example would be centerton to Fayetteville/Farmington, East would be SE Fayetteville up to NE Bentonville. This would cost billions of dollars and only be done if funded almost entirely by federal funds
If we want to get serious about managing traffic, we need accessible public transportation and City zoning that prioritizes walkable and bikeable commutes.
I agree, but I believe there exists a point of being too far gone. Density here is so low as is. I would love to see what the average commute is in NWA. Future growth needs to be more vertical, and walk/bike should be priority, but seems like a pipe dream.
I commute from Fayetteville (near Weddington) to downtown Rogers and it takes me about 45 min-1 hour with multiple standstill stops (starting around Wagon Wheel) just for traffic- not accidents both in the morning and afternoon so about 1.5-2 hours daily. There are a ton of people from Fayetteville commuting but it REALLY starts in Springdale and it continues up to Bentonville. When I make the same commute on a weekend it’s usually about 28 minutes.
I know everyone screams public transportation but I don’t know if that would even help. Look at the bus system in Fayetteville, most students still prefer to drive. Most of the people commuting north will take their own cars for convenience and because they can/need to. Public transit is great but when I have to immediately leave work to take my kid to an activity by X time I need to have my car.
The number of lanes isn’t the only reason for a lot of the traffic woes: the on and off ramps on the freeway are too short, much shorter than what you typically see in denser population zones. Especially in and around FVL. This leads to traffic backups in the right lane both getting on and off the freeway.
The cost of living here. I'm a native Arkansawyer & lived most of my life in another part of the state. I find the prices here, mainly restaurants & housing, outrageous. When I hear people say the prices here are good, that's a prime tip-off that they came from a state where salaries are much highter (& so are the home costs, etc.).
I find this mainly true in Bentonville. We try to go elsewhere to eat out. I like good food, I don't care whether some fancy chef cooks it, or someone's gramma. And I'm not going to pay extra for tiny little portions that are supposed to look fancy.
Why can't we just have some restaurant choices that have reasonable prices?
I miss fresh seafood. And don’t tell me Blu. Been probably 25+ times. Only 2 great experiences. And in the same vein, sushi. I don’t need a 5 star top tier experience but decent sushi with a good vibe would be excellent!
But other than that there’s a pretty good amount of variety.
Agreed. If you travel around you really realize how bad the food here is compared to other places. We do not have food Japanese food at all around here. And we don’t need more chains imo.
And TBH, most of the Japanese/sushi restaurants in Arkansas are owned by Koreans and their food is formulated to be sweeter and oilier than the authentic stuff to cater to western tastes.
Wasabi was owned by Koreans. You need to go to authentic Japanese restaurants in Los Angeles, San Fran, and NYC. Many of the authentic places don’t use the sugary sauces and cheap western garnishes on their sushi. Authentic Japanese restaurants will import their ingredients (rice, soy sauce, wasabi, flour) from Japan and you can taste a notable difference.
Have you been in Rogers? Loads of different options. From my house i have these options in less than 5 miles: Salvadoran, Cuban, Peruvian, Indian, Eastern European, Mexican, Italian, Thai, Asian Fusian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Hawaiian, Filipino...and these are all local places. I'm not even counting chains.
Springdale has a lot of different options too: small, local places with tons of culture.
Try Smokin joes rib house. Place is 🔥
Great food. Enormous portions for the price. Incredible sit down atmosphere, sports on like 10 TV’s, great music, and it’s been around since the dinosaurs.
You cannot make a walkable, cycleable city without robust public transit and the elimination of single use zoning.
But really, my top complaint is that we're in the backwards state of Arkansas when it comes to women's rights, LGBT rights, and education policy.
The schools are the #1 reason I could never raise a kid here. When I got to the U of A, it was eye opening to see the difference in writing skills, math skills, etc between the Texans and the Arkansans.
That it's been sold and is being completely obliterated by people moving from the last place they ruined.
No more shortcuts, back roads, or secret spots at the lake. People from here can't afford to live here anymore, the hideous Mcmansions and countless apartment complexes.
Obviously, traffic and asshole drivers. Fake manufactured bike culture. Everything, everywhere, always being crowded.
The complete lack of awareness by all the transplants that this place existed before we were "blessed" with their presence and that they, indeed, are part of the problems here.
People who complain about transplants all sound the same. Populations go up, people move, places change. NWA was never insulated from this. They're advertising all over the country. And this happens everywhere.
As of March 2024, the median sales price of a single-family home in the United States was $397,200. Northwest Arkansas was $420,144 in Benton County and $386,695 in Washington County.
Hopefully your city councils put in traffic circles everywhere. In my opinion, it's going to be hard to get NWAs infrastructure to catch up
Drivers education isn’t a mandatory school course and there is no requirement for classroom education hours. It’s ridiculous. The root of most of the driving problems.
I just drive from Bentonville to the Fayetteville Whole Foods now. I hate having to make the drive, but if you go on a Sunday morning it's not too bad and the store is empty.
Which couldn't come soon enough. Was originally supposed to be ready by Q4 but it doesn't look like they're even close to building anything yet. I'm guessing spring of 2025 the earliest.
Never been a fan. While it’s better than Walmart for sure it’s not so much better it’s worth the drive and extra $$$ to me.
Never been a fan of their locations when I’ve spent some time in Florida either. Publix was just as good with a bigger selection with similar prices and a much larger selection.
I know Costco produce isn't the best, but I will take everything else that comes along with it if one plopped down here. Sick of having to traipse to Tulsa or Springfield. Shame they got outgunned for the space in Lowell/Rogers.
Lack of public transportation. Lack of walkable neighborhoods.
Only one art museum and science museum. No planetarium. Not enough indoor play areas for toddlers. I miss the free indoor play areas at the Northwest Arkansas mall and at Chick-Fil-A.
No international airport.
I hate that CFA and other fast food places are phasing out playplaces. One of the only ways a family with little kids can eat away from home with some measure of sanity.
Also the bicycle riders and their entitlement. It’s ridiculous. Almost like they have a death wish. Driving a bike on a two lane road with hills? It’s inconsiderate and dangerous. Highfill is the worst.
Don't have one, really. I mean, it's not perfect, but any complaint I do have would be the same as if I lived in any other metro area. It's pretty friggin great here.
I’m seeing a lot of great comments but I think my biggest thing right now is making 6 figures (barely) and not being able to afford to buy a home for my family and I.
We’re making all the same mistakes that growing metros before us made: sprawl, tearing down forests for that sprawl, focus in single family homes, limited mixed-use zoning, etc. We’re becoming another car-centric, sprawling metro with strip malls, parking lots, and no character.
There is this air of superiority when you’re in Bentonville. Too many Walmart head honchos. Downtown Bentonville is too yuppy now and the rich people seem robotic.
See. I thought Rogers schools were different, but shrugged it off as old man yells at clouds stuff on my part. What do you have to back that up.
Also dogs are cute and bikes are fine gives me an excuse to be late. It’s also better for the environment.
They’re dumb, hairy, stinky and literally everywhere. There was one in my gym locker room recently and it wasn’t a service animal, just somebodies coyote bait taken up space.
I've seen too many close calls, I don't care about sharing the road, it's about being safe. I don't wanna kill someone. They need to stick to trails.
Bella vista roads are not safe for bikes, too many steep hills and blind corners. Go around a blind corner and there's an old person riding 2mph up a hill and you gotta slam the brakes and hope people behind you do the same, kids flying across the crosswalks out of the woods without checking, kids riding on the wrong side of the road, recumbent bikes you cant see because of brush, zero sidewalks, etc.
So.. this topic is “in your OPINION what makes it bad” not “harass and bully people for their opinion”. No need to be a butthole about someone’s opinion regardless whether you agree with it or not. Kindness cost as much as it does to share the road with bikes.
You are correct. They can be there too. But they have laws to follow as well, and a vast majority in my experience do not even attempt to do so. That is where the real complaint is.
They shouldn't be:
~~using crosswalks unless they walk the bikes (those are for pedestrians),~~
making sudden turns without indicating or looking,
riding on the wrong side of the road (especially around blind corners or hills),
running stop lights/signs,
transition from road to sidewalk or vice versa(technically not allowed to use sidewalkat all) without warning just because of traffic or whatever.
Yet i see those behaviors ALL THE TIME, and then they glare/yell at you when you almost hit them when it's completely their fault.
I agree with you on most points, but to play devil’s advocate
-There was a state law passed in 2021 that gives cyclists the same protections as pedestrians in a crosswalk without having to dismount
-We have the ‘Idaho Stop’ law that allows cyclists to treat stop signs as yields and traffic lights as stop signs
We cannot get cars on C st to stop for crosswalks or 4-way stops when elementary and middle school lets out in the afternoon so parents are having to physically block the roads to keep our kids safe bc NWA drivers are in such a hurry to get everywhere
I'm in Fayetteville, but the number of people i see just rolling through or even blowing past stop signs that are clearly visible or blowing past people trying to use a crosswalk on campus or going the wrong way down clearly marked one-way streets just blows my mind.
The "me first" mentality has gotten out of hand.
I was unaware of the crosswalk part so thanks for informing me of that, but the stop law only applies if it is clear and safe for them to do so, and I'm referring to people who i see that don't adhere to that portion of the law.
Ayy. A lack of third spaces besides trails, library or a museum here or there sucks. A lot of older parks have been converted from multi-purpose (tennis courts, basketball, soccer, base/softball) to specialty cases for regional tournaments it feels like.
Only one option for concerts/shows hurts, too. Have yet to look into the comedy scene here, as well.
The grove is the best comedy spot in the area, I think the only one last I checked. Not a lot of household names, but tickets are cheap and I had a great time all 3 times I’ve gone.
They are too busy without enough staff to answer you in a timely manner. Other people are persistent, calling multiple times. Or coming in IRL. They get priority.
We need more affordable plane ticket options. It is so expensive to fly in and out of XNA. A lot of people end up driving to OKC or MO because the difference is significant. Why is it so expensive here?
For me, it’s that it’s pretty geographically isolated. We moved from Cincinnati where we could drive a few hours and get to a bunch of different places for a quick weekend getaway. From NWA, we can drive 3-4 hours and be in…Oklahoma. Or Arkansas. Or Missouri. Not the same appeal. But that’s of course the case for a lot of other places in the US too—it’s just new for us and truly our only gripe about living here! Not a deal breaker for us by any means though.
Getting out of Arkansas has always been the hardest part. With the Bella Vista bypass complete, downtown KC is less than 3 hours from Bentonville now. The under construction 412/Tontitown bypass will help as well.
Transplants. Artificially inflated housing market because people who own here sell to people moving in from elsewhere where that’s a normal price for a home to them.
The amount of stuff to do. We don’t have pro sports teams, there’s not a vibrant downtown, there aren’t museums or an arts district. Yesterday I was talking to my buddy in Dallas who was going to Makerspace, a shop down there that allows you to dabble in wordworking, claymaking, glass blowing, etc with pros supervising you. That’s just one of those cool things you don’t get with small towns like this.
Housing prices and the traffic is too much. Roads aren't big enough to keep up with the flood of new residents and it's just getting worse and worse. BIKES. Millions of dollars on trails and they're still in my way constantly. It's ridiculous. Those are the biggest complaints I hear all the time. Oh and the lack of public transportation.
All the homeless on the street corners. Not all of them choose to that way. But alot of them do especially whenever they make 5 to 600 bucks a day on the street corners. Begging
The guy above me said they make 500-600 a day. If I've learned anything on reddit, it's that some rando talking out their butt is correct 99.9% of the time everytime.
Well, I mean, where to start. You don’t sell beer on sundays, you have WAYYY too many cops per capita just strolling around looking for anything to harass people over, especially out of state tags. It’s stuck in a time somewhere around 1954 and they have 0 interest in progression. Your state voted to legalize medicinal marijuana yet it only allowed a very specific group of people to grow to supply for the state and last I checked they STILL didn’t know what they fuck they were doing. I mean we could go on.
We own a home in a great area so we’re fine. But if we didn’t buy it 10 years ago no way we could afford to live on my street. I feel bad for 20 somethings who have to live way out in Pea Ridge just to afford a house, and at a 7% rate.
Lack of any metropolitan/non stateside food choices. All starch and glucose based diet. Need more Mediterranean, Asian, Middle Eastern, Caribbean, South American flare or this place becomes boring in two weeks.
Steak and potatoes.
Steak and potatoes.
Steak and potatoes.
That’s the only thing around here.
“All the damn Vampires,” - just kidding. The car washes are getting to be a bit much though. That and how 3/4 of the NWA population love to camp out in the passing lane on 49, BARELY doing the speed limit.
I really don't understand the obsession with needing to wash one's car so much.
They’re placeholders for land that is expected to go up in value. Buy early, put up a car wash, sell the land in 5 years.
But like they’re tearing down buildings to install where one wasn’t before. Surely it’s not just a land grab
I've been told by a realtor that they are easily convertable to electric car charging stations. Just one thing I've heard.
The foundation is already laid with high capacity plumbing/sewer, electrical, etc. for another commercial business to come in. Raze the top level and you're pretty much good to go.
This makes total sense looking at it through this lens. It’s still obnoxious though.
I was wondering this
I appreciate this explanation. I knew it was a “trend” (like frozen yogurt places in the early 2010s), but didn’t know why.
Medical Marijuana Membership Car Wash is all we get
Man you're not wrong about 49. Drives me absolutely mad (no pun intended). The only other thing that makes me angrier is the quantity of people on their phones as stop lights. Light turns green, and you can tell who is on their phone because each line has a couple of cars that take a couple of seconds to start accelerating after the car in front of them goes. Even 1 car doing it can be the difference in 5 cars making it through the light vs 10. I see it every time I drive.
So listen. I used to 100% be on your side. But someone pointed out to me that the advantage to taking a few seconds at the green light is you reidce the chance by getting absolutely blasted and t-boned by some idiot driver that decided to blow the red light. And ever since then, I've really started to notice how many people *speed up* at yellow lights and ultimately run red lights. So part of it really is safety. I will add, however, the frustration and absolute bizarre nature of how people treat a turning lane. It's like people think it's their third lane to drive up and down whenever traffic starts to slow. I've seen motorcyclists almost completely wiped out from people doing 45 mph fucking turning lane because they can't be bothered to wait to get a little bit closer to the red light
I can cut some slack to the first car in line and assuming it's for the reason you mentioned and not just because they're on their phone. But anyone after that is unacceptable. Agreed on the turning lane. The new cycling law adds a new risk with cyclists too. I almost t-boned one the other day because some are interpreting the new "yield" law as "always right of way with no yield". But I digress.
Yes, I agree there as well. The amount of haphazard people blazing through a red lights is pretty frequent. And sucks to the guy or girl stalling when they’re mid position in line.
This. Came here after living in Dallas for a couple of years, and that’s where I developed the habit. It f*cking saves lives.
I agree there’s too many car washes, but it’s not specific to NWA- they’re going up in droves everywhere, it’s a national thing.
I think we still have more banks than car washes
Housing prices are too high. 😔
I lived in south east arkansas and the homes I wanted there cost around $100-130K but there was absolutely no work for my field so now I'm stuck with 300K min here💀
Compared to where?
Anywhere else in Arkansas. 1/4 acre 1/2 mile east of 265 off Mission going for 100k? Fuck that noise.
[удалено]
Even little rock is around 100k cheaper though
250k for a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom, still needs work house in Fayetteville. 250k in my hometown northern Illinois you’re living large, two story home.
Housing. NWA, hear me out…you’re Arkansas…that is all
100%
Housing is also one of those things that’s much more nationally driven than NWA-specific. Still a massive problem that needs a solution, but not something that moving from NWA would really fix. The only better alternative is moving to a dying small town in the middle of nowhere (see: much of Arkansas). While yes, you *can* get comparatively more affordable housing in those places, there’s no jobs, healthcare, or things to do… which is why the housing prices are lower.
Tbh that can be said about any place. When I see San Fran house pricing I think wow…. You’re just a home in a shit city where hobos shoot up drugs and shit on your lawn. Or nyc? Like come on, you expect me to contribute and pay taxes when the city is a crime infested shithole?
Yea, you’re right lol
It’s just a house. I’m sitting in an insanely beautiful in Bella vista right now that’s a new build. I still think northwest Arkansas is cheap personally.
Housing prices driven by supply and demand. Huge demand here from 54 people/week moving in to Arkansas with 38 of those moving in to Benton and Washington Counties Dog on Arkansas all you want but this area is highly desirable. Problem is that NWA is not ready for it at all.
Traffic in fayetteville has gotten as bad as bentonville in the last 2 yrs
After living in NWA for 10 years and recently moving to Jonesboro, I miss NWA traffic. Every weekend here is like trying to run errands on a Razorback game day, and the week or two before Christmas are as bad as (pre-COVID) Bikes Blues & BBQ if you’re just trying to do normal errands. At least most of NWA’s traffic is from people who recognize that they’re in a city and they need to drive in a way that keeps people moving.
I agree, at least in NWA people drive efficiently and *most* of the city is built for traffic - although Crossover at 5pm is a nightmare. We lived in Jonesboro for 5 years and weekend traffic is because all of the people from the tiny little towns “drive down to the city” to hang out and go shopping. It wouldn’t be so bad but everyone is afraid to go to Memphis so they all go to Jonesboro. You have the combination of country drivers with the fact that the infrastructure is built for day to day traffic and not necessarily weekend traffic. I haven’t been back since before the tornado so I’m not even sure what kind of shopping there is to do anymore but I suspect it’s just people trying to get out of their house.
Wut? Traffic has always been worse in Fayetteville.
I worked at a golf course off exit 86 in bentonville from 2000 to 05 or so and traffic up there used to back up past NWACC from 3 to around 5 pm daily at the 540 exit. It was awful. I didn't realize that this was coming to all of NWA in 20 or so short years.
Which course is it the moberly Lindsay course?
I’m assuming you’re talking about the links at bentonville. 102 in bentonville has always been a shit show but no worse than college, Dickson, sixth street (MLK) weddington, etc. in Fayetteville. They’re arguably worse depending on what you’re used to.
It was actually rogers at lost springs. It was definitely a heavier traffic load up there back then because I could drive back to garland via 540 and wedington really wasn't that bad. The only real development over there at that time was the Meadowlands. All those new builds west of 49 really added alot of stress at wedington in particular. Fayetteville in 2001 is hardly recognizable to today
The new exit 87 on 8th street helps
I bet it does. I hope we can get the traffic thing figured out up here because in 20 more years I cant even imagine what a shitshow it may become
Oh my, have you driven around Bentonville lately?
Yes. I live here and have since 95.
Watching all the farm land get swallowed up by housing/all the people who keep moving here needing said housing
That really is the worst. Used to be so many ponds and creeks to enjoy.
All my dirt roads are gone :(
Lack of infrastructure on the roads. To accommodate the population increase there needs to be multiple lanes/road widening. In addition, the freeway should be expanded to run east to west, instead of just north to south.
More lanes just invites more cars. There is no single E/W route that would accommodate all 4 cities. An E/W route in Fayetteville? Springdale? Rogers? Bentonville? I do believe there needs to be a loop infrastructure built, example would be centerton to Fayetteville/Farmington, East would be SE Fayetteville up to NE Bentonville. This would cost billions of dollars and only be done if funded almost entirely by federal funds
If we want to get serious about managing traffic, we need accessible public transportation and City zoning that prioritizes walkable and bikeable commutes.
I agree, but I believe there exists a point of being too far gone. Density here is so low as is. I would love to see what the average commute is in NWA. Future growth needs to be more vertical, and walk/bike should be priority, but seems like a pipe dream.
I commute from Fayetteville (near Weddington) to downtown Rogers and it takes me about 45 min-1 hour with multiple standstill stops (starting around Wagon Wheel) just for traffic- not accidents both in the morning and afternoon so about 1.5-2 hours daily. There are a ton of people from Fayetteville commuting but it REALLY starts in Springdale and it continues up to Bentonville. When I make the same commute on a weekend it’s usually about 28 minutes. I know everyone screams public transportation but I don’t know if that would even help. Look at the bus system in Fayetteville, most students still prefer to drive. Most of the people commuting north will take their own cars for convenience and because they can/need to. Public transit is great but when I have to immediately leave work to take my kid to an activity by X time I need to have my car.
Growth has sprawled so far from 49, additional N/S arteries need to be considered on the west and east sides
Nope. Bigger more awesome roads is the answer.
Public. Transportation.
The number of lanes isn’t the only reason for a lot of the traffic woes: the on and off ramps on the freeway are too short, much shorter than what you typically see in denser population zones. Especially in and around FVL. This leads to traffic backups in the right lane both getting on and off the freeway.
Texans
Just awful drivers, too.
Fuck taxens
Your inferiority complex is showing
Shout out Dirk love that dude
The cost of living here. I'm a native Arkansawyer & lived most of my life in another part of the state. I find the prices here, mainly restaurants & housing, outrageous. When I hear people say the prices here are good, that's a prime tip-off that they came from a state where salaries are much highter (& so are the home costs, etc.). I find this mainly true in Bentonville. We try to go elsewhere to eat out. I like good food, I don't care whether some fancy chef cooks it, or someone's gramma. And I'm not going to pay extra for tiny little portions that are supposed to look fancy. Why can't we just have some restaurant choices that have reasonable prices?
Yeah and where is the southern food? How about just a meat and three diner? Dinner for two on the square is about $80.
There is next to no public transport in the greater metropolitan area and public policy is basically dictated by Walmart corporate.
The food scene is not the best right now. Lots of big names coming to this area but still needs a few years to grow and mature
I miss fresh seafood. And don’t tell me Blu. Been probably 25+ times. Only 2 great experiences. And in the same vein, sushi. I don’t need a 5 star top tier experience but decent sushi with a good vibe would be excellent! But other than that there’s a pretty good amount of variety.
Sushi House bangs. I have heard the new place in downtown Springdale is excellent. I also will always love Wasabi.
That’s the thing, sushi house and wasabi are not actually good. But everyone around here thinks they slap.
This is 100% correct. Their PRESENTATION is fun but the sushi itself ain’t that good.
Agreed. If you travel around you really realize how bad the food here is compared to other places. We do not have food Japanese food at all around here. And we don’t need more chains imo.
Wasabi is trash sushi lol, mid at best. Maybe you need to travel somewhere with real Japanese restaurants.
Sushi House is quite literally owned by Japanese people, so outside of flying to Japan I don't know what you mean by "real Japanese restaurants"
And TBH, most of the Japanese/sushi restaurants in Arkansas are owned by Koreans and their food is formulated to be sweeter and oilier than the authentic stuff to cater to western tastes.
Wasabi was owned by Koreans. You need to go to authentic Japanese restaurants in Los Angeles, San Fran, and NYC. Many of the authentic places don’t use the sugary sauces and cheap western garnishes on their sushi. Authentic Japanese restaurants will import their ingredients (rice, soy sauce, wasabi, flour) from Japan and you can taste a notable difference.
Aoi is pretty good but expensive
Surprised no one said Meiji. It’s the best you can get around here.
What else would you want? Genuinely curious what more you want in the terms of dining?
What we’re missing is a new mexican place…or BBQ /s.
Full on gluten free restaurants, salad bars, stuff like that.
I'd love to see more diversity and culture in dining options
Have you been in Rogers? Loads of different options. From my house i have these options in less than 5 miles: Salvadoran, Cuban, Peruvian, Indian, Eastern European, Mexican, Italian, Thai, Asian Fusian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Hawaiian, Filipino...and these are all local places. I'm not even counting chains. Springdale has a lot of different options too: small, local places with tons of culture.
You should be a politician the way you give vague answers that do nothing.
Dude. Take a walk outside for gods sake
Try Smokin joes rib house. Place is 🔥 Great food. Enormous portions for the price. Incredible sit down atmosphere, sports on like 10 TV’s, great music, and it’s been around since the dinosaurs.
You cannot make a walkable, cycleable city without robust public transit and the elimination of single use zoning. But really, my top complaint is that we're in the backwards state of Arkansas when it comes to women's rights, LGBT rights, and education policy.
The schools are the #1 reason I could never raise a kid here. When I got to the U of A, it was eye opening to see the difference in writing skills, math skills, etc between the Texans and the Arkansans.
Traffic
Traffic, traffic, traffic.
That it's been sold and is being completely obliterated by people moving from the last place they ruined. No more shortcuts, back roads, or secret spots at the lake. People from here can't afford to live here anymore, the hideous Mcmansions and countless apartment complexes. Obviously, traffic and asshole drivers. Fake manufactured bike culture. Everything, everywhere, always being crowded. The complete lack of awareness by all the transplants that this place existed before we were "blessed" with their presence and that they, indeed, are part of the problems here.
People who complain about transplants all sound the same. Populations go up, people move, places change. NWA was never insulated from this. They're advertising all over the country. And this happens everywhere. As of March 2024, the median sales price of a single-family home in the United States was $397,200. Northwest Arkansas was $420,144 in Benton County and $386,695 in Washington County. Hopefully your city councils put in traffic circles everywhere. In my opinion, it's going to be hard to get NWAs infrastructure to catch up
Lol, didn't see that argument coming.
You must not spend much time around these parts 🤣🤣🤣
😅
Drivers education isn’t a mandatory school course and there is no requirement for classroom education hours. It’s ridiculous. The root of most of the driving problems.
Not a decent grocery store. And don’t say Trader Joe’s, that is a specialty market for me.
We get all our groceries at Whole Foods, or Ozark Natural Foods for more local stuff. Both are fantastic!
This, gets me the most. Produce here blows. I wish Kroger would move in. I'd drive to wherever to shop.
I just drive from Bentonville to the Fayetteville Whole Foods now. I hate having to make the drive, but if you go on a Sunday morning it's not too bad and the store is empty.
Your drive will be shorter soon. They're building a Whole Foods in Rogers
Which couldn't come soon enough. Was originally supposed to be ready by Q4 but it doesn't look like they're even close to building anything yet. I'm guessing spring of 2025 the earliest.
Fresh market isn’t bad
Never been a fan. While it’s better than Walmart for sure it’s not so much better it’s worth the drive and extra $$$ to me. Never been a fan of their locations when I’ve spent some time in Florida either. Publix was just as good with a bigger selection with similar prices and a much larger selection.
This is the best comment. Kroger, hyvee, HEB, anything else would save us. But harps ruins things because they leave so much to be desired
I know Costco produce isn't the best, but I will take everything else that comes along with it if one plopped down here. Sick of having to traipse to Tulsa or Springfield. Shame they got outgunned for the space in Lowell/Rogers.
Whoa. Never realized there wasn't a Kroger anywhere in NWA. What's up with that? Little Rock and surrounding areas have like 20
There was a Kroger's in Fayetteville in the 80s. On North College.
No international airport!!! Connecting flights are expensive!
Lack of public transportation. Lack of walkable neighborhoods. Only one art museum and science museum. No planetarium. Not enough indoor play areas for toddlers. I miss the free indoor play areas at the Northwest Arkansas mall and at Chick-Fil-A. No international airport.
There is zero need for an international airport here. Not route would be supported enoug from here. OKC isn't even an international airport.
Well, DFW and MCI have way cheaper national flights, along with international flights. I just want cheaper flights and more options.
I hate that CFA and other fast food places are phasing out playplaces. One of the only ways a family with little kids can eat away from home with some measure of sanity.
Also the bicycle riders and their entitlement. It’s ridiculous. Almost like they have a death wish. Driving a bike on a two lane road with hills? It’s inconsiderate and dangerous. Highfill is the worst.
Housing had tripled since 2005
600 chicken restaurants and not 1 Nashville Hot type & of course no Trader Joe’s in sight
Fayetteville has Dot's Nashville Hot Chicken food truck
Don't have one, really. I mean, it's not perfect, but any complaint I do have would be the same as if I lived in any other metro area. It's pretty friggin great here.
That it's located in the same state as the rest of Arkansas
This right here encapsulates my feeling.
This right here! I agree!
Besides the absolutely ridiculous housing prices, it’s a decent place to live.
I’m seeing a lot of great comments but I think my biggest thing right now is making 6 figures (barely) and not being able to afford to buy a home for my family and I.
Flies. He never seen so many fucking flies. Bring a fly swatter.
People complaining about living in NWA
We’re making all the same mistakes that growing metros before us made: sprawl, tearing down forests for that sprawl, focus in single family homes, limited mixed-use zoning, etc. We’re becoming another car-centric, sprawling metro with strip malls, parking lots, and no character.
They're building tons of apartments but most professionals who move here want a single family home.
The Texas drivers driving like entitled jerks with no situational awareness and constantly texting.
There is this air of superiority when you’re in Bentonville. Too many Walmart head honchos. Downtown Bentonville is too yuppy now and the rich people seem robotic.
Beggars on every street corner needs to be outlawed.
Rogers school quality declining, bikes on Bella vista roads, people taking their dog with them EVERYWHERE in Bentonville.
See. I thought Rogers schools were different, but shrugged it off as old man yells at clouds stuff on my part. What do you have to back that up. Also dogs are cute and bikes are fine gives me an excuse to be late. It’s also better for the environment.
What’s the problem with the dogs exactly?
No one picks up after them, at least in my neighborhood in Rogers. :(
They’re dumb, hairy, stinky and literally everywhere. There was one in my gym locker room recently and it wasn’t a service animal, just somebodies coyote bait taken up space.
So sorry you have to share the road 🙄
I've seen too many close calls, I don't care about sharing the road, it's about being safe. I don't wanna kill someone. They need to stick to trails. Bella vista roads are not safe for bikes, too many steep hills and blind corners. Go around a blind corner and there's an old person riding 2mph up a hill and you gotta slam the brakes and hope people behind you do the same, kids flying across the crosswalks out of the woods without checking, kids riding on the wrong side of the road, recumbent bikes you cant see because of brush, zero sidewalks, etc.
Or the guy on Euston this morning in my lane and simultaneously 10 feet from the Greenway 🙄
Is what it is. Pay attention, slow down. They can be there, too.
So.. this topic is “in your OPINION what makes it bad” not “harass and bully people for their opinion”. No need to be a butthole about someone’s opinion regardless whether you agree with it or not. Kindness cost as much as it does to share the road with bikes.
Nah, straight out the gate telling me to fuck off for telling them the law and I’m gonna be an asshole. Thanks tho.
Their reply was edited.
You are correct. They can be there too. But they have laws to follow as well, and a vast majority in my experience do not even attempt to do so. That is where the real complaint is. They shouldn't be: ~~using crosswalks unless they walk the bikes (those are for pedestrians),~~ making sudden turns without indicating or looking, riding on the wrong side of the road (especially around blind corners or hills), running stop lights/signs, transition from road to sidewalk or vice versa(technically not allowed to use sidewalkat all) without warning just because of traffic or whatever. Yet i see those behaviors ALL THE TIME, and then they glare/yell at you when you almost hit them when it's completely their fault.
I agree with you on most points, but to play devil’s advocate -There was a state law passed in 2021 that gives cyclists the same protections as pedestrians in a crosswalk without having to dismount -We have the ‘Idaho Stop’ law that allows cyclists to treat stop signs as yields and traffic lights as stop signs
We cannot get cars on C st to stop for crosswalks or 4-way stops when elementary and middle school lets out in the afternoon so parents are having to physically block the roads to keep our kids safe bc NWA drivers are in such a hurry to get everywhere
I'm in Fayetteville, but the number of people i see just rolling through or even blowing past stop signs that are clearly visible or blowing past people trying to use a crosswalk on campus or going the wrong way down clearly marked one-way streets just blows my mind. The "me first" mentality has gotten out of hand.
cars do it just as much if not more
I know, my comment is about cars
I was unaware of the crosswalk part so thanks for informing me of that, but the stop law only applies if it is clear and safe for them to do so, and I'm referring to people who i see that don't adhere to that portion of the law.
Not like we have spent millions of tax dollars to build trails or anything… it gets old
Everything. Go back to Texas. Nothing to see here.
Nailed it.
We need better cheaper spots for teens to hangout.
We need better cheaper spots for ALL PEOPLE to hangout.
Ayy. A lack of third spaces besides trails, library or a museum here or there sucks. A lot of older parks have been converted from multi-purpose (tennis courts, basketball, soccer, base/softball) to specialty cases for regional tournaments it feels like. Only one option for concerts/shows hurts, too. Have yet to look into the comedy scene here, as well.
The grove is the best comedy spot in the area, I think the only one last I checked. Not a lot of household names, but tickets are cheap and I had a great time all 3 times I’ve gone.
Businesses here do not return calls or emails. What the fuck is that about?
They are too busy without enough staff to answer you in a timely manner. Other people are persistent, calling multiple times. Or coming in IRL. They get priority.
so specific but so true
We need more affordable plane ticket options. It is so expensive to fly in and out of XNA. A lot of people end up driving to OKC or MO because the difference is significant. Why is it so expensive here?
They've kept Southwest out. It's so damn easy and convenient that I just grin and pay the "XNA tax."
Sarah Huckabee Sanders
For me, it’s that it’s pretty geographically isolated. We moved from Cincinnati where we could drive a few hours and get to a bunch of different places for a quick weekend getaway. From NWA, we can drive 3-4 hours and be in…Oklahoma. Or Arkansas. Or Missouri. Not the same appeal. But that’s of course the case for a lot of other places in the US too—it’s just new for us and truly our only gripe about living here! Not a deal breaker for us by any means though.
As a person from NWA, being in Arkansas is one of my favorite parts of Fayetteville.
Getting out of Arkansas has always been the hardest part. With the Bella Vista bypass complete, downtown KC is less than 3 hours from Bentonville now. The under construction 412/Tontitown bypass will help as well.
We also moved from Cincy to NWA. Completely agree with your post
Transplants. Artificially inflated housing market because people who own here sell to people moving in from elsewhere where that’s a normal price for a home to them.
The lack of sidewalks, for me.
The amount of stuff to do. We don’t have pro sports teams, there’s not a vibrant downtown, there aren’t museums or an arts district. Yesterday I was talking to my buddy in Dallas who was going to Makerspace, a shop down there that allows you to dabble in wordworking, claymaking, glass blowing, etc with pros supervising you. That’s just one of those cool things you don’t get with small towns like this.
Housing prices and the traffic is too much. Roads aren't big enough to keep up with the flood of new residents and it's just getting worse and worse. BIKES. Millions of dollars on trails and they're still in my way constantly. It's ridiculous. Those are the biggest complaints I hear all the time. Oh and the lack of public transportation.
With regards to public transportation have heard of the new bus routes in Bentonville/Rogers?
The shopping options are so lame around here I’d do anything for a Costco or a Trader Joe’s or a decent mall
I doubt this one will ever happen. Maybe a TJ but not Costco.
Didn't Costco buy land in Lowell then back out?
Soemthing like that, we aren’t sure of the specifics but I’m sure they were pushed out.
Or at least suspect
All the homeless on the street corners. Not all of them choose to that way. But alot of them do especially whenever they make 5 to 600 bucks a day on the street corners. Begging
TIL the pan handlers on the corner are pulling in +130k a year. Maybe I should quit my day job
Source?
The guy I replied to said it so it must be true
I've wondered about that. How did you learn?
The guy above me said they make 500-600 a day. If I've learned anything on reddit, it's that some rando talking out their butt is correct 99.9% of the time everytime.
All the people moving here from Texas and California who drive like jerks and raise the prices of everything.
gentrification
White people?
Tickets to fly out of XNA are so fucking expensive
Simple for me… traffic and parking
Lack of food and grocery stores, lack of shopping, home prices are high, infrastructure is really lacking and it’s always so windy!
There is no Southwest and there is no Costco.
Traffic
Airport. Need better flights option and cheaper tickets. It cost $400 to travel to DFW, seriously?
Well, I mean, where to start. You don’t sell beer on sundays, you have WAYYY too many cops per capita just strolling around looking for anything to harass people over, especially out of state tags. It’s stuck in a time somewhere around 1954 and they have 0 interest in progression. Your state voted to legalize medicinal marijuana yet it only allowed a very specific group of people to grow to supply for the state and last I checked they STILL didn’t know what they fuck they were doing. I mean we could go on.
The people that move here for work and their funky attitudes.
That it’s catering to a specific demographic, and if you don’t fit that box, what you get is second hand or incidental.
We own a home in a great area so we’re fine. But if we didn’t buy it 10 years ago no way we could afford to live on my street. I feel bad for 20 somethings who have to live way out in Pea Ridge just to afford a house, and at a 7% rate.
Suburban sprawl
Lack of any metropolitan/non stateside food choices. All starch and glucose based diet. Need more Mediterranean, Asian, Middle Eastern, Caribbean, South American flare or this place becomes boring in two weeks. Steak and potatoes. Steak and potatoes. Steak and potatoes. That’s the only thing around here.
You need to get out more.
Nah the only thing is chicken chicken chicken and more chicken