Reasons to Move to Northwest Arkansas (Updated 2022)
Is 2022 going to be the year that everyone moves to Northwest Arkansas? I think so. And let me tell you several of the reasons why I think that's going to happen this year.
Just in case if you're new here my name is Philip Shepard. I'm actually a Real Estate agent here in Northwest Arkansas. I moved here from the Chicago land area a little about two years ago. I love the area. Live, work, and play all in NWA.
Affordable housing.
So let's talk about the first reason why I think that everyone's going to be moving to Northwest Arkansas in 2022 - Affordable Housing. There's so much more new housing available in NWA than in past years. There are people coming from California, from Texas, from Florida, from Louisiana, from Illinois that are looking for new housing, more affordable housing, and better taxes in a fast-growing area. Towns, all around NWA, like Pea Ridge, Farmington Bella Vista, and Prairie Grove are all just continuing to grow with new housing.
There are the “big four” in Northwest Arkansas which are Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale, and Fayetteville and they are all growing with new housing as well. There are new subdivisions coming up all the time with unique fun housing and as well as the normal three-bedroom and two-bath. Fayetteville and Bentonville are building all sorts of unique housing to fit all the styles of people that are coming here.
It's really quite interesting to see a city, actually the whole area, being thoughtful and forward-thinking about their housing and all new people coming here. So it just creates a whole different diverse set of housing. Lumber prices are back down for 2022 and so we are expecting more housing and more people to be moving to NWA.
Currently, there are over 500,000 people in Northwest Arkansas and estimates are saying that by 2030 Northwest Arkansas will double to 1 million people. In my opinion, that might even be a little slow. This growth is compounding very quickly and is fascinating as the fact that all the infrastructure that is needed for these new homes and to hold all these people from roads and parks and pools and trails and museums and venues, they're all ready. Everything is ready for this population growth and all we are waiting for is more people.
Three-day Travel Guide
I made a three-day itinerary for anyone who wants to come down here and discover Northwest Arkansas. I made a three-day itinerary for the foodie, for the sightseer for the adventure, for the sportsperson, for art, for fun for kids it's all below.
If you want to grab one of those, I'll just email it right to you and you can use them. Also, when you're down here, give me a call/text me and we can look at some houses as well!
Direct Flights In Northwest Arkansas
Let's talk about the second reason why I think that 2022 is going to be just another massive year for growth for Northwest Arkansas. It's because of the fact that there are 27 direct flights out of XNA, which is the major airport here.
They go to all the major cities in the United States. So for instance, if you want to go to Dallas, Houston, California, LA, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Chicago, New York, these are all direct flights, right from here from Northwest Arkansas. They are all very affordable as well!
On top of that, even though there might not be direct flights, there are connecting flights that you can hop from in case the place you are getting to is more unique. I promise you, there will be a flight from here to another major airport to get you to where you need to go.
Northwest Arkansas Tax and Business Friendly
The third reason why I think 2022 is going to be a massive growth year for Northwest Arkansas, well kind of Arkansas in general, is the fact that our state income tax keeps getting lower and lower and lower.
Arkansas already has it planned out how they're going to continue to lower the tax rate for all of Northwest Arkansas and all of Arkansas for the next years all the way up to 2026 and beyond. So the corporate taxes were lowered, high-income taxes were lowered, middle-income taxes and lower-income taxes were all lowered.
What helps that a lot is the fact that Arkansas has a balanced budget. They're not in a huge deficit, like a lot of other states. (Glares at Illinois) On top of that, the Covid money that Arkansas received, they took that money and put it towards the budget so they can expedite the fact that they can lower the taxes even faster. What this does, and it seems kinda like a 4D chess move, is if you lower the corporate rate tax and all the different taxes, it encourages more growth to happen inside the cities.
So more businesses are going to want to come to Arkansas, especially Northwest Arkansas because it's a lower tax area.
Massive Companies and Jobs
The fourth reason why Northwest Arkansas is going to continue to grow into 2022 is that we have three of the biggest companies in the world located right here.
We have Walmart here. We have JB hunt and we have Tyson. Three of the biggest companies in the world are located right here in NWA. We also have a lot of mid-sized businesses as well! Plus a ton of small businesses that people that moved from other states that just were getting walloped with taxes and burdens and political stuff etc….
These new people moved their businesses to Northwest Arkansas and started fresh. There are actually grants in Northwest Arkansas that if you move your business to Northwest Arkansas, we will actually give you money to help you start up a brand new business here just to get your feet in the door.
There is so much startup culture here in Northwest Arkansas that it's unbelievable. We have a competitor to Tesla moving here. So a brand new electric vehicle manufacturer is moving to NWA their headquarters and they are going to have a research facility right in Fayetteville. There is a large startup fund and incubator for brand new businesses that is located right in Fayetteville. There is another incubator based right in Bentonville. Startup culture is a massive thing here in Northwest Arkansas.
Northwest Arkansas is being so innovative and forward-thinking that we are just leapfrogging other cities and areas. People are noticing Northwest Arkansas and they want to bring their businesses here. They want to ride the trails. They want to be outdoors. They want to work. They want to live. They want to play all in NWA.
Growth is Compounding
Lastly, growth is compounding. So I think 2022 is going to be the biggest year Northwest Arkansas has ever seen because this has been compounding for years and years. 2021 massive year of growth. 2020 massive year of growth. 2019 massive year of growth. Everything is compounding because people are discovering Northwest Arkansas.
People keep moving in, exploring Northwest Arkansas, and getting their friends to come here. They are saying “Why are you still in Illinois? Why are you still in California? Why are you still in Colorado? Come to NWA.”
Everything's here that you would need. Lower taxes, better housing, four seasons. It's warmer if you are coming from a colder climate. That sold me coming from Chicago. So everything is right here. And so this growth is compounding. The infrastructure's here. The housing's ready.
If you decide to check out Northwest Arkansas feel free to give me a call/text. We can schedule a phone call and you can ask all the questions you have!
Also, if you want to see homes that are for sale we can schedule some showings when you are here.
