What's It Like Living In Northwest Arkansas? 1 Year Recap!
Today, I'm going to be talking about recapping a full year, about a year and a half living in Northwest Arkansas.
TLDR: Living the last year of my life in Northwest Arkansas I've only had one regret: I should have moved here sooner.
So in case, you weren't aware, I moved from the Chicago-land area to Northwest Arkansas about a year and a half ago.
And so I've had about a year and a half of experience living in NWA. So when you start trying to discover NWA and start trying to figure out all the things that are happening you soon realize all the events and cool things that are going on.
Also, as a side note, I have a three-day itinerary that I made for you.
If you were coming to visit, make sure to download that itinerary below in case you're coming it shows all the great things to do here.
https://www.allthingsnwa.com/3-day-itinerary-northwest-arkansas
I wanted to share what it's like living here full time. So today this post is dedicated to you. For people that want to move to a different location in the United States, I consider NWA the best place to live in America, hands down. You can live, work and play. All in NWA.
So Much To Do!
The first point that I want to make about living here for a full year in Northwest Arkansas is the fact that there's so much to do.
If you're coming from a larger city the first thing you're going to start thinking is what's there to do out there? When I started researching the area, I realized how much there is to do and it's an unlimited resource.
Let me tell you kind of a list, just a broad list of what you can do here in NWA.
The thing that I want you to pay attention to is that if you live in New York City, you can get some of these things, but you can't get all of these things.
Like in Dallas, you can get some of these things, but you can't get all of these things.
The unique thing about NWA is that you can live, work and play all in NWA. You can't say that about other areas of the United States. So for instance, if you like museums, art galleries, if you like sporting events, golfing, top golf, that is all here in NWA. So for instance, we have a massive college team with huge hype. Basketball, baseball, soccer.
All of the college teams are right here because this is a college area and the fandom is awesome to be at and to see. If you're into art galleries and murals and paintings and the museums...
Art is very important here. Parks and recreation areas - we have a ton of Frisbee golf clubs. That's one of the amazing things is that if you're part of a Frisbee golf team, you can play all year long. Between spring, summer, winter, fall.
We have 16 golf courses in the area. Plus if you're to kayaking, fishing, mountain biking, running hiking, or if like mountain running.
It's all within reach when you live in Northwest Arkansas.
I don't have to decide if I want to drive an hour and a half away to go see a concert because the Amphitheater is right here, we have talents from like Machine Gun Kelly, Halsy has come here The Jonas Brothers, Kiss, Sublime, Garth Brooks, and Travis Scott 😬 at one point.
So there's always talent coming here. There are many concerts throughout the whole season. So make sure to check that out, to see what's coming to the area.
Never Been Healthier
The second thing that I realized after living here in NWA for a full year is the fact that I've never been healthier in my life.
The thing that I was lagging a lot in Chicago land was just the ability to get outside and do things if I want to hit the trails - if I want to go ride my bike, you know, safely, not in the middle of a highway - if I want to go swimming - if I want to go kayaking - if I want to go hiking - if I want to go play basketball outside in January.
When you're in larger cities, the fact is it's going to take you like an hour and a half to get outside the city to do anything.
I literally live at the base of a mountain, so I'm always running up the mountain. It's allowed me so much freedom to do that. And so I don't have to think about the time frame anymore!
I don't have to drive an hour and a half to get outside the city and then run or exercise or hike and then come back. It's literally right here.
You can just go do it and not even think twice because it's within five minutes. It's a lot different than driving an hour and a half to do something and then driving an hour and a half back.
I Travel More!
The third thing that I kind of realized is that I actually traveled more living in Northwest Arkansas.
And what I mean by that is two things. First of all, there's a major airport right here, so I can fly anywhere I want to in America for super affordable prices, direct flights. So that's the first thing.
And the second thing is, especially if you're kind of in a larger area that, and you're kind of stuck in that area.
When I lived in the Chicago-land area if I wanted to, let's say drive somewhere…..If I drove 13 hours in one direction, I'm probably not going to hit anything major.
When I live in Arkansas, I'm 11 hours, or even fewer, hours away from Colorado.
I can make it to New Mexico within less than a day, Dallas, Houston, not a problem, Louisiana.
I can go to the ocean in a day if I wanted to.
So what's happening is that in Arkansas when you're in NWA, you're kind of in a central location so you can go in either direction and hit some really major things.
If I wanted to go to Nashville, it's just a drive away.
So Many Groups!
And one of the things I noticed about living in Northwest Arkansas there is a lot of groups here.
There are groups for everything!
Like I mentioned before. Frisbee golf group. There's a running group. There's a biking group. I've seen groups for like cryptocurrency. I've seen groups of WordPress, for gardening, for people that want to learn knitting. There's a lot of church groups.
So there are groups for everyone down here. If you have a unique thing that you enjoy - search out Northwest Arkansas because people are moving all across the world here and starting some really amazing groups!
One thing I recommend is to search Instagram for like-minded people. Before I moved here I found a bunch of people who ran around Northwest Arkansas. I messaged them and talked to them about the area even before I moved here. So when I showed up in NWA I already had a new group of people to hang with.
The last thing is the fact that NWA is a melting pot of ideas.
This is one of the best things I love about Northwest Arkansas is the fact that you have people from all across the world.
Honestly, I've met people from Lithuania. I met people from Russia. I've met people from Australia. I've met people from Japan. Some people I just met, moved from the Philippines.
So it's a melting pot of ideas and so this is such a good thing because it breeds new ideas, new businesses, new suggestions, and these are all experiences that people have. All these new people are giving their input to help shape the community to be the best that it possibly can be.
Feel free to call me if you want to see any homes in NWA when you are here :)
Don't forget about my 3 Day Itinerary!
https://www.allthingsnwa.com/3-day-itinerary-northwest-arkansas
