Despite the growth, Northwest Arkansas has held on to its small-town feel in nearly all of its aspects. Lifelong residents have been keen to defend the small-town aura in the face of new waves of business folks, transients, and even immigrants. A micro cultural divide has been developing over the decades between the southern portion of our area around Fayetteville, and the northern portion of our area around Bentonville and Rogers.
Fayetteville is a college town and holds many of the characteristics that commonly make up a college town including a vibrant night life and strong entertainment district. The Bentonville-Rogers area has morphed into the business center of our region. Of course, the aforementioned retailer has acted like a super magnet pulling in folks from places like California, New York, and Chicago to within 15 miles of its epicenter. I once told a client who was considering a move to Northwest Arkansas that, “Bentonville/Rogers is a great place to do business. Fayetteville is a great place to eat, catch some great live music or a movie, and get your car washed.” Of course, that is not completely true, but it seems to be the perception as of late. Between the north and south of Northwest Arkansas, there is an appearance of white collar crowds and blue collar (or green collar) crowds, respectively.
That said, there is so much each individual town has to offer with great shopping, entertainment, business opportunities, outdoor and recreational opportunities, etc. And generally speaking, many residents consider “Northwest Arkansas” as their home regardless where they actually reside. With regard to my subject of interest (entertainment), the nucleus here is Fayetteville. Dickson Street and the surrounding area in particular have often been likened to 6thStreet in Austin, Texas, only on a smaller scale. I have maintained that the Northwest Arkansas live music scene is as vibrant as any in the country and not just on a per capita basis. Austin is more than four times the size of our area, but the music scene there is no greater than it is here. Sure, we don’t have a nationally broadcast program such as historical Austin City Limits or a SXSW festival here, but we do have a great entertainment district anchor in George’s Majestic Lounge that hosts national and regional acts every week infused with local talent that is at an astonishingly high quality even compared to larger urban centers. Fayetteville also has a world class theater in the Walton Arts Center, one of the largest motorcycle rallies in the world in the Bikes, Blues, BBQ Festival, and fantastic locally unique clubs and restaurants to serve the most discerning tastes.
There is so much more and hopefully we can cover that in the weeks and months to come. I like where Northwest Arkansas is going and I like where it has been. I have lived all over the USA and there is no place I would rather be. The sights, the sounds, the people, and the opportunities…everything you need is right here.
