What’s Arkansas like?

Only place I visited that I liked was Eureka Springs. Otherwise, it's a beautiful state filled with hillbilly magats.

I spent a few hours in the Little Rock area where the Clinton Library is and I thought it was really charming. It was in 2005, so maybe it’s gross now but I liked it. And I’ve heard really good things about Fayetteville.

Arkansas is really pretty, with lots of hills and trees.

We love to visit Murfreesboro to dig for diamonds at "crater of diamonds' state park. People (usually children) are always finding diamonds and some are rather impressive. Hot Springs is also a nice place to visit. Eureka Springs is also nice and pretty much the most gay friendly town.

It's nice. It's humid. Sarah Huckleberry Sanders's veejayjay is now a state park where you can go spelunking.

My bff from High School moved to Bentonville to work for Walmart Corporate. It wasn't an easy decision for her and her husband because they lived in Brooklyn at the time. She was in her early 40's and let go by another retailer, so that's why she moved there. I've been to visit a couple of times, and I'm really amazed at the little downtown area. Not Hicksville at all, very hip and cool. Not as hip as Brooklyn, but they have a fabulous art museum and great bars/restaurants. Gorgeous landscape, too bad the State's politics are fucked up.

I'm such a Californian - I think of these place as remote. Are they even safe??

I'm pretty sure I won't be in that area or the surrounding states - Tennessee., Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Missouri, Alabama...

[quote]I'm such a Californian ...Are they even safe??

Bitch, are you for real?

I spent two weeks in Little Rock several years ago for work. It's a very nice little city.

There was/is a gay bar downtown, within walking/crawling distance from my hotel where I met THE nicest group of men I've ever encountered in a gay bar. The bar tender was very welcoming, both the owners (couple) came up to me at different times to personally welcome me. Had several conversations with other patrons. Very chilled, relaxed atmosphere. The couple had just purchased it, so there was a lot more to be done as far as decor, ambiance etc. It was a very pleasant evening.

In Arkansas all seems to breathe freedom and peace and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils.

You might find someone out of your echo chamber so you better not go.

Well, if Dorothy and Lorelai are natives, how bad can it be?

The Ozarks region of Arkansas is outstandingly beautiful. We drove through it cross country in 2015 and I was shocked at the natural beauty there.

I always thought it would be ugly and some po-dunk looking place. Nope.

We passed through Little Rock as well, which was charming.

The only place I've visited there was Little Rock. It's one of the most crime riddled & dangerous cities in America. That's where that ugly Clinton Presidential Library is. The one that looks like a big single wide trailer made of glass.

R8, I stand corrected. I should have said I am an Angelino (live in Los Angeles). I have never been to those cities - EWW

Los Angeles is gorgeous this time of year.

Frisco too.

Thanks for letting us know, R7. You're very impressive.

^ thank you

R7, let me be clearer - I stay in the nice areas of Los Angeles. I'm not walking around sid row.

Arkansas can be cut diagonal ( /) like a sandwich:

The upper left part of the state is gorgeous- it is the last bit of the Ozark mountains, it is green and lush, Hot Springs, Eureka Springs and Fayetteville are there, as well as the University of Arkansas.

The bottom right part of the state is basically Mississippi. It is full of tobacco farms and it stinks. The is the Bible Belt. Most of the people are overweight, undereducated, and overopinionated.

It’s true that you wouldn’t have to worry about anybody dumping a bucket of shit on you in Arkansas.

Have family in Conway. I have been to Arkansas several times, and it does have a lot of natural beauty, but never forget that you are in the Confederacy. Arkansas is a deeply red state, and all that phrase entails. The people are nice, but only in that superficial, Southern way e.g. “Welcome to the neighborhood…where do y’all go to church?” The fact that Elsie the Cow was elected Governor tells me all I need to know, but I’ve lived in a red state before, I know what it means. Enter at your own risk.

R14 Newt, honey, are you EVER going to give up your grudge against Bill Clinton? He ran circles around you. That can't be undone. Now you're just a sad little elderly irrelevant Trumpie.

I got catcalled in Eureka Springs by “daddy” once.

[quote] I'm not walking around sid row.

Is that the area around Sid Luft's old house?

[quote] The people are nice, but only in that superficial, Southern way

What bullshit. You think people in other parts of the country are all true blue friends for life. The only difference in the way treat people is that southerners are friendly up front and stay that way unless they see you're actually an ass and don't deserve their friendship. They assume that everyone they meet is a decent person until they see you're not.. Northerners are standoffish at first and only friendly once they've determined you're not going to run a con on them.

But then, I'm sure most people see right off the bat that you're a jerk.

It’s a great place for children.

It's full of third-rate Texans who couldn't get into the University of Texas or A&M.

[quote]The upper left part of the state is gorgeous...The bottom right part of the state is basically Mississippi.

"Upper left? "Bottom right? You mean "northeast" and "southwest?"

It has the highest rate of violent crime in the country.

Picture a place where The Olive Garden is considered the best restaurant in town in most of the state and an expensive meal is at TGIFridays.

Picture a place where graduating from high school is a significant life accomplishment that many people in many families cannot say they've achieved.

Picture people for whom high school was when they peaked and the bitterness and resentment that oozes from every interaction because of that fact.

Picture a place where not even Walton Walmart money lifts the communities.

Picture all this and you have Arkansas, except for a few very small pockets of money.

Picture a place where R31 has never been.

There’s no such thing as an Angelino.

There’s no such place as Frisco

R20 pretty much has the right of it, though there's good and bad in all areas. I know lovely, progressive people in the flatter, more mosquito-ey eastern side of the diagonal, and Harrison (the home of the "Anti-Racist is a Code Word for Anti-White" billboard) is very close to Eureka Springs, as is the community the Duggar Family crawled out of.

[quote]Picture a place where The Olive Garden is considered the best restaurant in town in most of the state and an expensive meal is at TGIFridays.

I can think of several restaurants around Hot Springs that I'd love to eat at right now.

[quote]Picture a place where [R31] has never been.

I, unfortunately, had to spend several months in Arkansas for work.

I had sufficient.

I lived in North Louisiana and r31 is right. Arkansas- North Louisiana-Mississippi are part of the same desperately poor, white trash-country black (not a slur) continuum. Unlike Mississippi and North Louisiana, parts of Arkansas are beautiful.

I see right off the bat the bat that you’re retarded, R26. Your grandiosity apparently knows no limits. You don’t speak for the entire Sowth, and you totally misrepresented what I wrote, in a pedestrian straw man. I was speaking of MY experiences, which you know nothing about. Stand down, cuntress…and DIAGF.

[quote]It’s true that you wouldn’t have to worry about anybody dumping a bucket of shit on you in Arkansas.

Thanks for the travel warning! I'll stick with Oklahoma.

It’s even worse than Mississippi

A church on every corner.

5th highest state in violent crime.

The only places that are for us gays are Hot Springs, Eureka Springs, and the Fayetteville/Bentonville area. I think there are probably 6 gay bars in the entire state.

I imagine it’s real different

Arkansas lands in the bottom five on a lot of measurements of best/worst in the country - medical care, education and so on.

it is safe for the unborn babies thanks to Jesus and Trump!

R44 aren't they the same?

[quote]Arkansas lands in the bottom five on a lot of measurements of best/worst in the country - medical care, education and so on.

Those numbers will only get worse thanks to the abortion bans. Doctors will leave the state, elementary schools will be full of kids being raised by 13 year old mothers.

When the sky is a bright canary yellow, I forget every cloud I’ve ever seen!

[quote] elementary schools will be full of kids being raised by 13 year old mothers.

school?

[quote]Picture a place where The Olive Garden is considered the best restaurant in town in most of the state and an expensive meal is at TGIFridays.

And of course the Olive Garden serves eye-TAL-yun food.

r16's post needs to be in a Tasteful Friends thread.

[quote] I see right off the bat the bat that you’re retarded, [R26]

Toots, one "off the bat" was sufficient. But you were surely enraged and typing furiously. Take some time hon, and let your BP calm down.

And for the record, you most definitely were presenting "your experience" as the norm, so don't try that deflection.

Toots, focus on your Confederate money and vestiges of Jim Crow. Take some of your own time and try reading comprehension , btw usually completed by the third grade. For the record, I shared my experience from living in the Sowth for over twenty years. I have close family in Arkansas and have visited them more times than I can count. That.is.all. Your “interpretation” doesn’t enter into it at all. Have you lived in the South? In Arkansas? Spare me your feeble attempts at cuntitude. The grease fire awaits…

Girls, girls, you're both annoying!

Travel guide for LGBTQ

My grandma always said pork chops and Arkansas

Are can saw?

It cain’t

[quote]My grandma always said pork chops and Arkansas

Why?

R39 How've you been Erna?

What’d Arkansas not to like?

[quote] I’ve had sufficient

Lady, you were sufficient long ago.

I'd stop overnight in Bentonville just to drain Dave Marrs' cock while he wears his baseball cap.

But yeah, the rest of it is a cesspool, for sure.

I had prided myself on the fact that the state still had a civic-minded, responsible Governor who at least tried to improve matters for the residents and actually listened to experts on issues. But that flew out the window (along with all the mirrors) when the Huckabeast waddled into office.

R16 and r17, try visiting West Virginia

It's lovely, I had a mother who lived there once.

It sucks, but really no more than anywhere else. Food choices are limited in most towns, but most of the people are decent. I live in a small town, but we have food trucks with different cuisines. Most gay people are somewhat closeted. But I’d rather live here than in any gayborhood in the country. Far less status seeking and attitude.

R66 thank you for sharing. I always love it when gay people on DL let the rest of us peek inside to a place we may never get to see! Not all of us live in California! R66, if one were to visit for say 5 - 7 days, what are the must-see places? Is there any wonderful dining? How about black culture, are there any amazing soul food joints or southern style BBQ pits? I did drive a family member through the Ozarks in Missouri, and they are stunning. I was also struck by the poverty. America — we need to pump more wealth into the interiors! We did not move our economy from manufacturing to tech fast enough, but I see massive opportunities between our coasts to rebuild from the ashes, and we can do it in a way that is truly equitable this time too. Fuck Reconstruction — let’s rebuild this country for All.

I myself lived in Athens, GA for 5 years. Looooved it overall, though I also realized that Southern culture was hard for me as a Yank. After a few years, I realized my cursing, crass-self rubbed genteel Southerners the wrong way, but I didn’t know how to change myself. But Athens was still good to me. If I could go back, I would explore being more immersed in the black culture of Georgia, so that part I wasn’t wise enough to explore at the time.

Thank you for the great reply, R67! I’m really not one to judge what Black culture is like here. As a 58 year old white guy living in the boonies, I haven’t really experienced it here.

As far as places to go, definitely Little Rock and Hot Springs should be on your list. Out of Hot Springs, a drive up State Route 7 to Jasper and then cutting over and up to Eureka Springs would be beautiful for pretty much the entire route. From Eureka Springs, drive the hour or so to the Fayetteville/Rogers/Bentonville area to see what a newer metro in the Ozarks has to offer. Don’t stay on Route 7 as far as Harrison, though. It’s a notorious sundown town even to this day.

Honestly, you could easily spend a week or two just exploring the Ozark and Ouachita mountains. We do have gorgeous scenery here. Be ready for a lot of fried foods though. Even the more white hometown restaurants here offer something close to soul food, with items like corn meal breaded fish (especially catfish), black-eyed peas, greens (usually turnip greens, grits, etc. on the menu. It’s great food, but it can be a lot after a while.

The areas north and west of I-30 and US 67 are the half of the state with the most to offer. Mountains, lakes and rivers provide opportunities for swimming, fishing and hiking. It’s definitely the South, though a bit less so in Little Rock and NWA area.

[quote] Sarah Sanders bought an $18,475 custom podium, w/ travel case, just before her European trip.

[quote] "Upper left? "Bottom right? You mean "northeast" and "southwest?"

Um, "northwest" and "southeast"?

[quote] You might find someone out of your echo chamber so you better not go.

Someone who’s out of my echo chamber … in Arkansas? Yes you’re right.

R68, thank you, I do appreciate the tips and info — soul food every day will be a treat when I’m traveling, it sounds awesome (plus I barely eat breakfast and when I fo it us very lighr6. What is a “sundown town”? I immediately thought of zombies lolol. But I don’t know that term. I think I will come down there, but what season would you recommend? Any particular spots in those mountains you mentioned? What will the weather be like in spring? Where do you recommend I stay? Airbnb or hotel? And then us there just a single pocket anywhere are artists? Any kind if artistry is fine, but if there are any Creatives, I would love to visit them too. I always love meeting the town Eccentrics. Are there any gay bars? I’m very curious to take it all in.

Ask my girl, Lana…

Ar-Kansas

A Sundown Town is one black folks shouldn't be caught in after sundown. Lots of guns and lots of white hoods in Harrison.

In Little Rock I would recommend eating at The Terrace, a Greek restaurant hidden away in an office complex.

Being a resort town, Eureka Springs has an abundance of good dining choices. My top three would be Le Stick Nouveau in the heart of the town, Local Flavor on the main drag just after the turnoff from the highway, and Gaskin's Cabin in the countryside north of town. There's also a railroad train that does lunch and dinner excursions—the food isn't particularly special, but the old-fashioned dining car experience is a lot of fun.

I have a few friends from there and one moved back, actually. Another lives there too and the area he lives in is really nice. He has a beautiful big house and great neighbors. People like to talk down on those states but they actually have parts that are very beautiful.

Thanks R74! I lost track of this thread. I’ve lived here for about 3 years now after moving away over 40 years ago. I’ve always had family here, so I’ve been back often for visits.

I need to go visit Eureka Springs and the NWA area. I live in a little town off the 67 freeway and need to break out of my habits.

R74 yes. The area my friend lives in has many great restaurants, all the fast food places you’ll find anywhere (plus some that may be unique to that region), etc. He goes to Starbucks every morning like many in any big city, etc.

People really think of Arkansas as some empty place where nothing exists. Kansas too.

R74 Eureka Springs, Bentonville, Fayetteville, Hot Springs, Rogers… those are all amazing areas.

My personal favorite from visiting was Little Rock. Little Rock has a lot of interesting architecture (shocking), MANY restaurants, sports bars, parks, businesses, live venues, theatre etc. It has many beautiful homes and nice apartment buildings. It also has a surprisingly great nightlife, with a lot of clubs. I was very impressed.

Also, Little Rock has the only civil rights memorial located on state capitol grounds in the south.

R76 here. A couple visiting Eureka Springs and they fall in love with it.

Le Stick Nouveau…de Margarine or de Pretzel?

A couple on Little Rock for 24 hours. They loved it.

Think about it…a place where getting catfished is seen as a good thing

Most people I meet from those types of states are usually nicer and more attractive than most natives to places like NYC and LA

A few people, or some people …FIFY

Don’t stereotype based on your own limitations…er limited experience.