Bentonville, AR: It's not that bad
Written: Sep 28 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: weather, mountain scenery, friendly locals
Cons: taxes, attitudes, county fair!
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| skippio's Full Review: Arkansas |
Review Topic: Overview
We were once asked by a man in San Diego, California, if we had cable TV and Internet access here in Bentonville, Arkansas. Well, as a favor to all epinionators, we are here today to set the record straight on exactly what happens here in the Home State of Bill Clinton.
We do have running water, indoor plumbing, electricity, central heat and air, Internet access (obviously), cable TV (which we don’t subscribe to), and cell phones galore. We do have public schools, and most everyone wears shoes, in public anyway. The majority of Bentonville residents even have teeth. Meth labs have replaced moonshining as the private industry of choice. See, we are pretty sophisticated ‘round these parts! However, we find the attitudes of most locals to be reminiscent of the 1950s, in matters of religion, race, and gender equity. That's all we're going to say about that.
Bentonville is situated in the northwest corner of Arkansas, and is the cosmopolitan center and county seat of Benton County. It is also the home of Wal-Mart Inc., and a stronghold of the Bible Belt. Consequently, the first two questions one is asked upon moving here are “What church do y’all go to?” and “So, what do you do at Wal-Mart?”
Wal-Mart is the area’s largest employer and biggest tourist draw. We have previously reviewed the Wal-Mart Visitors’ Center, which is located right off the town square. Frequently, we see tour buses disgorging loads of faithful Wal-Martians in front of the Visitors’ Center. Right across the street from the center’s front door is the Confederate soldier memorial in the center of the square.
Every Saturday under the soldier’s watchful gaze, a mini-flea market convenes on the square. Here one can buy locally-grown fruits and veggies, reconditioned vacuum cleaners, a comic book or two, and the ever-popular Ozark craft items. Crafts are big business down here, with Bentonville hosting at least three huge craft shows annually. If you like crafts, this is the place for you. But, if you can’t stand the sight of another chicken painted on a hunk of wood, you’d best stay away from Bentonville in the fall.
Of course, Bentonville is also home to the magnificent Benton County Fair. Well, it’s really not quite what we are used to. Growing up in the Midwest, a fair for us was a pretty big ordeal. These fairs had hundreds of concession stands offering any food you might have a hankering for, thousands of animals, tractor pulls, harness races, demolition derbies, contests, marching bands, commercial displays showing everything from hot tubs to computers to agricultural equipment---yeah, it was a big deal. On the other hand, the Bentonville fair has a couple cows, a few horses, a ferris wheel, some carnival games, two or three church-sponsored hot dog stands, some kiddie rides, and nine chickens. We tried to get French fries with vinegar (traditional fair fare for us) and they looked at us like we’d dropped down from Naboo. The Bentonville fair does not even have a proper grandstand. This is one of the many cultural shocks we encountered upon moving here.
Bentonville is home to some of the biggest churches you’re likely to see outside of Paris or Rome. They build ‘em big down here, and it seems like when one finishes remodeling, all the other churches on the block try to outdo it. We watched the Presbyterians erect their gargantuan new church down the street for about two years, undoubtedly spending a few million bucks in the process. Three miles down the road in the opposite direction are tumbledown, tinroofed shacks with four dogs and five kids running around out front. So, we have some qualms about the disparity of wealth here in Bentonville.
Two different groups exist side by side here in Bentoville: the flamboyantly wealthy and the working poor. Middle class is practically non-existent. Just a half-mile from our neighborhood is the Walton family compound, where wrought-iron gates and security cameras make sure the riff-raff stays out. But every day, we watch people scrounging for pop cans, scrap metal, and barely-usable items left along the curb for the garbage. In one driveway you may see a monstrous SUV, and parked next door could be a beat-up old Yugo. Those people who drive to the big Presbyterian church in their Lincoln Navigators pass right by a row of grubby little house trailers without a second thought.
Taxation in Benton County is still a mystery to us. For instance, we registered our truck after a bitter three-hour struggle in several different county offices before getting our license plates. A year later, when it came time to re-register, we got a letter in the mail telling us we hadn’t paid our vehicle assessment tax, and so would be penalized. Unbeknownst to us, we’re just supposed to telepathically infer that taxes are due every May, no matter in what month you register.
Property assessment is another mystical Benton County custom. When you improve your property, an assessor comes out to look at it and decide what value it adds to your property. That sounds reasonable, right? Well, the thing is, they never actually contact the homeowner or physically come onto the property. Instead, they park across the road with some binoculars and a camera to appraise from a safe distance. Then a couple weeks after this assessment, you’ll get a letter in the mail telling you your property has been re-evaluated. This strikes us as being a tad sneaky and unfair.
But there are a lot of good points to Bentonville. The residents seem very friendly and outgoing. The weather is mild in fall and winter. The surrounding Ozark countryside is stunningly beautiful, and unspoiled (it is the “Natural State”, after all). We’re close enough to several large cities (Kansas City, Little Rock, St. Louis) to make a weekend getaway possible. Benton County is dry, but we’re only ten minutes from the Missouri border and the ever-popular stateline “Jug Store”. (When you “run for the border” down here, you’re not going to Taco Bell.) It’s a quiet, peaceful, uneventful community, and we like it just fine—that is, until we move. It’s not the greatest town in the world, but we know there are a lot worse places out there. We don’t plan to stay here forever, but it’s good enough for now.
If you’re looking for a nice little community to settle down in, and you don’t mind vinegar-free French fries or SUV-driving Wal-Mart yuppies, Bentonville just might be your vision of Paradise.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
skippio
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Member: W. Fritz
Location: Newton, Iowa
Reviews written: 44
Trusted by: 109 members
About Me:
Winners of Fitter Families, Best Couple, Texas State Fair, 1926. We haven't aged much.
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