Rogers, Arkansas

I remember when I first moved to Arkansas.  It was 1993.  I was coming from Pearl Harbor, HI.  Retiring from the Navy.  I had spent time in some of the largest cities in the country.  San Diego.  Washington, DC.  Orlando, FL.  And now I was moving to Arkansas.  My friends laughed.  "Call us when you are ready to move back to civilization!"

I get asked all the time, "Why Arkansas?  And why Rogers, Arkansas?  Why not at least Little Rock, or Hot Springs?"  The answer is simple.  This is where my husband calls home.  We moved here to be closer to his family.  I grew up in northeastern Pennsylvania.  But I wasn't keen to move back there.  I had left there just as soon as I could for a reason.  Those reasons hadn't changed.  So Arkansas was where we would retire.

Almost everyone I meet has a noticeable reaction when I say I'm from Arkansas.  The type of reaction varies but it is always there.  Sometimes it is pity.  "Arkansas?  Really?  Poor girl."  Sometimes it's laughter.  "Y'all live in Arkansas? I done been to Arkansas."  Sometimes it's disbelief.  "You live in Arkansas?  Why?  You could live anywhere!"  True, I say, but we choose to live here.

You see many people have a preconceived notion of what Arkansas is like.  Backwoods.  Redneck.  Hillbilly.  Country.  Poor.  Uneducated.  I've heard all those words used.  But what they don't remember or choose to overlook are a different set of facts.

I live 35 minutes from the main campus of the University of Arkansas.  You know...the Razorbacks?  Woo Pig Sooie and all that.  It's a good school with some top programs.  And Fayetteville, AR is a normal college town with plenty to offer.  It's been listed as one of the top cities to live several times by major publications.

I can be at the Walmart Home Office in about 20 minutes.  Walmart.  Perhaps you have heard of them?  This is where they originated and where they still call home.  Just down the road is the Corporate Headquarters of JB Hunt, the trucking company.  And just a bit down the road from there is the World Headquarters of Tyson Foods.  Three of the largest and most well-known companies in the world call this area home.  Why shouldn't I?

There are advantages to having the Waltons, the Tysons, and other large companies based here.  They give back to the community.  And so we have an amazing Performing Arts center (Walton Art Center) where we can see everything from Broadway plays to children's theater, ballet, symphonies, comedy, international acts, and everything in between - all at an affordable cost.  The AMP brings in well know artists from all genres.  Just this week we are having performances by 30 Seconds to Mars, Kenny Chesney, and Janet Jackson.  Crystal Bridges Museum is a world class museum specializing in American art.  The Bentonville Film Festival brings many of your favorite stars right here to our little town.  And if that doesn't excite you, we are also home to the 3rd largest motorcycle rally in the country.  I never miss Bikes Blues and BBQ!  Oh, and don't forget the craft fairs.  People come from all over the country for the annual craft fairs! 

If you're into sports, we have Baum Stadium.  Football.  Basketball. Baseball.  Oh and speaking of baseball, we have a minor league team based out of Arvest Ball Park.  

We have excellent medical facilities.  Miles of biking and walking trails.  Wonderful restaurants.  Boutiques and galleries and shops of all kinds. 

And some of the nicest, most caring people you will ever meet.

We're not as redneck, hillbilly, uneducated as you might think.  But that's not my point.  My point is choice.  I choose to live here because I want to not because I have to. 

Yes, I could live elsewhere.  We have sometimes discussed moving to Florida where it's warmer.  Or to Costa Rica where it's warmer still.  We've talked about buying an RV and just hitting the road.  And yet somehow we always decide to remain right here.  Because we can do whatever we want.  As long as I have my phone, my laptop, and a way to connect with the internet, I can earn a living. 

This lifestyle isn't about 4-day work weeks.  It's not about working 2 hours a day.  It's not about being the next internet millionaire (although I won't complain about that).  It's not the pictures you see of big houses and fancy cars or some guy on the beach with his laptop.  I mean seriously...who takes their laptop to the beach? 

No.  What it is about is CHOICE.  And that is what's most important.

So the next time you get that look when I say I'm a network marketer from Rogers, Arkansas, ask yourself a question.  Are you where you are by choice or because you have no choice?

I choose the Arkansas life.  What will you choose?

WooPigSooie!  Razorbacks!

P.S.  If you want the freedom to choose your life, contact me.  Maybe I can help...