[intermittently]

I'm also not one for going out of my way to "pitch" my town (not that Amazon would be interested, but that's exactly the kind of entity I'm happy to leave to other cities...), but happy to offer up a description if you helps you in (what sounds to be) your search for a new location.

To that end: Northwest Arkansas is pretty great. Cheap cost of living but plenty of jobs between the University of Arkansas, Walmart HQ, Tyson HQ, and JB Hunt HQ. And because there's Walmart money, there's also a nice airport, a really lovely art museum, and a large concert venue that will at least occasionally attract bands I'm interested in.

You've also got your pick of political leanings, if that's important to you. Fayetteville (university town) is more blue; Bentonville (more of a corporate town) is more red.

And it's in the Ozark Mountains, so plenty of hiking around if that's your thing.

[vram22]

Interesting. I've read both 1) Sam Walton's autobiography, Made in America, in which he mentions Bentonville (it was where he started his first Walmart, IIRC), and 2) an article long ago in the National Geographic about life in the Ozarks (the rural / wooded parts). Both the book and the article were pretty interesting, and nature in the Ozarks looked great, from the photos.

[oblib]

Shhhh....