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Fort Smith, AR


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Same thing with an IBM plant, a Magic-springs style theme park, a sports complex, a minor-league baseball stadium, and now the proposed casino-resort. They even try to drive out retal (unless its Wal-Mart of course); why do you think it has taken Target so long to come when it has been proposed for nearly 10 years?

Fort Smith truly is the armpit of America, it is the "town that time forgot", it is the place where dreams and aspirations go to die, and I am counting down my days until my graduation from UAFS so I can get out of this hole and never come back. I am only 22 but i feel like I'm 82 living in this town. Well said panopticon!

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Same thing with an IBM plant, a Magic-springs style theme park, a sports complex, a minor-league baseball stadium, and now the proposed casino-resort. They even try to drive out retal (unless its Wal-Mart of course); why do you think it has taken Target so long to come when it has been proposed for nearly 10 years?
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I don't know. I do know the people wanting to build the casino claimed that 70% of people of Ft Smith wanted the casino. But I also never saw any conclusive evidence of it either. Of course even if it was true, I guess it depends on just how powerful that other 30% is. But yes even if there was more support in the city for the casino, I still don't know if I'd see the state allowing it. There's a lot of people outside of Ft Smith who are worried that Ft Smith will just be the first step of casinos all over the state.

It still seems that with so many people that I've heard from Ft Smith, both on and away from UP. There certainly seems to be a group of people very resistant to any change in the city. Perhaps they're just a minority but then seem to hold some sway over the city none the less.

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Land is being cleared now for the new housing developments in Chaffe crossing. This will add over 100 new houses on the east side of town. Should be in the 150-200,000 range. As for the negative posters...I 540 is open in both directions and nobody is forcing you to endure your apparent misery here. I think if I were that miserable that I had to come on a message board and slam the city I lived in every chance I got, I would do something about it...like move :dontknow:

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Land is being cleared now for the new housing developments in Chaffe crossing. This will add over 100 new houses on the east side of town. Should be in the 150-200,000 range. As for the negative posters...I 540 is open in both directions and nobody is forcing you to endure your apparent misery here. I think if I were that miserable that I had to come on a message board and slam the city I lived in every chance I got, I would do something about it...like move :dontknow:
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Unfortunately, not everyone can up and move on a whim. Several negative posters already stated intentions to leave despite mitigating circumstances precluding that (like going to college or saving for grad school). Until those goals are met, they're stuck here. Considering that this an open forum about urban development and the like, criticism of such things in relation to here is fully open and warranted, wouldn't you agree?
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Sometimes, cities are just bad. But, more times than not...people exaggerate and make them out to be worse than they really are. It is true that a city is what you make of it. Fort Smith isn't that bad of a city. Could it be better? Of course. But, that's with any city. When you compare it with cities like San Francisco, well, of course it's not going to be good enough for you. I actually love Fort Smith. It's a breath of fresh air from NWA. NWA is nice, but looking like every other booming area in the country. Fort Smith actually has history and character. I don't see how you can call the city stagnate. It is land-locked to the west and river-locked to the north and east. But, it is still adding population and development. You certainly have your right to your opiniion of the city, but don't come on here bashing it and expect us to take it as fact.

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Sometimes, cities are just bad. But, more times than not...people exaggerate and make them out to be worse than they really are. It is true that a city is what you make of it. Fort Smith isn't that bad of a city. Could it be better? Of course. But, that's with any city. When you compare it with cities like San Francisco, well, of course it's not going to be good enough for you. I actually love Fort Smith. It's a breath of fresh air from NWA. NWA is nice, but looking like every other booming area in the country. Fort Smith actually has history and character. I don't see how you can call the city stagnate. It is land-locked to the west and river-locked to the north and east. But, it is still adding population and development. You certainly have your right to your opiniion of the city, but don't come on here bashing it and expect us to take it as fact.
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Your profile says you are from Little Rock. That being said, I can see why you would find Ft. Smith interesting because of its history, although MUCH could be done to improve the downtown "historic" district which is full of boarded up buildings. Furthermore, because you don't live in the Ft. Smith area, I doubt you have a clear grasp on the politics here. Of course, if you are the kind of person who doesn't care about big city amenties, likes the outdoors, likes a slow pace of life, and are VERY religious, you might find Ft. Smith to your liking.
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Your profile says you are from Little Rock. That being said, I can see why you would find Ft. Smith interesting because of its history, although MUCH could be done to improve the downtown "historic" district which is full of boarded up buildings. Furthermore, because you don't live in the Ft. Smith area, I doubt you have a clear grasp on the politics here. Of course, if you are the kind of person who doesn't care about big city amenties, likes the outdoors, likes a slow pace of life, and are VERY religious, you might find Ft. Smith to your liking.
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Very Religious..Yes we are in the Bible Belt, but I have lived all over the state of Ark and we are not any more religious than the rest of the state. Heck probably less so than in NWA where certain pastors tell their flock who they must vote for in the presidential election or they will burn in hell.
Edited by bchris02
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This actually happened at my church in Ft. Smith, and I left the church over it.

I apologize but I get very irritated at the politics in Ft. Smith, especially since I'm stuck here with no short-term escape. The age distribution speaks for itself: 25.4% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% 65 years of age or older. Notice the stunning drop in population once they hit 18...because this town has nothing for the 18-25 age group. As the above poster said and is backed up by the statistics, people do tend to come back for one reason or another as they get older.

I dont have a problem that people prefer the kind of lifestyle Ft. Smith offers and doesn't want it to change, because thats how it is here and thats how it will be for at least 20 more years, considering the manufacturing plants dont close. If that happened Ft. Smith would go from stagnant to the hole real quick. Somebody told me before November's elections that if Mayor Ray Baker got re-elected, Ft. Smith would be a ghost town within a decade. I think thats an overstatement, but his re-election is definately not going to help.

Growing UAFS and getting the number of people with bachelors degrees up is key to making some changes. Ft. Smith has an extremely low percentage of college graduates for a city its size. If UAFS wants to grow into a college that is more than just a commuter school for the local high school graduates, the community as a whole needs to offer more to make not only attending UAFS more pleasant, but living in Ft. Smith pleasant also.

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I have got to agree with the comment from Panopticon. I lived in Fort Smith for 8 years and was never so glad as when I got out. You are still young so its not too late to leave and find somewhere else you are happier. I agree with all the negative comments on here. I moved to NWA and am much happier. There are much better career opportunities here not to mention all the other postitives that we won't go through. What is funny is that there are dozens of other people who used to live in Fort Smith that I now see up here and it turns out they moved also. The other people I worked with that are still in Ft. Smith were unmotivated people who just wanted an easy way through life. If you are motivated and want to better yourself then keep looking and you'll find something. Even with the economy somewhat worse than a couple of years ago there are still so many jobs in NWA to choose from. Just start looking.

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I have got to agree with the comment from Panopticon. I lived in Fort Smith for 8 years and was never so glad as when I got out. You are still young so its not too late to leave and find somewhere else you are happier. I agree with all the negative comments on here. I moved to NWA and am much happier. There are much better career opportunities here not to mention all the other postitives that we won't go through. What is funny is that there are dozens of other people who used to live in Fort Smith that I now see up here and it turns out they moved also. The other people I worked with that are still in Ft. Smith were unmotivated people who just wanted an easy way through life. If you are motivated and want to better yourself then keep looking and you'll find something. Even with the economy somewhat worse than a couple of years ago there are still so many jobs in NWA to choose from. Just start looking.
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The other people I worked with that are still in Ft. Smith were unmotivated people who just wanted an easy way through life. If you are motivated and want to better yourself then keep looking and you'll find something. Even with the economy somewhat worse than a couple of years ago there are still so many jobs in NWA to choose from. Just start looking.
Edited by bchris02
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My wife and I are currently in Dental School in Kansas City. We are both from Fort Smith. I couldn't wait to leave Fort Smith when we moved away. At first i loved Kansas City. Now i hate it. I hate everything about it. I hate the traffic, the crime, the fact that i have to drive 20-25 minutes to find a walmart or a grocery store. When we get through with school we will most definately move back to Fort Smith, and that is something i can't believe i would ever say. Does Fort smith have its downside....without a doubt....but there isn't a city or town in this country you can't say the same thing about. No one ever likes to say any of the good things about fort smith....like...the traffic isn't bad....the crime isn't bad in most places....it's convenient to get places....everyone likes to bash.

Edited by ridtinten
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My wife and I are currently in Dental School in Kansas City. We are both from Fort Smith. I couldn't wait to leave Fort Smith when we moved away. At first i loved Kansas City. Now i hate it. I hate everything about it. I hate the traffic, the crime, the fact that i have to drive 20-25 minutes to find a walmart or a grocery store. When we get through with school we will most definately move back to Fort Smith, and that is something i can't believe i would ever say. Does Fort smith have its downside....without a doubt....but there isn't a city or town in this country you can't say the same thing about. No one ever likes to say any of the good things about fort smith....like...the traffic isn't bad....the crime isn't bad in most places....it's convenient to get places....everyone likes to bash.
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True, NWA offers the same positives of Ft. Smith without the negatives and prevalent backward thinking. NWA has a future while Ft. Smith is passed its peak and I suspect will decline within the coming decades (unless a younger generation turns things around when the old-timers pass on).

JJL, is there anything anymore that Ft. Smith has that NWA doesn't?

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The major thing is very affordable housing. It is extremely cheaper. Of course the flip side is little to no appreciation. As for businesses probably Academy Sports is the only thing there that isn't in NWA. Ft Smith isn't horrible. It just seemed really slow to me and I wanted more. I'm more interested in furthering my career and it was just way easier to do so in NWA. The pace is much faster but for some people the slower pace in Ft Smith may be more up their alley. What I can count on is when going to Ft Smith it always looks pretty similar to how it always has. There are a few changes but overall not a lot.
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  • 2 weeks later...

I wanted to ask a question to see what people think. For quite a while Arkansas has really pushed to land a major plant at a 'supersite' at Marion. Although that's never really come about they have attracted some companies to locate to that area. But I was wondering if people from Ft Smith feel left out. Do people think that perhaps the state should better represent Ft Smith? Should the state try to locate a major plant around Ft Smith? I think most of us know the state has been pushing Marion because it's in a rather economically depressed area of the state. But maybe Ft Smith would be a more attractive location to some companies. I've never heard anyone complain. Are there any forward thinking people that would try to set up a 'supersite' around Ft Smith? Perhaps one of the problems is the city not showing enough leadership. I don't think you can rely on the state to do everything. Especially if the city doesn't make much of an effort to get things started. I admit I'm not very knowledgeable about Ft Smith, but it's the general impression I've gotten. Ft Smith is growing and it's not all gloom and doom. I just think sometimes it gets overlooked because of the success of NWA. But I've still had a hard time seeing the city make much of an effort aside from the US Marshall's Museum. I see some early signs of problems that hit Pine Bluff several decades ago and now look at it. I can't say Ft Smith will end up like Pine Bluff, but I think it would be foolish to simply dismiss it also.

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