It's a common expectation that when you leave a large city to relocate to a small town, you leave behind the "Land of Opportunity". You anticipate giving up A LOT of things in exchange for a few new, unique experiences, with the hope that somehow the quality of these new experiences will greatly outweigh the value of what you left behind. I must say, I assumed the same would be true when we relocated from Austin, Texas to Fort Smith, Arkansas. Boy, was I in for a surprise.
At that time, Austin held the distinct honor of having the greatest number of restaurants per capita of any city in the country. Let me be clear here – that's out of every single city in this huge country of ours! That's a lot of restaurants! That's a lot of potential for eating out! My husband and I arrived here in 1986. Austin had just had its big boom, and was getting a bit congested for our liking. That was before Applebee's, TGIF, Olive Garden, Chili's, Outback, Logan's or Red Lobster ever found their way to Fort Smith. The choices back in '86 were Western Sizzlin', Denny's, or a handful of great locally owned restaurants. So I did what any other newlywed would do, trying to make the best of a new life in a new town, and I learned to cook. (Sigh). I must admit, I love cooking about as much as I love changing the oil in my car.
Slowly, as we settled into our new home, and accepted the reality of eating at home more, a suprising thing did begin to happen. Little by little, we did begin to have those unique experiences that we just could not have had back in Austin. We spent most weekends venturing out to explore Arkansas, also known as the Natural State, and not only did it live up to its name, with its wild, rugged scenery, but we noticed that we seemed to have the place all to ourselves! No matter where we went – no lines, no traffic, not many boats to speak of, competing for the lake, not many folks on the hiking trails. This was new to us, and boy, did we like it! There were unlimited opportunities in the great outdoors here. To this day our favorite getaway is camping on one of the hundreds of wooded islands out in the middle of Lake Ouachita, a beautiful clear-water lake near Hot Springs -- our own “private” island where we can pitch our tent, hang out hammocks, let the kids and dog run free, and gather around a campfire for our own peaceful view of the sunset at the end of each fun-filled day.
That first year we took in the Rodeo Parade, which travels down Garrison Avenue, the main street downtown. It also signals the start of the Rodeo, which goes on every night for a full week. Now, I'm originally from Houston, Texas, the home of a rodeo so huge it's held in the Astrodome, and Elvis Presley was the main attraction, so imagine my surprise when I show up at the parade, and the line of horses stretches so far down Garrison, that you can't see the end. After inquiring, I was told that pretty much if you owned a horse, you could come ride in the Rodeo Parade! Talk about opportunity. All of a sudden, I was wishing I owned a horse. Maybe I knew someone who could lend me a horse? The folks riding in the parade were having a blast and you could tell this was one event they all planned for year-round. The riding clubs were all in matching outfits, Rodeo Beauty Queens waved from atop their rides, and even the Sheriff's mounted posse were stars. There was an antique tractor club, a Mustang Club, and well, it was just one of the most nostalgic things I'd ever seen. I was indeed in Small Town America.. And I loved it. The Christmas Parade is just as great. I never miss it.
After having been here a while now, probably the most surprising thing to me, is that living in a small town has its unique advantages because of the actual size of the population. Who knew? I go to the mall or to the Supercenter Walmart and I see people I actually know – lots of people. This was something that NEVER happened back in Austin or Houston. And the people are so friendly – sincerely friendly and nice. People look you in the eye and smile – and these are just the strangers! I never knew I could live in a town and actually see the Mayor on a regular basis, or the conductor of the Symphony. And they actually visit with you when they run into you! In Walmart! Who knew? Back in Austin or Houston, these were individuals that traveled in a totally different socioeconomic orbit than I did. Now we were all rubbing elbows in one big friendly river valley. It's just simply a life that I never would have had in Austin or Houston. It's not what I bargained for when we decided to leave the big city – it's turned out to be so much more!
I have been a Realtor here since 1999, and recently I was giving a tour of our community and showing houses to a family relocating from Arizona. After we had been driving around half the day, we stopped for lunch, and the wife turned to me and said, 'You know, Linda, you really are an ambassador for Fort Smith." I have to admit, I had never really thought of it that way. I was just aways trying to do my job, and do my best to show the benefits of living here. It have to admit, being called "ambassador" made me sit a little higher in my chair, and feel a little surge of pride. An ambassador for the town I love -- what an opportunity!
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