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June 26, 2003
NW Arkansas Ranks First
No, not in trailer trash population, shame on you! There's a new report out by the Milken Institute which ranks NW Arkansas first in the nation....for its strong regional economy. Surprised? I'm not, but then we live here.
The Fayetteville area ranked strongly in all the indexes measured by the institute. It ranked first in job growth in the nation. The region ranked ninth in wages and salaries. But its hightech sector grew faster than any other area. That doesn’t mean it’s the technology Mecca — it ranked 127 th in terms of its total concentration of high-tech firms.
Which is probably one of the reasons our economy's so good...dot com bust didn't bother us any. This doesn't mean there aren't tons of jobs here for techies, there are. (Otherwise I wouldn't be back in college) Besides the obvious WalMart and its ancillary vendors' businesses, there's also Tyson's and JBHunt headquartered here....all high tech businesses. We've become a right smart tech mecca without the Big Boys like IBM.
One of the best side-effects of this is the diversity of the population...like a little NYC without the crime and dirty streets....though ours tends to be more Asian and Indian than European. Of course, there's also the Italian community in Tontitown that's been around since, oh, the 1800's. And the foreign exchange students from all over up at the University.
Plus there's all kinds of places like this that are just a few minutes drive away.
Who could ask for anything more?
Posted by Rita at June 26, 2003 08:03 AM
Comments
It's the chicken people, isn't it? :)
Posted by: Tony Rosen at June 26, 2003 08:25 AM
Partly...which is why the locals call Springdale "Chickendale". But it's primarily the WalMartians, who are everywhere.
And I ain't repeating what we call JBHunt.
: )
Posted by: Rita at June 26, 2003 08:30 AM
I just remember all the chickens ... hehe
Posted by: Tony at June 26, 2003 10:23 AM
Hon, we call JBHunt that up here too. :-)
You're damn close to Eureka Springs, aren't you? I know a coaster nut who lives there. Very nice gentleman, used to be in the Twin Cities, and now lives in semi-retirement in your neck of the woods.
Posted by: Keith at June 26, 2003 10:57 AM
Rilly? I thought that was just a local thing. My daughter works there part-time, pretty good company for the most part from what I've seen.
Holiday Island is a nice community...just a hoot 'n a holler from here. Well, maybe a few hollers, but not too far. About 30-45 mins. drive if you go the way I go...and drive the way I do. Not that I'd exceed the speed limit on those twisty 2 lane mountain roads or anything.
: )
If you ever drop by to see him, give us a yell. We could all go to Branson and make fun of the little coasters at Steal-Your-Dollar City or something.
Posted by: Rita at June 26, 2003 03:13 PM
Will do. We WILL make it down there one of these days.
And don't make fun of the little coasters. The little ones are the ones that will kick your ass.
Posted by: Keith at June 26, 2003 05:55 PM
There's one there called "Fire in the Hole" that I love...the first part is really stupid, bad Animatronics, but about the last half of it is in total darkness, ending with a splash through ice cold water. It's loads of fun!
Posted by: Rita at June 26, 2003 06:10 PM
I am stupid.
Posted by: Lolita at October 11, 2003 08:16 AM