Evidently this WM store wasn’t subject to rioting and massive theft. I remember when Walmart bragged about buying local products in the USA. But after Sam died the company switched to cheap import goods. It would do the country good if the company reversed its course.
Sam Walton was a nice guy. He took the time to talk to his customers. When I was 6 he saw me looking at the Return of the Jedi action figures and asked me "what do you think about our toy department son?" I said "It's the best because you have all the Star Wars toys" and then he said something to the employee he was with about keeping the inventory well stocked. I thought at the time he just owned that Walmart I was visiting. Then about a year later I saw his picture behind the customer service desk with the words "our founder" at the bottom and I realized who he was. There was no Internet in 1985 so it's not as if I could search Sam Walton results.
@Matt Golden but where are the alternative choices? I will agree that Walmart could open its own production facilities here on American soil, if Arkansas governor would tax the foreign products for the revenue lost when jobs are lost.Every state in the Union should do this. If the citizens must pay tax, why mot these companies dumping their sorry junk on US citizens at top price? Death to Satan's new world order!
I know of a couple of larger towns that won't let Walmart in. One won't allow any type of large chain business in. Of course Walmart has built right outside of those towns. They're kind of nice places to go shopping, still find unique things.
I was born and raised in this area and while this video makes me feel proud, it also worries me. Yes people are flooding into the area because of how nice it is, but I strongly believe too may people is a bad thing. And also, many of these people are coming with the same terrible ideology that ruined the place they left. I really hope that doesn't happen here.
Yup. If ur gonna move to Texas due to the policies you voted for then leave those beliefs/ideas behind. As it’s what got your state in the predicament it’s now in
Your attitude is exactly why I was unjustly kidnapped and beat up by cops for being a displaced Californian. Just fyi people from other states moved to California and displaced us first, and then we had to go rehome ourselves elsewhere. This is a global issue, gentrification. Stop blaming this shit on Californians just looking for a decent quality of life after Arkansas and the rest of the south etc. has probably been sending us their traumatized addicts for decades now. Blame the drug companies and the corporate entities who destroyed everyone’s lives. Individuals looking to find peace and safety and affordability are not the enemy, it’s the exploiters who profit off this stuff. So please get your facts straight if your gonna spew this stranger danger narrative. Everywhere is ruined and it has everything to do with bigotry, exploitation, elitism and capitalism. Wake UP.
I'm guessing, they have a lot of "run" down buildings and hardly any jerbs available; I remember a town more over where I was at, they were banning all big box stores, but the town itself was a "poop" hole city, where there isnt many jobs, their " conservative politicians" were too busy focusing on their own brand of "socialism"/communism; I can't tell what our conservatives politicians stance is, they are either religious bigoted "fascist" , than all of a sudden, they become socialists when to big business's.. THese old boomers are soo dumb that run our cities and states; I hate my welfare state. They seem to forget that these "big" box business's pay a large sale of "taxes" to t heir state to improve their cities vs small business's which are outdated with min wage/low wages. THe wage argument is silly, cause small business's tend to pay "nepotism" low wages, or neopet low wages I call it, which hhere, thats what they do.. WHile walmart, pay way above lol. ITs why small business sucks, cause they fail to innovate or pay higher wages, thats the reason.
Berryville is right next to Eureka Springs and it has a Walmart, so everybody comes to shop in Bville. Eureka Springs with its historic downtown gets plenty of revenue from tourists, they don't need a WM for that.
Eureka Springs is an old resort town in the mountains. It used to be a hangout for rich people in the early 20th century to soak in the spring waters. It is a very liberal town compared to most of Arkansas. Eureka Springs is like a miniature San Francisco in the middle of the Ozarks without the homeless problem. It's very picturesque mountain town with a lot of money, hippies, and artists. You'll see rainbow flags all over the place in Eureka Springs. Once you visit there you'll understand why and how the locals were able to resist the all powerful Walmart.
This is a beautiful city and that was the cleanest, most organized Walmart I've ever seen! I stopped going to the Walmart by me 3 or 4 years ago cause it's so trashy! Great video!!
@@Ben-bb7miI refer to it as best Arkansas and the only region of the state I would live in. But then again, I was born in Pine Bluff and spent half my childhood in South Arkansas.
Northwest Arkansas is sort of like northeast Mississippi. Each is a part of a state that generally depressed, yet they are thriving. One would think the states' governments would look at the situation and attempt to replicate it in other regions.
expecting "government" (people that point guns demanding payment for services) to improve the lives of anybody or anything is like expecting money to grow on trees... 😵💫 governments are good at destroying things with bombs and bullets and poisons...
Northwest Arkansas is the location of Wal-Mart world headquarters. There are thousands of high paid jobs for Wal-Mart corporate workers (unlike store workers) and thousand more representatives of Wal-Mart suppliers in a location known as "vendorville".
Nick, you should try Heber Springs, Arkansas too! It's very nice. We have a very large lake and a beach too! But on second thought...nope, don't put us on your map please. We don't mind it in the least that Arkansas has such a hick reputation that it keeps other states from wanting to move in on us! LOL. Love your channel!!!
Back in 1960, the population of Bentonville was around 4,000. By the time I had made my first foray into the town around 1968 or so, the population had grown to around 7,000. There were two main ways to get to Bentonville from Rogers back then-- US Highway 71, and Arkansas Highway 102. Traffic was sparse on both roads, but especially on 102, which was a lazy 2-lane country road running through mostly farmland. Now, both roads are 4- or 5-lanes that are choked with traffic.
Reminds me of the neighborhoods I grew up back in the 40's and 50's where we kept things clean, knew our neighbors, and worked hard to own what we had.
My grandma actually worked in the first Walmart and told me a story about when she met Sam Walton. She said he was a kind man who laughed a lot and made sure everyone was okay
I remember when it was a mom-and-pop shop located on West Walnut St. between 7th and 8th streets in Rogers. My mom bought the Beatles' first US 45 record there for 29 cents.
Paul! I can remember my Mom always saying, Put your boots hat and gloves in the car when you go out... in case you get stranded..I see these city kids in Ada 49301, wearing next to nothing in the winter, house shoes, PJ's and a light shirt, they jump in the car and take off! Now you know how well they'll do if they have a roadside emergency. There have been cases of these young kids expiring on the road when they get stranded in bad weather. That happened to a 17 yr.old girl this past winter after she put her car in the ditch.
Glad to have left NWA last year, after leaving Portland many years before, the same process is happening to many cities, they used to be desirable places
Had to leave my hometown, Austin, for the same reason. Growth needs to become a bad word/idea, don't care about its positives when its negatives seem to greatly outweigh them in the long run.
The whole area is overcrowded for the capacity of the infrastructure. Driveways in and out of businesses aren’t finished. There’s construction all over. Far too many people for what they can accommodate without crazy traffic jams. No one knows how to drive. And an overall weird mix of executives, trendy types, and redneck bros.
I lived in Marshall, AR for 2 years before moving to Harrison. Marshall would not allow a Walmart either. Granted, they had not much else but was nice to see a small town saying no.
🎉I know about Marshall, AR I have lived in many different places around Arkansas and around the country. I was there for a little while. The main reason they didn't want Walmart to come there was because of HARPS. They would have been better off with a Walmart store there. Instead of people driving over to Clinton to pay cheaper prices for groceries at the supercenter all of that money could have stayed right there in Marshall. And it would have created more employment for the locals. There basically are no jobs in Marshall other than retail ,very few fast food jobs, and the biggest employer there is the highland court nursing and rehab center or you are forced to drive to the nearby lumber mills in St. Joe. The residents and city officials of Marshall screwed themselves over by not allowing Walmart to come in.
@@user-pf3mi7np1y Amen to that! Interestingly enough, Bentonville, Springdale and other small towns in NW Arkansas manage to coexist with Walmart and have even thrived in the area. Many people choose to shop at Harps over Walmart. I grew up in the Marshall area and they would have been better off if they had allowed the area to grow instead of stifling any kind of change. Other industries tried to come in there as well and were turned down. After NAFTA the shirt factory closed and that was a big blow to Marshall as well.
Bentonville was very nice with friendly people who will help you find all the places that make their city special, it was everything you see in this video .Bring money !
Im an Arkansas native, lived all over the state. Walmart does NOT care about Arkansas. I lived in Brinkley for 10 years and was there when Walmart Promised they wouldnt shut down their original 100 stores. Brinkley had store #78. Those people were given 2 weeks notice they were shutting down and was the primary employer in town, then refused to take those same employees into neighboring town stores 30 minutes away. Everything collapsed after that in Brinkley. I now live just outside Texarkana on the Texas side. I lived in Monticello, grew up in southwest Arkansas around Hope (also drastically declined partially in Hope the store is techincally just outside city limits to avoid contributing to the tax base there).
This is nice and scary at the same time. If house prices in Arkansas start reaching the million dollar range, I feel it's going to affect the entire region.
I bought my house in Jan 2021 for 169k. The market price listing is 330k the last time I checked, about 6 months ago. I have an entire acre backyard in the middle of town. I would never sell, but there are times I wish I had a smaller place
It’s happening across the South. Texas has been seeing this problem for a long time. OKC and Tulsa are having a really big problem with it as well as cities in Tennessee, Birmingham, Alabama, the Carolinas, and Georgia. It’s a plague that’s taken over the ENTIRE region. The Californians move in the second an area starts to take off, pushing out locals price wise.
Been to NW Arkansas a few times and agree with everything you’ve said here. And the local airport is really nice too! The only quibble I have is when you talked about the nearest big city, you got that wrong. Springfield isn’t “big” but Tulsa is and it’s less than 2 hours away. Closer than Little Rock by a lot.
The humor with which you make your delivery makes me love your channel and makes it more interesting to watch than other channels I have seen that do literally the same type of content
Good to know about Google reviews! I have friends in this area, and they rave about it. I have considered retiring in the area, but need to jump the expansion and find a more affordable town. Love your reviews!
I live in a town in a far northern state with a neat, well-run Walmart. Never once saw the nutty things one finds on video in CZcams. Gotta be the atmosphere.
I loved this. It shows the good side. No one hanging out on the street corners, bunched up like roaches. No trash on the streets, tents. etc. I could do it.
I’m from Louisiana and what’s crazy about Arkansas and Louisiana is that they are both backward southern states but some how companies like Walmart and Tyson chicken become successful and the keep their headquarters in Arkansas where as companies that start out in Louisiana become successful they relocate to Dallas, Atlanta, or elsewhere (Raisin Caines, Delta Airlines, Albemarle Chemicals)
Yeah I remember when Bobby Jindal used to give all those tax breaks to companies, then those same companies would take off and relocate to another state, after about five years of not paying taxes in Louisiana. I guess it's still going on. And my family and childhood friends, have the nerves to wonder why I won't move back there.
Thanks Nick for the heads up about the Google star system being inaccurate! That’s not fair! Thanks I was born and raised in Portland Oregon until I moved in 2021 to northwest Ohio and I tell you as nice as those places are in Arkansas, it’s not very affordable. Certainly not for people who are Walmart associates
Just to be clear, Nick was talking specifically about the homes in downtown Bentonville. There are plenty of far more affordable homes outside of downtown.
Hey Nick, we may have crossed paths. I was just out there a week ago. This is definitely a very special region of the United States. I always enjoy my time strolling around Fayetteville. Go Razorbacks!
Wow! Thanks for the warning about Google reviews, Nick! My mom likes to say that Comfort Inn is "where the truckers stay." Your experience at the Comfort Inn in Bentonville seems to reinforce their less-than-stellar image.
Haha most of them are just fine Matt. The only thing that drew my attention to the whole review fiasco was this place was just really struggling. Have a good summer up there!
I had to smile at the hotel rating report. I like to visit and vacation in NWA. I used to travel a lot with my job before I retired. I learned to deduct a star from any hotel rating in that area. If it rates 4 stars there, it’s a 3 or 2 star other places. That area has changed so much since my first visit. I live in Mississippi and I’m still considering relocating there to live out my days. I don’t think it will go to ruin before my mortality ends. 🙏🏽
I’m watching this from Australia. 🇦🇺 When you were filming in the Main Street shopping areas I noticed all the shops were leased. With all the car parks full. Yet I didn’t see many people walking along the shopping strips. Why is this. Usually for retail shopping strips to be successful they almost always have a strong flow of foot traffic. Which I didn’t see, yet as I said all the car parks were full.
@@kendallsmith1458 Agreed. In the 1960s and 1970s (and before), downtown Rogers was a vibrant shopping area, but it began to decline in either the late '70s or early '80s, and the long-established shops like Stroud's (clothing store) and Western Auto began to lose out to Walmart.
Hey Nick, thanks for coming to NWA! You were about one minute from my office and two minutes from my home. I wish I would’ve known you were here. I would have shown you some really beautiful parks and trail and even small lake that you were very close to. Yes, this is a beautiful area for sure.
Where I live, there was going to be a Six Flags built, but the town turned it down. Now it's a Walmart with a dollar store and 4 different fast food places nearby. Really depressing
It seems like a very nice place to live. We were running from the craziness of Boise with its growth. We decided against Bentonville and landed in Choctaw OK. It's slowly growing and doesn't have traffic. I think OKC will be the next boom town with how much work and funds is going into infrastructure and creating new businesses. But theres still a serious lack of shopping and restaurants. The pothole roads suck! But it's a safe and pleasant rural community. The museums here are very impressive in OKC!! The rolling green hills are beautiful!
OKC and surrounding areas have been a boom town for a long time. They've been cleaning it up for the last 20 years. I don't know if I'd consider it entirely safe though. Still some really bad parts I'm sure.
You live in Choctaw. That is a rural suburb of OKC. OKC is not a rural community. And OKC itself has been booming for quite a while now and just keeps getting bigger. As far as restaurants go in OKC, many people believe there are actually too many restaurants. They’re everywhere. OKC just opened up Ramsay’s Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay. Shopping is booming too. They’re building more infrastructure to keep up with the insane demand. I think you’re thinking more in terms of Choctaw specifically when you mention restaurants and shopping. Especially rural. That may be Choctaw. Not OKC.
I live in downtown Rogers! We love it here! Love the shows at the Amp! And everyone knows that if you don't work for Walmart, KEEP OUT of Bentonville! Lol jk! Also traffic is Horrible at rush hour when the home office closes. Thanks for visiting my area!
Hi Nick. Well, I'm virtually homeless now. I'm staying at a motel. I haven't had running water in 5 yrs, no running car and now my air conditioner is out. I'm depressed because I can't afford this. Maybe I can move to Pine Bluff lo l jk, but being disabled is hard. Ty for another good video. I try to watch them all. God bless and tc 🙏
I have relatives who live in Arkansas. The state is really a microcosm of the entire United States in certain ways. If you drive from the Northwest corner of the state to the Southeast corner of the state you will see some of the wealthiest middle sized cities you've ever seen and then end up in a destitute wasteland in the Delta region by the end of the drive. It's the southern and eastern regions of the state that give Arkansas a bad name. However, the entire Northwest quarter of Arkansas is actually very nice, with Benton and Washington Counties being downright wealthy. Little Rock is kind of the line of demarcation between the wealthy counties and the poor counties. Most outsiders think the Ozarks is a poor region, but that isn't really true anymore at least in the Western Ozarks in Arkansas and Missouri. If the northwest quarter of the state from the Missouri border down to the Quachita Mountains seceded from the rest of Arkansas and became it's own state, it would probably be one of the wealthiest states per capita in the country.
The wealth drops off the farther you go from the urbanized areas of Benton and Washington counties. Eastern Benton County, for example, is like a different world from Rogers and Bentonville.
Nick your truthful entertaining commentary must get you into hot water. You are a master with words and as a 71 year old woman who seems to be more intelligent each day with comparison to the world around me, I find you delightful. Change is coming soon....the bible tells me so.
How ironic that Walmart greatly improves the communities in that area of Arkansas and ruin the communities everywhere else. But that's where the Walton family lives. Interesting how that works out.
"People are mostly worried about the traffic." LOL. I have lived in Fayetteville since 1990 and unfortunately our family is now completely priced out of the housing market. Traffic Smaffic. People are MOSTLY concerned about the ridiculous house prices, but I doubt your interviewee talks to people like me.
Same!!! And with these big companies recruiting minorities to come work for them for low salaries - it makes it extremely difficult for families to thrive.
Hey from Japan 👋 I was living in Russellville, AK. I was there as an exchange student back in 2001 through 2002. I really enjoyed going for groceries at Wal-mart. I got taken aback by the display of real guns in the glass case. I wonder if Taco John's is still there. I loved their Taco🌮❤
Hope you enjoyed NWA it's been a great place to live, feel sheltered from most of the worlds woes here. Also, one thing to note is you can get to anywhere in these 4 main cities in under 35 minutes from near anywhere within them. Really all the areas together is probably the actual size of a city metro but before overcrowding. It will be lost charm by the time I'm an old man. For instance if you live in springdale you can get to bentonville, rogers, or fayetteville in under 15 minutes.
You're finally in my hood! The traffic isn't LA traffic but it's getting bad, especially after covid. I love it here and wouldn't really live anywhere else. The only thing that sucks is the roads and infrastructure are a decade behind the growth. All the 2 lane roads in towns can't keep up with traffic.
While it was some years ago, I always wondered - are all the restaurants in Little Rock so good because everybody goes out to eat every night, or does everyone go out to eat every night because the restaurants are so good?
I forgot to mention that all my neighbors are from California. You mentioned the Mexicans at the Tyson plants. But you may not know that they brought a lot of the Marshall Islands people here. Maybe through ft chaffee like the Cubans in the 80s
Very true! Not just Mexicans by any means. Although yes, we butcher your chicken and build your houses - you're welcome - it has gotten so diverse! A lot of Hispanics, Asians, and Indians that Walmart has brought in.
Thanks to the Walmart boom, I had to move to Missouri and leave my NWA home. Nothing affordable anymore. Thanks, gentrification! Even with a great job, good education, and savings galore, there was no way. Rent went from $640 to $900 for a one bedroom over three years. Cash buyers yanked up any affordable homes to flip and turn to $250k+ profits. Back to rural life in good ole Cassville, MO, with mud races and tractor pulls galore. 😂
Here's my entire Deep South Road Trip Playlist: czcams.com/play/PLq-_cmf3H6yrg0_gX1fq81lsxUQTnt7Vl.html
you must drink a lot of coffee and red bulls doing all that driving?
Gotta love Mappy and Karen. Your videos are always great.
Nick Johnson go to Newport Arkansas and check out their police tactics!!! PLEASE!!
Just recently moved to North West Arkansas from Southern Arkansas and I didn't get 10k lol
I like tom selleks man buns in short shorts like ya know we all do and Rick and TC's bun shorts
Evidently this WM store wasn’t subject to rioting and massive theft.
I remember when Walmart bragged about buying local products in the USA. But after Sam died the company switched to cheap import goods. It would do the country good if the company reversed its course.
Yes sir
Sam Walton was a nice guy. He took the time to talk to his customers. When I was 6 he saw me looking at the Return of the Jedi action figures and asked me "what do you think about our toy department son?" I said "It's the best because you have all the Star Wars toys" and then he said something to the employee he was with about keeping the inventory well stocked. I thought at the time he just owned that Walmart I was visiting. Then about a year later I saw his picture behind the customer service desk with the words "our founder" at the bottom and I realized who he was. There was no Internet in 1985 so it's not as if I could search Sam Walton results.
Imported goods brought to you by NAFTA
No it wasn't because this is a republican state not a 💩run democratic state!!😂😂 pretty simple simp
@Matt Golden but where are the alternative choices? I will agree that Walmart could open its own production facilities here on American soil, if Arkansas governor would tax the foreign products for the revenue lost when jobs are lost.Every state in the Union should do this. If the citizens must pay tax, why mot these companies dumping their sorry junk on US citizens at top price? Death to Satan's new world order!
The first thing I thought was, "there's somewhere without a Walmart? "
Romania doesn't. My area Walmart closed 7 years ago in Welch WV
They close when it’s so bad they can’t make money
@@GARGONDIZZA1 North Vegas had one where shoplifting was more than sales so they closed. Thanks Obama.
I know of a couple of larger towns that won't let Walmart in. One won't allow any type of large chain business in. Of course Walmart has built right outside of those towns. They're kind of nice places to go shopping, still find unique things.
Portland doesn’t have them, anymore
I was born and raised in this area and while this video makes me feel proud, it also worries me. Yes people are flooding into the area because of how nice it is, but I strongly believe too may people is a bad thing. And also, many of these people are coming with the same terrible ideology that ruined the place they left. I really hope that doesn't happen here.
It is. Nashville is a perfect example of that.
Yup. If ur gonna move to Texas due to the policies you voted for then leave those beliefs/ideas behind. As it’s what got your state in the predicament it’s now in
Your attitude is exactly why I was unjustly kidnapped and beat up by cops for being a displaced Californian. Just fyi people from other states moved to California and displaced us first, and then we had to go rehome ourselves elsewhere. This is a global issue, gentrification. Stop blaming this shit on Californians just looking for a decent quality of life after Arkansas and the rest of the south etc. has probably been sending us their traumatized addicts for decades now. Blame the drug companies and the corporate entities who destroyed everyone’s lives. Individuals looking to find peace and safety and affordability are not the enemy, it’s the exploiters who profit off this stuff. So please get your facts straight if your gonna spew this stranger danger narrative. Everywhere is ruined and it has everything to do with bigotry, exploitation, elitism and capitalism. Wake UP.
@@TennesseeZ exactly what I was thinking….I grew up in Nashville…people always ruin everything
Sometimes a lot of people are just fling the mass immigration from outside of the country. Western states are being overrun.
You should have gone to Eureka Springs where they will not allow Walmart to open
Wal-Mart better get busy and pay off majority of City Council…..
I'm guessing, they have a lot of "run" down buildings and hardly any jerbs available; I remember a town more over where I was at, they were banning all big box stores, but the town itself was a "poop" hole city, where there isnt many jobs, their " conservative politicians" were too busy focusing on their own brand of "socialism"/communism; I can't tell what our conservatives politicians stance is, they are either religious bigoted "fascist" , than all of a sudden, they become socialists when to big business's.. THese old boomers are soo dumb that run our cities and states; I hate my welfare state.
They seem to forget that these "big" box business's pay a large sale of "taxes" to t heir state to improve their cities vs small business's which are outdated with min wage/low wages.
THe wage argument is silly, cause small business's tend to pay "nepotism" low wages, or neopet low wages I call it, which hhere, thats what they do.. WHile walmart, pay way above lol. ITs why small business sucks, cause they fail to innovate or pay higher wages, thats the reason.
Berryville is right next to Eureka Springs and it has a Walmart, so everybody comes to shop in Bville. Eureka Springs with its historic downtown gets plenty of revenue from tourists, they don't need a WM for that.
That's silly considering they're headquarters are so close
Eureka Springs is an old resort town in the mountains. It used to be a hangout for rich people in the early 20th century to soak in the spring waters. It is a very liberal town compared to most of Arkansas. Eureka Springs is like a miniature San Francisco in the middle of the Ozarks without the homeless problem. It's very picturesque mountain town with a lot of money, hippies, and artists. You'll see rainbow flags all over the place in Eureka Springs. Once you visit there you'll understand why and how the locals were able to resist the all powerful Walmart.
Trust me, people who move there for good jobs and awesome mountain biking realize how good they have it.
Until they don't.
Love nick ! Love how he morphs into different personalities ! Keep up the great job. Love your videos
U-gay love hairybutt
This is a beautiful city and that was the cleanest, most organized Walmart I've ever seen! I stopped going to the Walmart by me 3 or 4 years ago cause it's so trashy! Great video!!
Walmart is my favorite store 😍 🤗
I’m sure they miss you so much lol
Same...3 local walmarts..all trashy----
Hi Lauren
That Walmart is in an area called Pinnacle, which is a rich man's playground.
Fayetteville resident here. Thanks for stopping by our booming corner of the state. It's truly another world from the remainder of the state.
I would love to visit the area as somewhere from my town in virginia moved and loved it. Any suggestions or what to check out.
Bentonville..another world yes with many rainbows.
I would prefer being in the Ozarks over Rogers. It's more peaceful. I'm in Arkansas too.
I refer to NWA as "fake Arkansas" for a reason
(I'm in Bentonville)
@@Ben-bb7miI refer to it as best Arkansas and the only region of the state I would live in. But then again, I was born in Pine Bluff and spent half my childhood in South Arkansas.
Northwest Arkansas is sort of like northeast Mississippi. Each is a part of a state that generally depressed, yet they are thriving. One would think the states' governments would look at the situation and attempt to replicate it in other regions.
NWA is not depressed nor like NE Mississippi. People have to change the way it is where they live.
expecting "government" (people that point guns demanding payment for services) to improve the lives of anybody or anything is like expecting money to grow on trees... 😵💫
governments are good at destroying things with bombs and bullets and poisons...
Northwest Arkansas is the location of Wal-Mart world headquarters. There are thousands of high paid jobs for Wal-Mart corporate workers (unlike store workers) and thousand more representatives of Wal-Mart suppliers in a location known as "vendorville".
More people the quality of life will go down. Crime traffic inflation will follow 😢
@@PioneerCity1767 you misread
Nick, you should try Heber Springs, Arkansas too! It's very nice. We have a very large lake and a beach too! But on second thought...nope, don't put us on your map please. We don't mind it in the least that Arkansas has such a hick reputation that it keeps other states from wanting to move in on us! LOL. Love your channel!!!
Nick, thank you very much for your excellent look at this part of Arkansas. I have always wondered what Bentonville looked like and Walmart's impact.
Back in 1960, the population of Bentonville was around 4,000. By the time I had made my first foray into the town around 1968 or so, the population had grown to around 7,000. There were two main ways to get to Bentonville from Rogers back then-- US Highway 71, and Arkansas Highway 102. Traffic was sparse on both roads, but especially on 102, which was a lazy 2-lane country road running through mostly farmland. Now, both roads are 4- or 5-lanes that are choked with traffic.
Could you imagine every corner of America so clean?
Reminds me of the neighborhoods I grew up back in the 40's and 50's where we kept things clean, knew our neighbors, and worked hard to own what we had.
The 50's were indeed fabulous. America and humanity in general has been in a steady decline ever since.
@@donguess4332 Fabulous for white people...
Unfortunately, a large segment of society doesn’t know how or care to keep things nice
@@donguess4332 My Generation The Happy Day Babyboomers
My grandma actually worked in the first Walmart and told me a story about when she met Sam Walton. She said he was a kind man who laughed a lot and made sure everyone was okay
I remember when it was a mom-and-pop shop located on West Walnut St. between 7th and 8th streets in Rogers. My mom bought the Beatles' first US 45 record there for 29 cents.
@@mikenekosama4426less than three whole dimes. Nice!
That’s part of the reason I often think about the greeters before they started acting part of Sam’s Club
Walmart started in Northwest Arkansas. The executives at Walmart live in this area.
Tyson and JB Hunt too.
Many Mammals are interested in coming to Arkansas including me 🦊
Lemme guess you want to move there to disrupt it.
If that many people are moving to Arkansas from California It'll be like San Francisco soon.
That’s why they should fence it in
Please pray they don’t screw it up. I left and want to come back south as WA state is no longer wonderful to live. Beautiful terrain, crappy politics!
It really won’t.
That is definitely the fanciest Walmart I've ever seen. 💯
I avoid WalMart like the plague. I cannot stand seeing adults wearing pajamas at 3pm during the day. Absolutely no pride or self-respect at all.
Hahahaaaa, 100% thrue
Like they’re the only ones
Paul! I can remember my Mom always saying, Put your boots hat and gloves in the car when you go out... in case you get stranded..I see these city kids in Ada 49301, wearing next to nothing in the winter, house shoes, PJ's and a light shirt, they jump in the car and take off! Now you know how well they'll do if they have a roadside emergency. There have been cases of these young kids expiring on the road when they get stranded in bad weather. That happened to a 17 yr.old girl this past winter after she put her car in the ditch.
It's Zombie land
It’s really a you problem if you demand some sort of professionalism from anyone at a walmart.
Northwest Arkansas is a whole different state of Arkansas. Mind blowing how much money resides along Interstate 49
Great video! I love the way your able to inject a little light heartedness and good humor into your very informative and well researched travelogues.
Glad to have left NWA last year, after leaving Portland many years before, the same process is happening to many cities, they used to be desirable places
80% californians... eventually it will make sense to just move to california again
Had to leave my hometown, Austin, for the same reason. Growth needs to become a bad word/idea, don't care about its positives when its negatives seem to greatly outweigh them in the long run.
The whole area is overcrowded for the capacity of the infrastructure. Driveways in and out of businesses aren’t finished. There’s construction all over. Far too many people for what they can accommodate without crazy traffic jams. No one knows how to drive. And an overall weird mix of executives, trendy types, and redneck bros.
@@dk-qr5xt literally. there's so many homeless on the side of the road in Fayetteville now. It wasn't like this 10 years ago.
I lived in Marshall, AR for 2 years before moving to Harrison. Marshall would not allow a Walmart either. Granted, they had not much else but was nice to see a small town saying no.
Saying no to employment?
Oh other things go along with it, we can't have that.
😮
🎉I know about Marshall, AR I have lived in many different places around Arkansas and around the country. I was there for a little while. The main reason they didn't want Walmart to come there was because of HARPS. They would have been better off with a Walmart store there. Instead of people driving over to Clinton to pay cheaper prices for groceries at the supercenter all of that money could have stayed right there in Marshall. And it would have created more employment for the locals. There basically are no jobs in Marshall other than retail ,very few fast food jobs, and the biggest employer there is the highland court nursing and rehab center or you are forced to drive to the nearby lumber mills in St. Joe. The residents and city officials of Marshall screwed themselves over by not allowing Walmart to come in.
I lived in Harrison also.
I drove through Harrison visiting my girlfriend / ex-fiancé who lives in NWA
@@user-pf3mi7np1y Amen to that! Interestingly enough, Bentonville, Springdale and other small towns in NW Arkansas manage to coexist with Walmart and have even thrived in the area. Many people choose to shop at Harps over Walmart. I grew up in the Marshall area and they would have been better off if they had allowed the area to grow instead of stifling any kind of change. Other industries tried to come in there as well and were turned down. After NAFTA the shirt factory closed and that was a big blow to Marshall as well.
Bentonville was very nice with friendly people who will help you find all the places that make their city special, it was everything you see in this video .Bring money !
I’d like to go there on vacation someday.
I wouldn’t vacation there but it’s worth stopping at if I’m on a road trip and close
A+ video!
Really great presentation of the area, excellent interview, and lots of clear footage.
Lol 👌
Im an Arkansas native, lived all over the state. Walmart does NOT care about Arkansas. I lived in Brinkley for 10 years and was there when Walmart Promised they wouldnt shut down their original 100 stores. Brinkley had store #78. Those people were given 2 weeks notice they were shutting down and was the primary employer in town, then refused to take those same employees into neighboring town stores 30 minutes away. Everything collapsed after that in Brinkley. I now live just outside Texarkana on the Texas side. I lived in Monticello, grew up in southwest Arkansas around Hope (also drastically declined partially in Hope the store is techincally just outside city limits to avoid contributing to the tax base there).
Thanks for the heads up on google reviews. Great video in general. I've only been to sad Arkansas in my time.
Just found these videos a couple weeks ago and they are incredibly interesting! I’m about to look up his top 10 worst cities. Keep up the good work 👍
Thanks for hitting my home town, Bentonville. I've also lived in Springdale, Fayetteville, Siloam Springs and Eureka Springs. 😁 Love them all.
This is nice and scary at the same time. If house prices in Arkansas start reaching the million dollar range, I feel it's going to affect the entire region.
Already the case, ive seen 3/3s less than 3k sqft on 1/4 lots selling 1.1 - 1.3 million
If that was true hundred million dollar condos in New York would affect condo prices in Detroit, oh wait they don't.
I bought my house in Jan 2021 for 169k. The market price listing is 330k the last time I checked, about 6 months ago. I have an entire acre backyard in the middle of town. I would never sell, but there are times I wish I had a smaller place
Nah ur too late it happened
It’s happening across the South. Texas has been seeing this problem for a long time. OKC and Tulsa are having a really big problem with it as well as cities in Tennessee, Birmingham, Alabama, the Carolinas, and Georgia. It’s a plague that’s taken over the ENTIRE region. The Californians move in the second an area starts to take off, pushing out locals price wise.
Welcome to Bentonville home of Walmart headquarters where it all started.. All parts of Arkansas aren't necessarily poor.🤯
Your commentary is hilarious and I love the delivery and unexpected inflections. LOL
Nick!!! You humor was back in this one. I laughed out loud a few times. Well done, well done.
Been to NW Arkansas a few times and agree with everything you’ve said here. And the local airport is really nice too! The only quibble I have is when you talked about the nearest big city, you got that wrong. Springfield isn’t “big” but Tulsa is and it’s less than 2 hours away. Closer than Little Rock by a lot.
True. Oklahoma City is only about 3.5 hours away and Kansas City is about 4 hours away.
new houses in bentonville were $65k 25 years ago
AS ALWAYS BRILLIANT VIDEO FROM NICK BIG THANKS FOR YOUR HARD WORK 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Beautiful area. One of the very few gems in all of Arkansas. Glad to see you giving them some props
The humor with which you make your delivery makes me love your channel and makes it more interesting to watch than other channels I have seen that do literally the same type of content
People moving from California to here is the opposite of the Beverly Hillbillies 😅
Good to know about Google reviews!
I have friends in this area, and they rave about it. I have considered retiring in the area, but need to jump the expansion and find a more affordable town. Love your reviews!
My bad google reviews are not deleted
I live in a town in a far northern state with a neat, well-run Walmart. Never once saw the nutty things one finds on video in CZcams. Gotta be the atmosphere.
Try Florida - my first trip to one there let me know where a lot of those videos came from lol.
@@oldtop4682 I live in Florida. My local Walmart is awesome.
@@johnbartholf777 Not really banging on Florida - Walmart in NC is also an interesting people watching trip lol.
The further north you go, generally the more civilized the population.
I loved this. It shows the good side. No one hanging out on the street corners, bunched up like roaches. No trash on the streets, tents. etc. I could do it.
I’m from Louisiana and what’s crazy about Arkansas and Louisiana is that they are both backward southern states but some how companies like Walmart and Tyson chicken become successful and the keep their headquarters in Arkansas where as companies that start out in Louisiana become successful they relocate to Dallas, Atlanta, or elsewhere (Raisin Caines, Delta Airlines, Albemarle Chemicals)
What city in Louisiana are you from?
FedEx started in Little Rock and moved to Memphis.
Yes I too am from Louisiana and you are exactly right smh Louisiana is chemical pool 😢
@@arthurgearheard4701 Baton Rouge
Yeah I remember when Bobby Jindal used to give all those tax breaks to companies, then those same companies would take off and relocate to another state, after about five years of not paying taxes in Louisiana. I guess it's still going on. And my family and childhood friends, have the nerves to wonder why I won't move back there.
Your vids are better journalism than the pros! I enjoy your sense of humor.
great videos as always
thanks for the info!
Wow! No trash and no homeless! Looks like the area has the right ideas!!!!
It is there.
Wait till liberals start move there with their woke stupidity
Thanks Nick for the heads up about the Google star system being inaccurate! That’s not fair! Thanks I was born and raised in Portland Oregon until I moved in 2021 to northwest Ohio and I tell you as nice as those places are in Arkansas, it’s not very affordable. Certainly not for people who are Walmart associates
Just to be clear, Nick was talking specifically about the homes in downtown Bentonville. There are plenty of far more affordable homes outside of downtown.
I do everything humanly possible to never go to Walmart.
I live in North West Arkansas and we have like 20 or 30 Walmarts in a 30 mile radius I'm not joking
Hey Nick, we may have crossed paths. I was just out there a week ago. This is definitely a very special region of the United States. I always enjoy my time strolling around Fayetteville. Go Razorbacks!
¡ Wow ! Very nice small town. Duly impressed.
Long-time resident, first-time commenter. Thanks for painting the area in a good light.
Ok!
So cute ❤. Great video, Nick! 😊
Wow! Thanks for the warning about Google reviews, Nick! My mom likes to say that Comfort Inn is "where the truckers stay." Your experience at the Comfort Inn in Bentonville seems to reinforce their less-than-stellar image.
Haha most of them are just fine Matt. The only thing that drew my attention to the whole review fiasco was this place was just really struggling. Have a good summer up there!
I had to smile at the hotel rating report. I like to visit and vacation in NWA. I used to travel a lot with my job before I retired. I learned to deduct a star from any hotel rating in that area. If it rates 4 stars there, it’s a 3 or 2 star other places.
That area has changed so much since my first visit. I live in Mississippi and I’m still considering relocating there to live out my days. I don’t think it will go to ruin before my mortality ends. 🙏🏽
I’m watching this from Australia. 🇦🇺
When you were filming in the Main Street shopping areas I noticed all the shops were leased. With all the car parks full. Yet I didn’t see many people walking along the shopping strips. Why is this.
Usually for retail shopping strips to be successful they almost always have a strong flow of foot traffic. Which I didn’t see, yet as I said all the car parks were full.
Employees
People are lazy and wont walk
There is no retail bc of the elephant in the "room". Only restaurants & services.
@@kendallsmith1458 Agreed. In the 1960s and 1970s (and before), downtown Rogers was a vibrant shopping area, but it began to decline in either the late '70s or early '80s, and the long-established shops like Stroud's (clothing store) and Western Auto began to lose out to Walmart.
It looks really nice outhere and calm and some of the homes are beauttiful!
Hi Nick!! Watching your vids is a like a continuous course in America history. As an immigrant, I appreciate it. Yasmine
That place downtown looks like Gary Indiana back in 1950s
WTF, your hotel reviews were deleted? That is totally messed up!😮
He should do another review
Awesome video. Now I want to visit Bentonville and Fayetteville.
Nick, this video was 180 degrees from last weeks video (Pine Bluff). I like how you show the good, the bad and the ugly! Keep up the good work.
This trip is a damn roller coaster Chuck
I was in bentonville last summer. It's an amazing place. A perfect American town out of a Steven Spielberg movie.
Walmart is not allowed in NYC for some reason. You have to cross the border in almost any direction to get to one
They did to keep the smaller mom and pop shops in business. NYers prefer to support the local businesses.
Hey Nick, thanks for coming to NWA! You were about one minute from my office and two minutes from my home. I wish I would’ve known you were here. I would have shown you some really beautiful parks and trail and even small lake that you were very close to. Yes, this is a beautiful area for sure.
Ok ken! Maybe next time!
I describe the area as a “Southern Irvine”, with the jobs, businesses, infrastructure and entertainment. (I’m a native of SoCal)
I agree but the people in this place are far less snobby and far less rich than Irvine
@@NickJohnson Then give it time!!
🤔🤠
Where I live, there was going to be a Six Flags built, but the town turned it down. Now it's a Walmart with a dollar store and 4 different fast food places nearby. Really depressing
Depressing but somewhat good for the economy.
Walmarts, closing in dying cities like Chicago, San Francisco, and Portland.
Portland and Chicago are dying? I knew about San Francisco
@@robertbarger7342 Portland just closed forever their only 2 stores. From Chicago …….GET THE HELL OUT!
Awesome videos Nick I enjoy them all shout out from Lake Charles LA 😀
I wish I had stopped there
Who need google review when we all have “ Nick Johnson” channel review!!.. 😂🤘🏽👍🏽Great work Nick! Looks like we all will pass on the Comfort Inn
Allllll day
It seems like a very nice place to live. We were running from the craziness of Boise with its growth. We decided against Bentonville and landed in Choctaw OK. It's slowly growing and doesn't have traffic. I think OKC will be the next boom town with how much work and funds is going into infrastructure and creating new businesses. But theres still a serious lack of shopping and restaurants. The pothole roads suck! But it's a safe and pleasant rural community. The museums here are very impressive in OKC!! The rolling green hills are beautiful!
OKC and surrounding areas have been a boom town for a long time. They've been cleaning it up for the last 20 years. I don't know if I'd consider it entirely safe though. Still some really bad parts I'm sure.
You live in Choctaw. That is a rural suburb of OKC. OKC is not a rural community. And OKC itself has been booming for quite a while now and just keeps getting bigger. As far as restaurants go in OKC, many people believe there are actually too many restaurants. They’re everywhere. OKC just opened up Ramsay’s Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay. Shopping is booming too. They’re building more infrastructure to keep up with the insane demand. I think you’re thinking more in terms of Choctaw specifically when you mention restaurants and shopping. Especially rural. That may be Choctaw. Not OKC.
Hey Nike , I guess Walmart saw that Portland ,Ore was self imploding so they closed shop 😅
I live in downtown Rogers! We love it here! Love the shows at the Amp! And everyone knows that if you don't work for Walmart, KEEP OUT of Bentonville! Lol jk! Also traffic is Horrible at rush hour when the home office closes. Thanks for visiting my area!
You're not kidding about the horrible rush hour traffic.
Thats the best intro yet nick
It looks nice and quaint, but man, prices there look as insane as they are in parts of southern California.
That’s specifically downtown Bentonville. There are plenty of far more affordable neighborhoods in the region outside of that three square miles.
80% of new residents are from california?
Oh well things will soon start to go down the pan.
That is a really nice downtown!
Sam Walton (and his brother) lived in Columbia, Missouri and graduated in Mizzou.
Hi Nick. Well, I'm virtually homeless now. I'm staying at a motel. I haven't had running water in 5 yrs, no running car and now my air conditioner is out. I'm depressed because I can't afford this. Maybe I can move to Pine Bluff lo l jk, but being disabled is hard.
Ty for another good video. I try to watch them all. God bless and tc 🙏
The Walmart looks like a secret operation by the military posing as a humble big box store
because it is?
I have relatives who live in Arkansas. The state is really a microcosm of the entire United States in certain ways. If you drive from the Northwest corner of the state to the Southeast corner of the state you will see some of the wealthiest middle sized cities you've ever seen and then end up in a destitute wasteland in the Delta region by the end of the drive. It's the southern and eastern regions of the state that give Arkansas a bad name. However, the entire Northwest quarter of Arkansas is actually very nice, with Benton and Washington Counties being downright wealthy. Little Rock is kind of the line of demarcation between the wealthy counties and the poor counties. Most outsiders think the Ozarks is a poor region, but that isn't really true anymore at least in the Western Ozarks in Arkansas and Missouri. If the northwest quarter of the state from the Missouri border down to the Quachita Mountains seceded from the rest of Arkansas and became it's own state, it would probably be one of the wealthiest states per capita in the country.
The wealth drops off the farther you go from the urbanized areas of Benton and Washington counties. Eastern Benton County, for example, is like a different world from Rogers and Bentonville.
Why didn't the Clintons retire in Arkansas - it's where they were from?
I think they live in like The Hamptons, NY.
@@metalmike570Bill is from Hope and Hillary is not an Arkansan. I’m sure they prefer to be closer to the rest of the vampires.
@@dylantech Haha right, I'm sure they met in college, probably some Ivy league type. A pair of Lawyers, many presidents were attorneys in the past.
Very nice place to live. 17:30 no squinky or odd direction wheels on the shopping cart? lol. Thanks for sharing Nick.
Nick your truthful entertaining commentary must get you into hot water. You are a master with words and as a 71 year old woman who seems to be more intelligent each day with comparison to the world around me, I find you delightful. Change is coming soon....the bible tells me so.
How ironic that Walmart greatly improves the communities in that area of Arkansas and ruin the communities everywhere else. But that's where the Walton family lives. Interesting how that works out.
Reverse Grapes of Wrath 😂....Drone delivery is the future
Thank you for sharing this 👍🙏
Love watching your video's, thank you.
Greetings from Newcastle, England, UK.
Hey!! ❤️❤️ 🏴
@@NickJohnson Hey, Good morning to you Sir and to anyone who may see this, have a fab day. Peace ✌ Love 💞
"People are mostly worried about the traffic." LOL. I have lived in Fayetteville since 1990 and unfortunately our family is now completely priced out of the housing market. Traffic Smaffic. People are MOSTLY concerned about the ridiculous house prices, but I doubt your interviewee talks to people like me.
Same!!! And with these big companies recruiting minorities to come work for them for low salaries - it makes it extremely difficult for families to thrive.
Hey from Japan 👋
I was living in Russellville, AK. I was there as an exchange student back in 2001 through 2002.
I really enjoyed going for groceries at Wal-mart. I got taken aback by the display of real guns in the glass case.
I wonder if Taco John's is still there. I loved their Taco🌮❤
AK is Alaska, sweetie. AR is Arkansas… Both places have guns everywhere tho’😅
I have missed your post Nick, glad your back.
Where'd you go Patsy?
Nice work !
Mappy knows his stuff for sure.
He thinks he's so smart
Thanks for the heads up about google! Seems like they made that city strictly for people with money! You had the right idea!!
It makes sense why this is a nice, walkable, clean, safe area. All the Wal-Mart execs live in this part of Arkansas.
Hope you enjoyed NWA it's been a great place to live, feel sheltered from most of the worlds woes here. Also, one thing to note is you can get to anywhere in these 4 main cities in under 35 minutes from near anywhere within them. Really all the areas together is probably the actual size of a city metro but before overcrowding. It will be lost charm by the time I'm an old man. For instance if you live in springdale you can get to bentonville, rogers, or fayetteville in under 15 minutes.
You're finally in my hood! The traffic isn't LA traffic but it's getting bad, especially after covid. I love it here and wouldn't really live anywhere else. The only thing that sucks is the roads and infrastructure are a decade behind the growth. All the 2 lane roads in towns can't keep up with traffic.
While it was some years ago, I always wondered - are all the restaurants in Little Rock so good because everybody goes out to eat every night, or does everyone go out to eat every night because the restaurants are so good?
Did I see a cartoon sketch of you in a camo hat and long hair while pushing a cart ?😂😂😂
Hell yeah! Walton College of Business grad here! NW Arkansas is a hidden gem.
I forgot to mention that all my neighbors are from California.
You mentioned the Mexicans at the Tyson plants. But you may not know that they brought a lot of the Marshall Islands people here. Maybe through ft chaffee like the Cubans in the 80s
Very true! Not just Mexicans by any means. Although yes, we butcher your chicken and build your houses - you're welcome - it has gotten so diverse! A lot of Hispanics, Asians, and Indians that Walmart has brought in.
Thanks to the Walmart boom, I had to move to Missouri and leave my NWA home. Nothing affordable anymore. Thanks, gentrification! Even with a great job, good education, and savings galore, there was no way. Rent went from $640 to $900 for a one bedroom over three years. Cash buyers yanked up any affordable homes to flip and turn to $250k+ profits. Back to rural life in good ole Cassville, MO, with mud races and tractor pulls galore. 😂
Cassville is a whole 'nother world. So are Washburn and Seligman.
Really considered moving to NW Arkansas during the pandmemic.. great place. Hopefully you to visit Eureka Springs!
I am from Canada I love the looks of this place