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Have you ever wondered what it was like to live in Austin a few decades ago? According to recent reports, that dream may come true in an unusual location – just an eight-hour drive away in northwest Arkansas.
Recent Austin-targeted ads from the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce and Northwest Arkansas Council target Austinites relocating to the four-county, 11-city region as it transforms from a rural corner of the state to an emerging one Center for technology, urban migrants and a rich cultural scene.
Andre Arceneaux of Greater Bentonville created the Bentonville City Limitless ad ahead of their annual tech summit.
Looking similar? Greater Bentonville’s Bentonville City Limitless ad is aimed at Austinites promoting their annual tech summit.
As the area hits the headlines nationwide — Bentonville was the fifth fastest growing city in the country in 2019 and saw growth in the tech space as businesses flock to Walmart’s headquarters — Arceneaux said the council reached out to residents of tech hubs like Austin and Denver for around Bringing their talents to NW Arkansas.
“The plan was to focus on areas traditionally viewed as hubs for technology and industry and to challenge people’s prejudices about northwest Arkansas,” said Arceneaux. “When you hear ‘Arkansas’ and have a picture in your head, the truth is that Bentonville is as vibrant and diverse as cities three times the size. The pictures in the ads are meant to show people that Bentonville is just like the city you live in, so why not give us a chance? “
Use incentives like the Life Works Here initiative, which has $ 10,000 cash prizes for talented new move-ins, and the reach seems to be working. Film producer Kristin Mann grew up in Little Rock, but it wasn’t until she settled in Austin that she learned what the northwest corner of her home state had to offer.
Like millions of others during the pandemic, Mann was forced to rethink her priorities when the pandemic changed her perspective on life. Couple Austin’s ever-rising cost of living with the Texas winter storm, and Mann knew it was time to change something.
Former Austinite Kristin Mann, who featured on the set of the 2020 film The Quarry, soaks up the slower NW Arkansas lifestyle. (Kristin Mann)
With a burgeoning live music scene, plethora of restaurants, and outdoor culture resembling their former town, Mann said Bentonville was a relatively easy adjustment despite its roughly 50,000 residents.
“I just don’t know about the arts and culture scene that it exists in the state of Arkansas,” said Mann. “It’s really nice because it just feels like there’s a level playing field.”
The music scene in NW Arkansas includes the FreshGrass Festival, an annual bluegrass festival with live music. (FreshGrass Festival / Facebook)
Man is not alone – according to Greater Bentonville President Graham Cobb, he has heard many stories of Austinites, Californians and other metropolitan residents who uprooted their families and businesses in search of a better quality of life.
Cobb says he met such a transplant not long ago in a mountain bike race.
“I asked, ‘Why did you choose that?’ and he said, ‘I just wanted to know what everyone was talking about,’ “Cobb said.” We know that people have been leaving these big cities for years and moving to Bentonville for a variety of reasons. The biggest one is that the quality of life is becoming increasingly unaffordable. But to hear that from a casual person riding a bicycle is pretty amazing. ”
With a major university (the University of Arkansas), a growing business community, and Hill Country-esque views, looking at NW Arkansas can be like deja vu for seasoned Austinites. But the region has to be careful if it is to remain Bentonville City Limitless.
Northwest Arkansas has not shied away from attracting Austin’s technical talent with Facebook ads.
The Northwest Arkansas Council is working to bring disgruntled Austinites to the area with various advertisements.
City officials are working to make sure they don’t repeat the mistakes of bigger cities, according to Nelson Peacock, president of Northwest Arkansas Council.
“We’re trying to learn some of the lessons from cities like Austin, which have grown very quickly,” Peacock said. “It’s a lot easier said than done, (but) as we recruit people from these larger cities, we try to learn the lessons from them and try to build a future here that is better for the people who live here. ”
NW Arkansas is very interested in attracting Austin’s top talent. Rex Nelson, who wrote in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette earlier this month about Bentonville’s explosive growth, said it was a compliment – they turn to Austin because they want the best of the best.
“Northwest Arkansas needs tech talent, and the Austin area is the best place in this part of the country for tech talent,” said Nelson.
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