Definitely not where I'll spend MY life.....
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1/10/2013
I have lived in Jonesboro for a little over a year now. I'm originally from SW Michigan, so I've got a lot to compare and contrast, having come from a completely different place.
I'll start with the negatives:
Taxes - I came from 6% general sales tax and no grocery tax, so this 8.5% general and 4% grocery kills me. It may not sound like a big difference, but it sure seems like it to me. Also the personal property taxes blew me away. We didn't have that up north so to me it REALLY sucks. Which brings us to license plate renewals.......I had such a time registering my vehicle last year! I had to go to the Revenue office (I'm used to Secretary of State) 3 times because each time they told me something different that I'd need. I'm still paying on my car, so that was one roadblock. My dad co-signed and he was still in Michigan, that was another roadblock. Ended up having to send my title to Little Rock then I had to get the bank to fax them a letter authorizing them to have the title only in my name. Sheesh! And back to the personal property tax....you have to go to the Assessor's office to get your assessment before you go register. The registration only costs about $27, but depending on the assessed value of your vehicle, you might have to pay another $100 in taxes.
Now, driving. I come from an area with a lot of Chicago drivers, so we GO on green and do at least the speed limit. Here, people sit there for a few seconds before they go when the light turns green. Probably because most people run the red lights! It's ridiculous how many people run red lights around here. And not "Oh, it's yellow but I can make it"...no, more like, "Oh well it just turned red, I can still go." There are cameras on the stop lights, but I think they're just there for show or something. Speed limits - when the posted speed limit is 45, don't expect to go above 30-35. Turn signals? Not here. People do not watch where they are going. I have been hit once and nearly hit about a thousand times. And because they don't go on right away on green, if it's rush hour or during the holidays, you might sit through 2-3 lights before you can go. So even though you might only be going 5 miles, it can take half an hour to get there. AND, they don't know how to stay in their own lanes! Probably because there is no Driver's Ed here, at least not that I am aware. Also for most drives in and out of places, there are curbs. Yes, curbs. Having only been here a year I haven't had to replace tie rods, ball joints, or struts yet but I expect I will have to if we stay here a couple more years. No one seems to know how to park, either.
Racism. Wow....seriously. I expected there might be some, being the south, but it's way worse than I anticipated. It makes me very uncomfortable to hear all the racial slurs and negative comments against any race that isn't white. They even celebrate Robert E. Lee's birthday the same day as Martin Luther King's.
Stores seem small. Especially Wal-Mart. There are two in Jonesboro but if you put them together you still don't have the size or selection I am used to up north. It's frustrating because you have to go to both stores and still can't get everything you need.
When it snows, the town shuts down. Not kidding... we got about 6" of snow this winter in one day, and half of the town was shut down. People stayed home from work, the library never opened, the banks were a couple hours late opening. And I didn't see a plow go by until 3:30pm.
There is really nothing outside of Jonesboro. Not without going a distance, anyway. The town north is around 30 minutes away and has about 26,000 people, but the next closest city with any size is Memphis, and that's more than an hour away.
Can't get a good cup of coffee! They seem to use at least half of the grounds they need to for the coffee. You may as well just drink water because there isn't enough coffee in it to matter.
Now the positives:
Climate. Yes it can get very hot (it was 106 for several days in a row last summer), but you get used to it quick. I love the warmth...it's one of the reasons I left Michigan.
Gas prices are much cheaper and so is car insurance.
Rent isn't bad...I live in a one-bedroom apartment with all appliances furnished (full-size) and utilities paid for $625/month.
After 6 months living in the state, you are considered a resident and the tuition costs at Arkansas State University are very reasonable.
Jobs. There are a lot of big factories here - Nestle, Butterball, Post, Unilever, Nicepak, Frito Lay... the mostly hire through temp agencies, but it's not too hard to get a job. With most of them the pay isn't too bad either.
Something that could be positive or negative is that this is a dry county. I like it because you can go bowling without having a bunch of drunk people acting up and ruining the fun.
Michelle | Jonesboro, AR