In the heart of Fayetteville lies the University of Arkansas, which helped Fayetteville receive the Forbes Magazine ranking as the seventh best college sports town in America. People from all over the state flock to University of Arkansas to watch football, basketball and baseball games. College sports are directly tied to the heart strings of Fayetteville locals.
Fayetteville is a business-focused city with plenty of career options, especially for those straight out of University of Arkansas. Forbes Magazine voted Fayetteville one of the top cities for business and careers, partly because Fayetteville is home of the nation's corporate monster, Walmart. Fayetteville hosts Walmart's shareholder meetings and is the place where many of Walmart's major decisions are made. The city has a very low unemployment rate and is one of the few places that has weathered the recession well.
Fayetteville is actually a part of the Boston Mountains in the midst of the Ozarks. You can't go anywhere in Fayetteville without seeing a mountain or two in the distance, and the locals love this!
Diamonds aren't just a girl's best friend in Fayetteville, they are everyone's best friend. Fayetteville is located only 3.5 hour drive from one of the only diamond mines in the United States still in use and it's no secret that Fayetteville has a bit more sparkle than other cities because of this.
As comical as it sounds, it is actually against state law to mispronounce the name of the state. It must be pronounced "Arkansaw" so as to not be confused with the state, "Kansas". You better memorize this pronunciation before visiting so you don't spend the night in the clinker, but this dedication to the pronunciation showcases the deep-rooted state pride.
In Fayetteville, it is against the law for a dog to bark after 6 p.m. Whoever came up with this law should talk to other states about enacting a similar law or take it to a national vote. I bet it would win! Barking dogs is a common neighborhood complaint around the country, especially at night when most people are trying to sleep. Leave it to Fayetteville to find a way to make the city as comfortable as it can be for its residents.
Dairy is a very important product in Arkansas as it is a large portion of the local economy. Granted, Arkansas isn't a dairyland, but dairy farming gave many small towns in Arkansas their start, including Fayetteville. Row crops need flat land, and with Fayetteville being near the mountains, it's hard to do such farming. But dairy farming welcomes rolling hills, thus locals turned to this type of farming as a means of living.
In most states, hunting is a common past time during the established hunting periods, and in some places kids even get excused absences from school to go hunting. But in Fayetteville, think again. It is against the law in Fayetteville to kill any living creature. So if you're after those pesky flies in the kitchen, make sure no one's looking when you swing your swatter. On the other hand, every living creature gets to live in peace.
Fayetteville experiences all four seasons, but one thing that rarely changes is the amount of humidity. In the summer, the humidity hangs in the air as thick as butter and in the winter, it hangs around frigid cold temperatures.
Livability rated Fayetteville number 8 on a list of "Top Ten Best BBQ Cities". Barbequing is a tradition in the city and the locals embrace the custom. It's noted that a number of restaurants in the area serve what they call "Memphis-style BBQ", which includes slow-cooking the meat in special pits so that the flavors cook over long periods of time and soak into the meat.
Featured Image Source: Flickr User doug_wertman
