Greetings from Fayetteville!

[sequoiapayroll]

Hi Everyone!
My name is Josh and I am the owner of Sequoia Payroll Solutions. My wife and I are originally from California, but we moved to Fayetteville, AR in Dec of 2005. We love it here for many reasons, but the biggest reason is the people. It's nice to find that southern hospitality!

We are an accounting agency that works with small businesses. I have had my degree for about 10 years, but left my job about a year ago to start this new venture. It is nice to find this forum, and I look forward to meeting all of you. See you in the forums!

[vangogh]

Welcome to the forum Josh. You're moving east, while I've been moving west. Started in New York and now find myself in Colorado. Maybe you'll make it out to the east coast and I'll hit the west coast and we'll meet somewhere in the middle on a return trip. :)

Sounds like your business fits right in. Looking forward to getting to know you better and thanks for joining the community.

[Patrysha]

Welcome to the forum :-)

[sequoiapayroll]

thank you both for the welcome. Colorado is a place I have always wanted to visit, and I could see myself living there. I have some friends from Pagosa Springs, and they talk about it like it's the land flowing with milk and honey. I miss the mountains. We have hills here (the ozarks) but nothing like we had out west...

[vangogh]

I love Colorado. The mountains are beautiful and where I am they dominate the landscape. It's how you navigate. I always know what direction I'm traveling based on where the mountains are. Until you get into them of course. Then your surrounded by them. I do miss the ocean. I grew up 10 minutes from the Atlantic.

[Business Attorney]

Welcome to the forum Josh. I am guessing that there are not a whole lot of businesses in Arkansas named "Sequoia" (or at least not nearly as many as in California).

I've had several acquaintances from the Chicago area who retired to Arkansas and they love it. They say cost of living is much more affordable, the weather is much better and it has great scenery. What's not to like about that?!

[KristineS]

Welcome to the forum Josh. You'll find a lot of good company here.

[sequoiapayroll]

The area is really great. It is really affluent for this part of the country. We have some heavy hitters in this area, making the economy very good. Wal-mart, Tyson, JB hunt, Proctor/gamble, Daisy, all are housed here in NW Arkansas. Money flows pretty loosely in this area, but the housing market is still really low priced. The weather is good, in fact, I like it better than the weather in CA. We get all the seasons and no 105* weather. I really could brag on the area for a while...but I'll stop now.
You're right about the name Sequoia. In hindsight, I probably should have picked something a little more mainstream, but I wanted to stay true to our roots. The main hiccup in this area, is people think I spell "Sequoyah" wrong. Apparently people know about the Indian chief, but not the red wood...

I miss the ocean "sumpin fierce" (a little arky in there for yall). I need to get back and visit. The salt air does wonders...

[vangogh]

Oh the salt air. I love that smell. On the other hand I hate the humidity and like the drier air out here. Guess it's always something of a tradeoff. My family still lives in New York and I do get to back and see the ocean every year.

[cbscreative]

Welcome, Josh. That's beautiful country you're in. I lived in the Ouachita Mountains (pronounced wash-it-taw) for a short while as a teen which is just south of you. I know what you mean about low property cost. On the downside, it doesn't go up in value either. My parents bought property there in the 70's and I was shocked at how little it had increased in value when it was sold a few years ago. The people there are great. They live up to that southern hospitality big time.

BTW, that town name sounds very familiar. I'm pretty sure I've been through it a few times.

[sequoiapayroll]

Welcome, Josh. That's beautiful country you're in. I lived in the Ouachita Mountains (pronounced wash-it-taw) for a short while as a teen which is just south of you. I know what you mean about low property cost. On the downside, it doesn't go up in value either. My parents bought property there in the 70's and I was shocked at how little it had increased in value when it was sold a few years ago. The people there are great. They live up to that southern hospitality big time.

BTW, that town name sounds very familiar. I'm pretty sure I've been through it a few times.

I have been through the Quachita mountains. We even visited the lake there on our way to Hot Springs, simply beautiful. Fayetteville is in the northwest corner of the state, it's the home of the Razorbacks. The property value here tends to fluctuate more than the rest of the state. I know a few people who sold when the market was high for 50K or more from what they bought it for just 5-10 years earlier. Not quite as crazy as the CA market (our house went up in value about 100K in about 6 months) but still pretty great, especially compared to the rest of the state.