Tell me about Little Rock

[Benzadmiral]

. . . and Arkansas in general.

After being rear-ended by an illegal alien -- my latest Reason to Leave New Orleans (I think I'm up to 6,728 now) -- I've been looking around in more areas. I hear good things about Little Rock: It's not too big or expensive, it gets some fall, spring, and winter, there are mountains nearby, etc.

Anybody live there? What's it like in summer? I work currently as an office manager for a private university; do I stand a chance of being able to find work, either in academia or in the real world? What are people like? Crime? Other negatives?

I think I might just drive up next month and spend a couple of days looking around. . . .

 

[Johnny]

I like Little Rock. Nice folks, great food, etc., etc. The summers are like northern Louisiana, hot and humid. UALR has a pretty nice sized campus there so your current job might pay off for you. Give it a shot.

 

[olddognewtrks]

Check out Conway and Russellville (where I live) Conway is a growing community of about 45,000, with the University of Central Arkansas in town (UCA). Seems to be a "distant suburb" (40 miles west)of Little Rock, without the big city bad. Russellville is officially about 25 thousand folks, with about 40,000 total in the area. Has Arkansas Tech University in town. Very nice place to live, nice people, schools, and business is continually growing bigger and better. I love this place. Give me a holler if you want the whole unofficial Rah-Rah talk. FWIW, I was born and raised in Metro St. Louis. I don't miss the big city one darn bit.

 

[alreadygone]

At one time Little Rock had highest per capita murder rate in US. Now they use different form of math. Summers pretty darn hot winters pretty durn cool. Old Dog's pretty well on concerning smaller outlying communities. Some of them are worth serious concideration.

Us Nawth Arkansas hillbillies are glad all them big city Arkies have a place all their very own!

Bob

 

[MarkC]

If you like the South, and don't mind moving a bit farther away, check out North Carolina. I spent the first 90% of my life there.
Of course, by now, if might have been rendered rawthuh ****teh, by developers, immigrating Yankees, and halfbacks(move from the the north to Florida, don't like it, move halfway back.
Plenty of universities.

 

[LateArrivalforLSU]

I'm a born and bred arkie. I'm from Northwest Arkansas and it's where I reside, but I've also lived in Central Arkansas. I love the folks in Central Arkansas, but don't miss the hot summers. Being that you're from NOLA, the summertime heat in Central Arkansas won't bother you. By the way, I also lived in a town by the name of Canyon Lake, TX for a couple of years.

I wouldn't live in any other state than Arkansas....I love my home state!!

 

[msparks]

About the only place in AR would be Hot Springs is where I would consider.

Come on over to TN. Lots of great towns, no Income tax and low cost of living. Clarksville is growing pretty good right now.

 

[LateArrivalforLSU]

msparks, apparently you've never been to Northwest Arkansas. The population in the NW corner of the state has now exceeded Little Rock. Not to mention that NW Arkansas has more millionaires per square mile than any other area in the US (yes there was a study done to prove that).

Hot Springs is nice (I was there last week), but it's hard to top the total package of what NW Arkansas offers....low crime, good jobs, affordable housing, etc. The NW Arkansas area is always voted in the publications as one of the best mid populated areas to live. Northwest Arkansas primarily consists of Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers-Bentonville (they have all grown together).

No northerners or californians are allowed to move to Northwest Arkansas

 

[TooManyWheels]

"By the way, I also lived in a town by the name of Canyon Lake, TX for a couple of years."

My in-laws have a place near Canyon Lake, so I know the area is pretty nice. That gives perspective and credibility to your view of Arkansas.

 

[alreadygone]

Quote:

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No northerners or californians are allowed to move to Northwest Arkansas

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Ole Buddy,, you'll go to #e!! fer lyin', same as stealin watermellons!!!

NW AR is a GREAT area though!

Bob

 

[K-Man]

Benzadmiral, just to confirm: you mean Little Rock, Arkansas, and not the object in Pablo's yard, right?

 

[TopFuel]

Just stay well west of Memphis Tennessee. Memphis is the "Chocolate City" your current mayor has a wet dream fantasy of creating. Example: 66 public officials in the slammer or awaiting trial.

Every single one of them is innocent. Every single indictment is racially motivated. Their defense?? The FBI is a racist organization. Our newly elected congressman Steve Cohen's first act in Washington was to call on congress to formally pass a resolution apologizing for slavery. I could go on for several more hours, but you get the point.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Yeah, TopFuel, I think I can pass on Memphis.

Arkapigdiesel, you write that "Being that you're from NOLA, the summertime heat in Central Arkansas won't bother you." Actually it will -- that's why I want to get away from it! I worked outdoors in The Swamp for most of a decade, thereby losing any idea I used to have that Summer Is Fun. If you're a kid and have the summer off, sure, but not as a grownup. Besides, I like the change of seasons, and without any winter, how can you appreciate the warmer weather? Here's there's no variation. The warm season starts in early March and can last into December. The old Thanksgiving song that starts "Over the river and through the wood/To Grandmother's house we go" should be rewritten as "Over the bridge and round the potholes/And wipe the sweat from your brow . . ."

NW Arkansas sounds cool, too. Are there any Mercedes dealers in Fayetteville? I need to be able to get parts for my car, and if there's a dealer there's probably at least two or three independent mechanics who work on the cars.

 

[LateArrivalforLSU]

Yep, there's a Mercedes dealer on College Ave. in Fayetteville. As far as seasons.....you definitely have four of 'em in NWA. There's nothing more beautiful than a drive up I-540 during the fall when the leaves start changing in the Ozark Mountains.

You wouldn't think that the temperatures would vary that much from Central Arkansas to NW Arkansas, but there is a big difference.

The temperatures in summertime are a good 10 degrees cooler (humidity factored in) in NWA compared to Central AR. Flip side to that is the winters are defintely colder in NWA -vs- Central AR. We do have single digits in NWA during the winter time, but that's usually not until late January and February.

You will like either Central AR or NW Arkansas in my opinion.

 

[LateArrivalforLSU]

Quote:

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Just stay well west of Memphis Tennessee. Memphis is the "Chocolate City" your current mayor has a wet dream fantasy of creating. Example: 66 public officials in the slammer or awaiting trial.

Every single one of them is innocent. Every single indictment is racially motivated. Their defense?? The FBI is a racist organization. Our newly elected congressman Steve Cohen's first act in Washington was to call on congress to formally pass a resolution apologizing for slavery. I could go on for several more hours, but you get the point.

---

I'm actually headed to Memphis today to see some accounts. That has to be the most corrupt city that I've ever been in. You literally couldn't pay me enough to put up with the things that goes on in Memphis.

I'm a moderator on an Arkansas Razorbacks message board and one of our members is a neurosurgeon. Here is his story of Memphis:

"I lived in Memphis for 6 years, worked as a doctor at the trauma center (The Med). You haven't seen the half of it. On a hot August night, we'd get at least 10 gunshot victims a night. At least. Most would get patched up and released within a few hours. One night got a tourist who had been chopped up with a hatchet. Had to clean out his brain where the hatched had lodged dirt and debris. This happened two blocks south of Beale street. The city is an absolute corrupt, lawless entity. I forsee no improvement any time soon. We left for a nicer life in Chattanooga. But all in all, you just can't beat NWA."

 

[rshaw125]

The comments on North Carolina are totally wrong. NC sucks please tell all your friends. Unless you are just coming for a visit.Remember NC sucks tell everyone.

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

Quote:

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The comments on North Carolina are totally wrong. NC sucks please tell all your friends. Unless you are just coming for a visit.Remember NC sucks tell everyone.

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Well now, it all depends on where your at. It's true that NC politics are controlled by one party, and the corruption is about equal to NJ. But the justice dept. has finally taken notice and there is some serious house cleaning going on. Finally. It's also true that left coasters and northeasteners have migrated in and are in the process of taking over, at least here in Clt. Money talks... But there are some really nice places in NC. Mountains, Oceans, rivers, forests, Lots of Collages & Universities, Charlotte is the banking center of the South East. Job market is good. Housing is mostly affordable, although it's getting kind of expensive here in Clt. A lot of people retired here in the 80's & 90's. Some of the more well-to-do still are. I think it's worth taking a look at. (And several Mercedes dealers).

 

[handyman]

North Central Arkansas is also very nice
Think also about Harrison or Mountain Home. They are both located in the Ozark Mountains. I grew up in Harrison. Great place to live. Kinda hard to get a job. Thats why I'm living in TX.

 

[Win]

I never cared much for Little Rock - too much government and the type of people that are attracted to government, but nice scenery and lots to do. It's on the Arkansas River so can be subtropical hot in the Summer. AFAIK, all the foreign car companies are represented there.

If you are looking at bigger cities in the area, I'd suggest Tulsa before Little Rock. Great scenery, and plenty of arts, education, entertainment, shopping, well managed traffic, and all four seasons of weather. It's a great place.

If you are just interested in scenery, The Oauchita mountains in Southwest Arkansas are as pretty as the Boston Mountains in Northwest Arkansas. The Oauchita's spill over into the Kiamichi mountains in Southeast Oklahoma, and Green Country in Northeast Oklahoma is great also.

Northwest Arkansas is where it is at in Arkansas and that is not likely to change anytime soon. Fort Smith is a manufacturing and transportation economy with its local college just upgraded to a branch of the University of Arkansas campus. It is in the valley between the two mountain chains so winters are mild, but Summers are brutal hot and humid. Fayetteville is a college town, a hip place with lots to do entertainment wise, lots of left over beard and Birkenstock 60-70's hippies, kids that can't come to grips with being out of college and such, lots of lefties and hand wringers if you like that type of thing. The German and Asian high end marques are represented in NWA, but not British marques. Eureka Springs is lots of hippy dippy artsy rainbow coalition type folk, with a heavy tourist economy and trade, in an even more remote and mountainous location of NWA. It's one of the most interesting and entertaining places in AR. Springdale is the polar opposite of Fayetteville, even though separated by only a mile or so. Lots of big agriculture firms and the big truck firms that are not in Fort Smith are in Springdale, much more conservative in lifestyle and politics. Rogers and Bentonville, the home of Wal Mart, retail capital of the world. Everything is geared to support the business of supplying Wal Mart and to cater to the people involved in that, from entertainment to transportation. Summers are nice in the mountains, typically 10F cooler than in the river valley, but winters can be tough. I recall many subzero F nights in Fayetteville in that last cold snap of the late 70's and early eighties.

Plenty of illegals, unfortunately, and it seems like more and more Yank, um, people from north of the mason dixon line, and left coasters are discovering western Arkansas.

 

[cousincletus]

I've been all around this half of the country, and the best place I've been to so far has been West Virginia. Low crime, low housing prices and decent people everywhere I have been there. Don't know if the employment situation has improved, but they have a lot of federal jobs there. I know this doesn't answer your question, but if I were to relocate I would leave all options open.