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After a year of going back and forth with the fiance, we have finally pulled the trigger and will hopefully be heading up to Arkansas from Southern California. I am 24 and she is 23. We have a 4yr old daughter and a 2month old baby boy. She is working and going to school and I am a Paramedic hoping to test with various sheriff departments once we get familiar with the area. For now, we are staying with family in a little city just south of Fort Smith.
Can anyone offer some advice as to where we should focus our attention for settling down and raising our kids. We love the outdoors and doing all the activities that the kids love. We are young, but with the kids we have matured alot and are not into the clubbing scene anymore. We are looking for somewhat of the complete package....good schools, safe neighborhood, but more importantly a city that seems to attract alot of young parents in our age bracket. Any suggestions? Cant wait to finally arrive in your state and I look forward to the responses. Thanks guys/gals
After a year of going back and forth with the fiance, we have finally pulled the trigger and will hopefully be heading up to Arkansas from Southern California. I am 24 and she is 23. We have a 4yr old daughter and a 2month old baby boy. She is working and going to school and I am a Paramedic hoping to test with various sheriff departments once we get familiar with the area. For now, we are staying with family in a little city just south of Fort Smith.
Can anyone offer some advice as to where we should focus our attention for settling down and raising our kids. We love the outdoors and doing all the activities that the kids love. We are young, but with the kids we have matured alot and are not into the clubbing scene anymore. We are looking for somewhat of the complete package....good schools, safe neighborhood, but more importantly a city that seems to attract alot of young parents in our age bracket. Any suggestions? Cant wait to finally arrive in your state and I look forward to the responses. Thanks guys/gals
wow, good for you, I hope you are happy here and you can get a job asap. I am sure you will..
I think I would start looking at what cities or counties might be hiring EMTs as what you want in a town or city can be found lots of places in the state. You will want to stay close to a college so your fiance can continue her education as well..
Both NWA and central AR have lots of little towns where raising a family is the main concern, good schools, that might be a little harder to find. Most school districts that are considered good are also larger.
Good luck, I am sure there are many on this board that can give you ideas. For me, I would look near Bentonville or Fayetteville if you want the NW part of the state. Maybe there are some areas around Ft Smith that will work as well.
wow, good for you, I hope you are happy here and you can get a job asap. I am sure you will..
I think I would start looking at what cities or counties might be hiring EMTs as what you want in a town or city can be found lots of places in the state. You will want to stay close to a college so your fiance can continue her education as well..
Both NWA and central AR have lots of little towns where raising a family is the main concern, good schools, that might be a little harder to find. Most school districts that are considered good are also larger.
Good luck, I am sure there are many on this board that can give you ideas. For me, I would look near Bentonville or Fayetteville if you want the NW part of the state. Maybe there are some areas around Ft Smith that will work as well.
Nita
I would think that Bentonville/Rogers or Fayetteville in NWA would be a good fit for them, as well as Cabot, Bryant, Conway, and Benton in central Arkansas. Parts of Little Rock might also be worth considering. If you look outside of the larger population areas, El Dorado (their high school has a scholarship that pays college tuition and fees at any college in the US (up to the highest amount charged by an Arkansas school) for students that attend and graduate from El Dorado public schools, which can be combined with the lottery scholarship and cover almost the entire cost of attendance at the state's top universities) is a nice small city (22,000 or so) worth considering, as is Mountain Home (great schools in a safe area with a big medical sector), Harrison, Texarkana, and Hot Springs. Fort Smith isn't a bad area either, but since you are already in the area there, I assume you're looking for somewhere else. NWA, Mountain Home, Texarkana, Fort Smith, and Conway all have colleges that support 4 year degree programs (the UofA is located in NWA), and some of the others may as well if that's a consideration for your fiance, which it sounds like it is.
Good luck with your search, and welcome to Arkansas!
I would think that Bentonville/Rogers or Fayetteville in NWA would be a good fit for them, as well as Cabot, Bryant, Conway, and Benton in central Arkansas. Parts of Little Rock might also be worth considering. If you look outside of the larger population areas, El Dorado (their high school has a scholarship that pays college tuition and fees at any college in the US (up to the highest amount charged by an Arkansas school) for students that attend and graduate from El Dorado public schools, which can be combined with the lottery scholarship and cover almost the entire cost of attendance at the state's top universities) is a nice small city (22,000 or so) worth considering, as is Mountain Home (great schools in a safe area with a big medical sector), Harrison, Texarkana, and Hot Springs. Fort Smith isn't a bad area either, but since you are already in the area there, I assume you're looking for somewhere else. NWA, Mountain Home, Texarkana, Fort Smith, and Conway all have colleges that support 4 year degree programs (the UofA is located in NWA), and some of the others may as well if that's a consideration for your fiance, which it sounds like it is.
Good luck with your search, and welcome to Arkansas!
I hadn't thought about Mountain Home, but I did think Conway amd Benton. I knew some of you would have better or more suggestions.
I would say the first limiting factor would be the school followed by the EMT job. How good of a school is your fiance looking for and what level of schooling followed by what major? This will narrow down your search considerably. The only major universities in Arkansas are Univ. of Arkansas - Fayetteville (flagship campus), Hendrix in Conway, Univ. of Central Arkansas in Conway, and Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. All the other colleges or universities serve as "steps" up to the others or to an associate degree. Univ. of Arkansas - Fayetteville and Hendrix are the only 2 that I think are honestly taken seriously outside of the surrounding states if you need to be competitive in your job search (yes this is a gross generalization but no one else is probably going to say it).
NWA is where I'm from and of course is my #1 recommendation for many reasons. I'm sure you've read it's one of the top places to live in the US/fastest growing areas in the US etc. etc. etc.
Other than that, you really could live just about anywhere in the state depending on what you're looking for (more specific criteria than you listed).
The El Dorado scholarship mentioned above is sponsored by the local oil company there, right? So that's something to consider.
The best school districts in the state are found in the public schools of the northwest corner of the state, Little Rock private schools, and a mix of private/public schools in Ft. Smith. I think Southside HS in Ft. Smith is the top dog there though.
I would say the first limiting factor would be the school followed by the EMT job. How good of a school is your fiance looking for and what level of schooling followed by what major? This will narrow down your search considerably. The only major universities in Arkansas are Univ. of Arkansas - Fayetteville (flagship campus), Hendrix in Conway, Univ. of Central Arkansas in Conway, and Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. All the other colleges or universities serve as "steps" up to the others or to an associate degree. Univ. of Arkansas - Fayetteville and Hendrix are the only 2 that I think are honestly taken seriously outside of the surrounding states if you need to be competitive in your job search (yes this is a gross generalization but no one else is probably going to say it).
NWA is where I'm from and of course is my #1 recommendation for many reasons. I'm sure you've read it's one of the top places to live in the US/fastest growing areas in the US etc. etc. etc.
Other than that, you really could live just about anywhere in the state depending on what you're looking for (more specific criteria than you listed).
The El Dorado scholarship mentioned above is sponsored by the local oil company there, right? So that's something to consider.
The best school districts in the state are found in the public schools of the northwest corner of the state, Little Rock private schools, and a mix of private/public schools in Ft. Smith. I think Southside HS in Ft. Smith is the top dog there though.
Your intentions are right with the education recommendations, but a clarification. There are several four year colleges in the state outside of the ones you mentioned that aren't just stepping stones, or in fact offer degrees from the main campus at one of the branches. ASU-Mountain Home offers Bachelor's programs through Jonesboro faculty on site at their Mtn. Home campus, as does ASU Beebe (there may be others, I know those two for sure). UA Fort Smith, UA Little Rock, UA Monticello, and UA Pine Bluff all offer bachelors programs on their campus that still carry the recognizable "University of Arkansas" name. South Arkansas University and Henderson State University are also four year colleges that most people in this corner of the state forget about (or don't even realize they exist). Name recognition isn't terribly important for the vast majority of degrees, so depending on her field of study, any of the universities might be perfectly fine. If it were business, engineering, or architecture, that's a different story, but most other fields are pretty safe bets no matter where you go. There's no doubt the UofA is "top dog" and Hendrix is "top dog-private" in Arkansas, there aren't any other top-tier universities in the state, and the UofA is the only top-tier research school in the state period, but there are plenty of reputable four-year colleges around the state. I do agree that NWA is probably the best fit for them, but I don't want them to get the impression that his fiancé won't be able to finish her education if they move anywhere else in the state.
As far as public schools go, NWA (all of them really), Fort Smith Southside, Little Rock Central (a top 20 nation-wide school), Little Rock magnet schools, LR private schools, and public schools in north central AR (Harrision and Mtn. Home particularly) or Little Rock suburbs (Cabot, Bryant, Benton, etc.) are going to be the best overall school districts in the state. El Dorado is a good school district as well, it's just much farther south. That El Dorado Promise scholarship is indeed sponsored by Murphy Oil, which is based in downtown El Dorado.
Thank you all for pointing out the specifics in the different cities, we really appreciate that.
My schooling entails, moving up from my EMT license to my Paramedic license and working with either the fire department or a private 911 contracted ambulance service. From there I would then focus on my career of Law Enforment and begin applying with various sheriff/city departments. My fiance's schooling will be obtaining her phlebotomy license and then moving forward into either XRay Technician or Ultrasound Technician. So, all in all....we are both looking to stay in the Health field. We were looking at the Univ. of Ark for Medical Sciences in LR, is that a very respected school for health careers? I will have check out the other schools mentioned and see what they offer for our field.
Also, (this maybe a long shot) but if anyone knows of any good hospitals and or ambulance services that are well-known and trusted please let us know, as we are trying to coordinate getting a job before heading out. It can be in either part of the state.
Again, thank you all for the warm welcome and city specifics. We are biting at the bit to get out there and get away from the southern california high paced "look-at-me-Im-from-california-and-better-than-thou" mentality.
Thank you all for pointing out the specifics in the different cities, we really appreciate that.
My schooling entails, moving up from my EMT license to my Paramedic license and working with either the fire department or a private 911 contracted ambulance service. From there I would then focus on my career of Law Enforment and begin applying with various sheriff/city departments. My fiance's schooling will be obtaining her phlebotomy license and then moving forward into either XRay Technician or Ultrasound Technician. So, all in all....we are both looking to stay in the Health field. We were looking at the Univ. of Ark for Medical Sciences in LR, is that a very respected school for health careers? I will have check out the other schools mentioned and see what they offer for our field.
Also, (this maybe a long shot) but if anyone knows of any good hospitals and or ambulance services that are well-known and trusted please let us know, as we are trying to coordinate getting a job before heading out. It can be in either part of the state.
Again, thank you all for the warm welcome and city specifics. We are biting at the bit to get out there and get away from the southern california high paced "look-at-me-Im-from-california-and-better-than-thou" mentality.
UAMS is a highly respected medical school with a very nice campus, I would assume their other health fields are equally high quality. They just finished about a $450 million campus expansion (including a new hospital and expansion to their education buildings), so facilities should be nice too. I would assume some of the other schools also have the programs you mentioned (Northwest Arkansas Community College in NWA may have them as well), but UAMS would be the best in the state overall. UAMS also has a campus in Fayetteville, UAMS Northwest, that I know has the radiologic programs, but I'm not sure about the rest.
I'm not familiar with ambulance services, but if you move to NWA all the hospitals are quite nice. Washington Regional is in Fayetteville, is rather new and I have a few friends who work there and enjoy it. There's a pretty nice VA hospital in Fayetteville that's connected to the UAMS Northwest campus. Northwest Medical Center has a large hospital in Springdale and a medium sized one in Bentonville, and Rogers just expanded and built a new Mercy hospital.
In Little Rock there's also a variety of large medical centers. UAMS is obviously one of the nicest/largest, but Baptist Health and St. Vincent are also very large medical centers in the main part of Little Rock. I've heard good things about UAMS and Baptist, I don't really know anything about St. Vincent's. Arkansas Children's Hospital is also located in Little Rock (it is a UAMS affiliate) and it's been named one of the 100 Best Places to Work in the US for the last few years now. There's also the McClellan VA hospital, which is connected to UAMS's campus, and it is supposedly one of the best VA hospitals in the nation (patients travel quite a ways to go to McClellan, it could be because of it's partnership with UAMS and their research physicians).
I wish I could offer more advice than that, but there aren't any bad/ghetto/poorly run hospitals in either region that I know of, I've either heard very good things or nothing at all about all of them.
Thank you all for pointing out the specifics in the different cities, we really appreciate that.
My schooling entails, moving up from my EMT license to my Paramedic license and working with either the fire department or a private 911 contracted ambulance service. From there I would then focus on my career of Law Enforment and begin applying with various sheriff/city departments. My fiance's schooling will be obtaining her phlebotomy license and then moving forward into either XRay Technician or Ultrasound Technician. So, all in all....we are both looking to stay in the Health field. We were looking at the Univ. of Ark for Medical Sciences in LR, is that a very respected school for health careers? I will have check out the other schools mentioned and see what they offer for our field.
Also, (this maybe a long shot) but if anyone knows of any good hospitals and or ambulance services that are well-known and trusted please let us know, as we are trying to coordinate getting a job before heading out. It can be in either part of the state.
Again, thank you all for the warm welcome and city specifics. We are biting at the bit to get out there and get away from the southern california high paced "look-at-me-Im-from-california-and-better-than-thou" mentality.
Listen to thewizard, he is entering medical school this summer. If anyone has the answers I am sure he does.
The "urban" core of Northwest Arkansas is probably one of the best place to raise children in Arkansas. Farmington, Fayetteville, Springdale, Bentonville, and Rogers all have excellent schools and the big three cities have great locations to take the family: Walton Arts Center, Lake Fayetteville, Wilson Park, Jones Center, and other places in Springdale/Rogers I'm not familiar with.
I would advise against raising children in the rural fringes of NWA unless you're also willing to get very self-involved in your child's education and willing to put in the extra effort to expose your children to variety. Lincoln, Gravette, Grove, and Pea Ridge schools tend to lag behind and provide less opportunities than their city counterparts.
Edit: Outside of NWA, I would recommend Conway as a great place to raise children and it's home to two excellent colleges (UCA and Hendrix).
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