[cvazqu]

Hi everyone!
My husband is a surgeon and is considering an offer from the hospital in Russellville, AR. We currently live in Shreveport, LA.
I have read all of the relevant posts about Russellville that I could find here, and am concerned that our family will not mesh well in Russellville (though I hope that isn't the case- I have visited the area numerous times and have always loved it). My concern is that we will not have like-minded peers. (Of course, this wasn't a concern until I started reading this forum). As I stated, my husband is an MD, I have a Master's, we have a two year old son, we are not religious, AND we have an Hispanic last name (though I am white and my husband is white/Hispanic). Will we fit in in Russellville? Will my son, when he is school-aged, be treated poorly by his peers because he has a Spanish-sounding last name? I know this all sounds ridiculous, but after reading some of the posts here, I have been given the impression that the area is not entirely welcoming to people that are perceived to be different. Is that true? Also, is education not highly valued (another impression I've gotten)? Are there young professional families in Russellville? Would you recommend this area to a family such as ours?
Thanks so much!

[cvazqu]

I also wanted to ask if Russellville gets any significant snow each year? (Another crazy question, I know!)

[Sam I Am]

Originally Posted by cvazqu

Hi everyone!
My husband is a surgeon and is considering an offer from the hospital in Russellville, AR. We currently live in Shreveport, LA.
I have read all of the relevant posts about Russellville that I could find here, and am concerned that our family will not mesh well in Russellville (though I hope that isn't the case- I have visited the area numerous times and have always loved it). My concern is that we will not have like-minded peers. (Of course, this wasn't a concern until I started reading this forum). As I stated, my husband is an MD, I have a Master's, we have a two year old son, we are not religious, AND we have an Hispanic last name (though I am white and my husband is white/Hispanic). Will we fit in in Russellville? Will my son, when he is school-aged, be treated poorly by his peers because he has a Spanish-sounding last name? I know this all sounds ridiculous, but after reading some of the posts here, I have been given the impression that the area is not entirely welcoming to people that are perceived to be different. Is that true? Also, is education not highly valued (another impression I've gotten)? Are there young professional families in Russellville? Would you recommend this area to a family such as ours?
Thanks so much!

Well - welcome to R'ville, should you choose to come - I live here and love it.

Russellville is not as Hispanic as Dardanelle, right across the river, but there is a HUGE Hispanic population. I cannot see why a surname or heritage would matter at all. It might matter more if you were from Iran or something, but no - Hispanic is not a problem...so that's out of the way!

I do not believe the area is unwelcoming to those who are different, or at least not different in your sense. Again, we have difficulty accepting those Martians that drop in from time to time, but there is a LOT of money in Russellville, and a nice-sized medical community. Young professionals...well, maybe not so much...I am assuming early 30's? This is not a professional town per se, but of course we have our white collars like any other town.

There are folks who have been here since God was a little boy, and folks like us who have been here a relatively short period of time. My husband is a pharmacist - we are not social animals, so I can't tell you about social circles. We aren't church-goers, either, and I've never noticed that anyone noticed.

I think education is valued more by the upper middle and upper classes - and this is more of a blue collar town (just my opinion). Many people work in local businesses or for the nuclear plant or whatever - but there are excellent public and private schools available - Montessori, the Catholic Church on Main St. out toward the hospital, and the public schools are way more than adequate unless you should need some special education needs for your child then you need to work it yourself. If that is the case, please PM me and I'll tell you what I know that might help.

There is a 4 year college here, Arkansas Tech. Lots of local kids go there - lots break free and go to U of A or to Conway colleges. There are more kids going to college now, but it is the South - it is a small town - and sometimes you don't find that high prey drive to higher education here among the youth.

A lot will depend on what you want/need to make your life complete. If you need theater and arts and concerts, you're going to be miserable. If you like knowing Miss Rose the door greeter at Wal Mart, you'll love it!

Will your husband actually be with the hospital, or with a private practice and using the hospital? I will be honest here - St. Mary's is commonly known as St. Murders....it is adequate enough care for small things, and I'm sure they have a major victory occasionally - but it's not know for being the epicenter of quality care....I'm sorry if that sounds brutal, but given the choice, people will bail out for Conway or Little Rock if it isn't emergent care where there is no other choice - but perhaps your husband could turn that around!

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask and I'll try to help - and we usually get 1-2 snowfalls per year that shut the town down for a day or so. Main St. is Hwy. 64, so the state highway department clears it - likewise, Arkansas Avenue is also Hwy. 7 and it stays cleared. If you move up on Skyline or Marina or out to Crow Mountain or Linker Mountain, you most likely are stuck at home during snow...it's more ice and sleet than anything else, but rarely does it last very long. If you're in town, you shouldn't have any trouble at all getting around. The middle part of town is flat as a pancake.

[cvazqu]

Thanks so much, Sam I Am! Your reply was very helpful! I am glad to hear that our last name will not be a negative there. And, YIKES! about St. Murders! Maybe that perception answers the questions my husband and I have been having about why they are so heavily recruiting him and offering such a generous package. I'll pass that little tidbit along to him.
A week ago, I thought we were for sure headed to south Louisiana (which we just visited and I was not impressed). So the prospect of Russellville had me hoping that we could avoid the S. LA fate.
I should have mentioned in my first post that my husband and I are both originally from rural areas in the South, so I don't think I will have too terrible of a time adjusting to the slower pace again. I'm rather looking forward to it, actually.
So, if we do indeed move to Russellville, what are the nicer areas of town? Are the nicer homes in Russellville itself or in the outlying areas?
Thanks so much for your help!

(And, I was hoping there would be more snow there!)

[Sam I Am]

CVAZQU

Sorry, I have yet to control the weather, although maybe I could work on that?

I am personally THRILLED to hear St. Mary's is aggressively recruiting. It was bought up a little while ago and this community is growing to the point that we need quality care at the hospital desperately. Russellville has changed even in the 7 years since we came here, many more people and businesses.

The nicer areas of town again will depend on what it is you are looking for...historic? new out of the box? Areas up off Skyline tend to be very, very nice...I will pm you with some info and maybe you can take a look and see what interests you and fits in your price range, and I can give you some info on the neighborhood and proximity to shopping, the hospital, schools, etc. Anything with a street that sounds like it's from merry old England is newer housing and in a wealthier area of town (Canterbury, etc....You'll know what I mean when you see the street name) - there's Deer Run, which is nice, and a two-phase housing area NE of town, the name of which quite escapes me at this moment. Marina Road has some very nice areas off it, and Marina and Skyline join together at one point. That seems to be the area where most of the physicians and attorneys and more upscale families live. Past the lake but overlooking it on the north side of the highway there is a huge development of really, really nice homes. Many people don't live in R'ville proper because there is so much ease in moving around the town. Lots are moving down toward Pottsville, which is about 8 miles east, because of the school system. I couldn't even tell you if there are any upscale neighborhoods there because I don't go that way, but in my mind it is for middle and upper middle class. I could be really wrong, though.

St. Mary's has notoriously been for having babies and "quick" care and routine(if there is such a thing) surgery - cholecystectomy, appendectomy, blah, blah, but there's a shift. Several docs from Little Rock (oncologists and such) now have satellite offices here, so the range of services is growing...and please remember UAMS is in Little Rock, which is a premier teaching facility and top notch in a lot of areas, particularly emergency care and cancer care; Arkansas Heart Hospital draws a lot of people to Little Rock who aren't in full-fledged crisis. Not every hospital can handle everything, of course, in a rural town, so there's a lot of turfing that goes on if you're somewhere between the "let us patch you up" and long-term care...people with more serious health concerns or injuries that will actually wait a small amount of time get sent to Little Rock by ambulance or on one of the med flights. Arkansas Children's Hospital is also in Little Rock but has the burn unit and several subspecialities. Because of the baby boomers and seniors, though, who have family in this area, a large number of people will choose to be treated at St. Mary's. I think that's a good thing and I hope you will choose to come here and make our town more special than it already is!

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by cvazqu

Hi everyone!
My husband is a surgeon and is considering an offer from the hospital in Russellville, AR. We currently live in Shreveport, LA.
I have read all of the relevant posts about Russellville that I could find here, and am concerned that our family will not mesh well in Russellville (though I hope that isn't the case- I have visited the area numerous times and have always loved it). My concern is that we will not have like-minded peers. (Of course, this wasn't a concern until I started reading this forum). As I stated, my husband is an MD, I have a Master's, we have a two year old son, we are not religious, AND we have an Hispanic last name (though I am white and my husband is white/Hispanic). Will we fit in in Russellville? Will my son, when he is school-aged, be treated poorly by his peers because he has a Spanish-sounding last name? I know this all sounds ridiculous, but after reading some of the posts here, I have been given the impression that the area is not entirely welcoming to people that are perceived to be different. Is that true? Also, is education not highly valued (another impression I've gotten)? Are there young professional families in Russellville? Would you recommend this area to a family such as ours?
Thanks so much!

My feelings on this and other such subjects, you only will not fit in if you choose not to let yourselves be accepted. I really don't think Russellville is any different than Shreveport. Look at it this way, if there is a hospital there obviously your husband won't be the only doctor. Other doctors and nurses plus people in the medical field will be as educated as he and you. As for your hispanic name, my granddaughter lives in OK, has the same situation, never has this been an issue.

Of course Sam has already helped you I am sure. She is honest, knows what she is talking about and a firm beleiver that life in Russellville is the best. I would trust her and her opinions.

I am beginning to think too many people are too worried about fitting it. Go with a positive attitude, and stop worrying. As for not being relegious, the same; not everyone in AR lives for thier church. Of course we all know many do, but you will get used to that.

I actually had a funny, strange or just plain normal thing happen to me while eating at a restaurant in Van Buren. It was one of the buffet style places, I was in line when some very friendly, older women started a conversation with me. (obviously a friendly place to visit or live) she asked how I was doing or something like that, I answered and made a comment about how good the food was. Her answer: it is always good when God is in charge. Well it crossed my mind to say "oh is he doing the cooking today" of course I didn't I just smiled and said, yes, you are right. End of conversation. It made no difference my views, nor did her comments offend me or would they have regardless of how I take relegion.

I hope you do decide to re-locate to AR, what a great place to raise your little boy.

NMNita

[razzle51]

what kind of Dr. ? WE Need drs deparatly in Sioux city Iowa ?

[rcltrh]

If you decide on Russellville and want a nice 4000 sq ft house up here off Marina on Skyline in the Heartland subdivision in the middle of other doctors and nucleal engineers, we are getting ready to put ours on the market. My partner and I are moving to New York City next month and selling this house. It was built in 2000 and is a great house in a great neighborhood. 5 BR, den, office, great room, modern stainless kitchen, master suite with dressing room and 6 ft walk-in shower room, etc. All the bells and whistles on about 3/4 acre of bermuda sod with sprinkler system. Do I sound like a realtor? haha I'm not but would really like to sell ths house to someone who would appreciate the area. Russellville is a nice town and you can't smell a thing up here in this neighborhood if you have been reading those other posts about the rendering plant smell in the area at times. This is also not a religious area and people are friendly and tend to stay out of each others affairs. Most up here are more liberal and highly educated. If my same sex partner (he is a pharmacist and I am an educational consultant) and I can live here and socialize with other neighbors without problem you would fit in too with no problem.