Questions about Little Rock (and AR in general) (Benton, Maumelle: property taxes, houses)

[docmommaCA]

Considering a move to Little Rock. We are in California now ($$$$), but lived many years in Memphis and know the area (from 10+ years ago, however). Now we have an 11-year-old and our priorities are different.

So:

Schools -- what areas/suburbs are within a 20-30 minute drive of the medical center, with good schools?

Neighborhoods: Family friendly, places where you can walk around and meet the neighbors, preferably a mix of rentals and homes since we'll have to rent first till we get the lay of the land. Also, a sort of "moderate" area, economically, politically, religion-wise, etc -- not too far one way or the other.

Fees: Car registration and insurance (and do you have to take a drivers test to get a license?), sales taxes, utilities -- are there big differences between counties?

Thanks!

[Stormcrow73]

Schools: Maumelle

Neighborhoods: Maumelle

Fees, taxes, etc: You'll think you're in heaven compared to CA! Utilities, sales tax and property taxes do vary quite a bit from area to area.

[Sam I Am]

Well - Hillcrest and the Heights, depending on your level of income - right in Little Rock and notably wonderful places to live. UAMS is right south of there and a quick commute. Foxcroft is further west in Little Rock, still within 20 minutes on a good day. If you're not traveling at peak hours, don't sweat it. I'm voting Hillcrest and you should be able to find something to rent without a whole huge hassle. Very diverse, very artsy community, very friendly. A good mixture of young and old, native to Arkansas and not so native...the promenade is fun, there are little neighborhood shops, you're close to most everything you need. Stellar place to live - oh, and the neighborhoods in Stift Station, which is just really eastern Hillcrest. People are all over the board in that neighborhood - but it's very accepting and diverse, I think you'd really like it. If you don't like older homes, though, it won't be for you at all.

Car registration...hmmm...no, you do not have to take a test if you possess a valid DL now from another state. Sales tax varies..there's another thread on the Arkansas forum about all the taxes, I'll try to locate it and post the link. People say our electric bills are high, but I just came back from the Caribbean and they seem dirt cheap. Yes, the counties can vary because if you aren't serviced by Entergy you can end up wtih a co-op, which can be cheaper. Or can be higher, but generally they are less expensive. Cable is about $50 or so a month, I think, where I'm at (Pope County in west central AR), I'm thinking Cox is about the same. In Little Rock your water and trash and sewer bill are all lumped together. Separate meters for sprinkler systems so you don't pay the sewer fees on those.

Your better question should be about the schools, and although my heart says public, my head says private. LRSD has a lot of ... wrinkles in the system, how's that?

Let me look for that link...maybe someone will weigh in who has kids...

Here it is - maybe it will help!

Arkansas taxes

[LShawnBC]

I think you would love it here in Little Rock. It's a great family city, and there are many wonderful school options here. If you are thinking of public school, it is primarily address driven. We have different districts here, although there are some fabulous magnet schools that are determined by lotteries. The entry level years are the years to apply: kindergarten, 6th grade and 9th grade. If you miss the lottery on those entry level years, you will be put on the waiting list, and those lists move pretty slow really. I think there are a lot of people out there who would say that the corridor north of Cantrell Rd to the freeway west is probably the best for elementary, middle school and high school with your assigned schools being Forest Park or Jefferson, Pulaski Heights and Central. I don't know what price range you are looking in, but that corridor runs the gammet as far as home prices. The Heights is high dollar, then as you go west the prices go down, then up again. There are also many homes that have incredible river views from the ridges, but those are very high dollar and are harder to find. The main neighborhoods are The Heights, Overlook, Foxcroft, Robinwood and River Ridge. Of course if you are thinking private schools, we have many options for that here too, and you can live anywhere. I think people moving here from other parts of the country are impressed with the beauty of our city - it's rolling tree covered hills are just beautiful, and while we do have traffic, I'm sure it's no where near what you are used to in California. Good luck!

[Sam I Am]

...and Leawood, Briarwood, Sturbridge, Pleasant Valley, Walton Heights, Briarwood...whatever they call the area east of Cantrell and Mississippi and south down around Hall High...Prospect Terrace...there are lots of nice areas - I'd like to go on record that the neighborhoods in the post above are high dollar areas. Some parts of Foxcroft are high, some aren't as bad. The rest of them are really not open to average joe. Or at least not this average joe!

[North Pulaski Player]

Since UAMS is more in the midtown area, for living I would look into parts of town like Hillcrest and Riverdale just west of downtown if you prefer a nice older home, and west Little Rock or Maumelle and maybe even Bryant/Benton if you are looking for a nice newer home. If you do decide to stay in either west Little Rock or Maumelle, I personally feel that the public schools in those areas are fine, just a little overcrowded. Pulaski Academy, LR Christian, and LR Catholic are good private schools in those areas if you think you may want to take the private school route.

[docmommaCA]

Originally Posted by North Pulaski Player

Since UAMS is more in the midtown area, for living I would look into parts of town like Hillcrest and Riverdale just west of downtown if you prefer a nice older home...

Years ago I had a friend who lived on Kings Mountain Rd in Breckenridge and I remember thinking it was a nice area. Is it still? Are the schools good? Prices reasonable? Any rental complexes in that area?

Thanks!

[LShawnBC]

I agree with Sam I am about the neighborhoods of Foxcroft, Robinwood and River Ridge are higher in price, I was simply referring to them as options for the particular school district of Jefferson or Forest Park (elementary), Pulaski Heights (middle) and Central (high) - that district is only north of Cantrell. The other neighborhoods that were mentioned: Leawood, Briarwood, Sturbridge and Pleasant Valley are south of Cantrell and are assigned to different schools: Brady, McDermott and Fulbright (elementary), Forest Heights and Henderson (middle) and primarily Hall for High School. Some newcomers to the area (if they are planning on public schools), will visit the schools first, then find a home in their favorite school's assignment area.

If you want to rent for awhile, there are many apartments scattered throughout the area (try apartment locators), but if you want to rent a house, you might contact a management company and ask for options. You asked about Breckenridge? It is a nice area, and while many homes in there have been updated, others still need to be. Good luck!

[Sam I Am]

Originally Posted by docmommaCA

Years ago I had a friend who lived on Kings Mountain Rd in Breckenridge and I remember thinking it was a nice area. Is it still? Are the schools good? Prices reasonable? Any rental complexes in that area?

Thanks!

Breckenridge is still nice, although my personal opinion is that a lot of those houses popped up during the 1970's and forward and sometimes quality wasn't the name of the game. The further north toward Cantrell, or west, the better. I believe prices are fairly reasonable through there, but stay away from Reservoir Rd. It seems to have largely transient apartment dwellers and it's kind of drab through there -just one row of apartments after another. There are lots of rentals through that area, but the traffic on Rodney Parham would make me cringe. Markham, too, for that matter...and Shackleford...again, another city without enough forethought to gauge the traffic needs, but I guess that's everywhere. The city has moved much further west - but there are a TON of complexes on Napa Valley, Chenal, Rock Creek, and on out West Markham, which is the boom area. Might try looking there.

[docmommaCA]

Originally Posted by North Pulaski Player

Since UAMS is more in the midtown area, for living I would look into parts of town like Hillcrest and Riverdale just west of downtown if you prefer a nice older home, and west Little Rock or Maumelle and maybe even Bryant/Benton if you are looking for a nice newer home.

Still looking from long-distance -- realistically if we lived in Maumelle or Bryant/Benton, how long would my commute to UAMS be during "rush hour"? Is there a big difference between the 7-9am traffic and off-hours (if I have the luxury of adjusting my work hours)? I am really looking to keep my commute to less than 30 minutes each way (less if I can manage it). But we want to be sure that we can choose our son's school by choosing where we live. Are these areas building new schools to accomodate the families who are moving to the area?