[slickblackvette]

Hello folks! My soon to be new bride and I will be moving from Dallas to the Little Rock area in the next month or so. We have looked into Conway, Cabot, Bryant and Benton and just don't really know the pros and cons of the different places. We want an area with good schools when we have kids and that has access to things to do. I have lived in much smaller towns before so I know that things will be much different from Dallas, TX. Being in dry areas does not matter to us but we do want to be in an area where the people are friendly and easy to meet. Thanks!

[Sam I Am]

Well....Bryant and Benton pretty much run into each other, and then run into Little Rock - it's (in my mind) more of just a suburb now. Coming up from that area to Little Rock, you generally cut through the SW part of Little Rock...primarily Hispanic at this point, I believe.

My kids grew up in Cabot - it was a little bitty town of about 8000 - now I would imagine it's 3 times that big, although not big by your standards at all...but whether anyone wants to admit it or not, there remains a large drug problem in Cabot...always has been, always will be. It was one of the first areas of "white flight" - the schools were very good but everything revolved around sports and that was pretty much it.

Conway is a great area but has also grown into almost a suburb of Little Rock - if you are going to work in Little Rock, the traffic headed in from Coway or the Benton/Bryant area in the mornings is enough to make you toss your cookies.

You might like NW Arkansas more than central - it is the most rapidly developing area - the university is up there and schools are mostly good - there seem to be more activities and cultural events than ever before...there's also a huge influx of people, but a very diverse group - your future children would probably be exposed to many different cultures, more so than in central Arkansas.

When you say "access to things to do", what things are you talking about, and how far will you drive to attend those "things"? We live about an hour NW of Little Rock - plenty close to pop in for a day, far enough away that we don't feel trapped by the traffic, etc....but we don't have little kids, either.

[slickblackvette]

NW Arkansas is beautiful but would be very difficult on my traveling. I work in the ag industry and will be doing 99.5% of my traveling east of little rock towards the delta. I do not want to relocate my Dallas born and raised wife to the delta for sure. I can handle it but I doubt she will. The meth problem of the smaller towns is an issue that would be nice to avoid if possible but Dallas has its own share of drug problems as well. We have also heard that the towns east of L.R. like Cabot and Searcy can be very clickish and difficult for people that didn't originate there. We have seen some nice homes on the net in all of the areas I mentioned but the amenity level for the buck seems to be better in Cabot or Bryant and Benton. Any truth to this???

As far as things to do, I love to fish, we both love going to the movies, bike riding, boating, car clubs, going to the gym, and things like that. A little shopping nearby would be great for her as well. I would say within 30 to 45 minutes of home to some of these things would be nice. And I have driven in the L.R. traffic so I know what to expect there. I'll take that over any freeway in Dallas anyday!

[Sam I Am]

Cabot has had so many newcomers in the past 20 years, I doubt you would be noticed. Please note that it is still primarily white - not a good or bad thing, just a statement of fact - in case the diversity of a multiracial environment is important to you. It's certainly close enough to North Little Rock or Little Rock for power shopping, close enough to Heber for boating or camping....I believe there is a movie theater there now, but someone else would have to answer that. There are gyms, and Cabot has decent shopping for the basics and maybe one step above. There's another little town between Cabot and Searcy called Beebe, but it's indeed a little town, although Arkansas State University has a branch there. If you went east from Little Rock, there is Lonoke, but it's looking pretty delta through there...southeast is England, again pretty flat.

There's a small part of the population in Cabot that is constantly turning over due to the Air Force Base in Jacksonville....again, Cabot has grown so much I don't think not being part of the founding father's family is going to present an issue at all.

I don't know about car clubs, but I know twice a year there is the Petit Jean Antique Car show - they have older vehicles, parts, and lord knows what. I haven't ever been, that would be a day of my life wasted, but my husband and cousin attend like it is a religious pilgrammage. I'm sure there is a car club in Cabot, if I had to guess - too many people not to have something!

Have you thought about Maumelle? Lake Maumelle and the Arkansas River are right there for boating - it's just across the bridge from Little Rock but is a self-contained little community that has all ranges of home prices and styles and a good school system all it's own...you might consider that.

[Sam I Am]

I see from your screen name you must like Corvettes? Here's a link to the Corvette club in central Arkansas -

http://www.centralarkcc.com/

Meets in Little Rock every month at Whole Hog Cafe on Cantrell Rd. There's also a Corvette show in Branson, MO in June - the traffic will be horrific, though. It always is in Branson!

Hope that helps a little bit....

Sam

[gavinsgrandnana]

The Conway area is really nice. The traffic can be a little hairy depending on what time of the morning you are leaving for work. Anywhere between 5:30-7:30 am it is not too bad. Compared to Dallas I am sure it is nothing any time of the day. As far as Conway being a suburb of Little Rock I do not agree with this. Conway is about 32 miles from Little Rock and is a very pretty area. The further north you go the prettier it gets. The people are very friendly and the cost of living is not as high as it is in Cabot. I work in LR with people who live in Cabot and I can detect, just from conversation, the cost of living is higher for them. I hope this helps.

[Qtipper]

This is gonna be windy:
We are moving to Sherwood. After EXTENSIVE (6-week visit and 4 months online!) research of the area here is what I can tell you.

If Benton/Bryant weren't so far away from the AFB they would be our #1 choice!! They are friendly, growing, open to newcomers and have great schools. There seems to be a lot more families with children. We just fell in love with the charm of these little communities. But, unfortunately they just weren't an option.

Conway would be our other #1. ADORABLE town with lots of growth, great schools, wonderful universities and lots of churches. People love newcomers and are excited to share anything and everything about their town. The real estate is super reasonable and the new subdivisions are SO nice. But, this would be a 40 - 60 minute commute and that is just OUT of the question for us. Some would laugh at that, but we are all about close to work and quickly home to family. It's just how we are.

Maumelle would be choice #2 but, again, the commute was just too much. We wanted Daddy HOME right after work. The people are so welcoming. There is diversity, the lake is right there if you are an avid sportsman. Real estate in Maumelle is a little more expensive. One thing...if it's cheap, the reason is it's probably by the railroad tracks. Make sure you LISTEN to a train while you check out the real estate. They are noisy, but manageable. Resale can be difficult. I think the trains go through the area like 4-5 times/day.

The Chenal Area of Little Rock is beautiful and close to everything. There is also some great shopping close by. If we were city life kind of people, oh, I would LOVE this area!

If you like Older, but charming, The Quapaw Quarter of LR is too cute.

Everyone warns about the Pulaski County Special School District, but after further probing the truth is there are good schools and not so good ones, just ask around.

As for Cabot...my vote is no. BUT, that is for personal reasons. If you look at the statistics you will see that it is a mostly white community. As a matter of fact a realtor told a friend of ours that "we don't have any of THOSE people (referring to black people) here, so Cabot is quite safe!" No, I am NOT kidding!!!!! But, I am sure as times change, this will change too!! The sad part is, real estate is really reasonable there and resale is rockin' and the schools are very good.

We were torn between NLR and Sherwood. NLR seems to have better schools, but there is open enrollment, so we are hoping that is an option. Sherwood is a cute community, but it doesn't have the pizazz and flavor of the Little Rock Metro type life. There are good areas and not so good areas. There aren't a lot of grocery stores and other types of businesses/restaurants etc. But, real estate is cheaper and LR is only 15-20 minutes if we need it. Also, the little community of Sherwood we are living in is SUPER close to all kinds of private schools and the Air Force Base which is where my husband works. We FELL head over heals in love with the subdivision and it's close to the church we really like. So, some might say we settled for Sherwood, but we really like the community. We are truly pleased. People are friendly, easy-going, super receptive to military families and open to different races and newcomers.

That my novel, the skinny, scoop and the 411. Take my .02 for what it's worth. If you have any more questions feel free to pm me!

Blessings~
Qtip

[slickblackvette]

Thanks for the help! I had a friend of mine recommend Maumelle so I'll check it out too. If you have any info about that town like good neighborhoods to look at I would love to hear about them.

[bborum]

Corvette Weekend in Eureka Springs is always the first weekend of Oct. We have car shows almost every month from April until Oct. antique, Mustang, Street Rod and Custom, PT Cruisers, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, VW, Corvette, Check the calendar of events Eureka Springs Arkansas Ozark Mountains 19th century Victorian village.

[rehabgradstudent]

Greetings!

Well, looks like there are some interesting posts on this one! Hmmmm...I lived in Little Rock while my father was going through medical school, but it has definitely gone downhill in terms of socio-economic status and development. While it may sound harsh and racist, what the realtor told that other post's friend does contain a bit of truth. Though it is more of a social class issue than a race issue, most blacks in Little Rock are poor and uneducated. That being the case, if you live near many of them, the problems that tend to clump together with poverty will likely affect your family. My brother went to a school that was mostly black in LR, and he was in a fight almost every day because they told him, "We don't like white boys." I don't like it either, but I can imagine you are not willing to sacrifice your children and their development for some social experiment or ideal. It is the truth. However, some of the blacks are very educated and respectable, but they tend to live wherever "white flight" is taking place. I see no point in sugar-coating these issues, and I am a graduate student in rehabilitation counseling (undergrad major in psychology and history), so I would hope that I can be unbiased and intelligent in my answer. Go and look for yourself, and I think you will understand what I mean.

Sincerely,

Rehabgradstudent

Originally Posted by slickblackvette

Hello folks! My soon to be new bride and I will be moving from Dallas to the Little Rock area in the next month or so. We have looked into Conway, Cabot, Bryant and Benton and just don't really know the pros and cons of the different places. We want an area with good schools when we have kids and that has access to things to do. I have lived in much smaller towns before so I know that things will be much different from Dallas, TX. Being in dry areas does not matter to us but we do want to be in an area where the people are friendly and easy to meet. Thanks!