[Turnerbro]

Wondering which of these two areas in Arkansas would be better to move to based on this criteria.
1. Walk ability
2. Economy (mainly in the tech, communications and business field)
3. Scenery
4. Weather
5. Dating scene
6. Night life
7. Architecture
8. Overall activities
9. Diversity

[biscuitmom]

In Fayetteville, #5 and #9 are problems. Otherwise you're good.

[sub]

Probably Little Rock. More culturally interesting and grown up as a city.
Everthing else is pretty much equal.

[nmnita]

I would probably say NWA, but of course I am partial as we live here. Most of what you are looking for exists here. Even though someone said diversity NO, I totally disagree. I think for the size, there is a lot of diversity. The one thing you will see in NWA that may be good or bad, depending on your views is conservatism. Fayetteville is more liberal and none of the area is like the deep south, but it certainly more conservative than say, New England or the west coast. NWA is probably more like the middle part of the country. Little Rock is more deep south. The reason for the diversity has a lot to do with 3 major companies having headquarters here, thus there are a lot of transplants. There is also a large consulting company, headquartered in Chicago that has a large facility here. The company is an Indian company so many of the employees are from India.

[spillerNburr]

Little rock is hit and miss. There are some very bad areas to LR.

[Luvvarkansas]

NW Arkansas. No doubt about it.

[DC at the Ridge]

Originally Posted by Turnerbro

Wondering which of these two areas in Arkansas would be better to move to based on this criteria.
1. Walk ability
2. Economy (mainly in the tech, communications and business field)
3. Scenery
4. Weather
5. Dating scene
6. Night life
7. Architecture
8. Overall activities
9. Diversity

Walkability-Little Rock (that said, Arkansas is a place where a car is more than just a convenience, public transportation isn't well-developed in the state, yet).

Economy-While NWA seems to be growing steadily, Little Rock is also growing. It's just not as noticeable because Little Rock is just bigger than NWA.

Scenery-It depends on what you like, but every time I visit Little Rock I can't help but think how lush the area seems. That's due in large part to the river there. But the views can be better in NWA, depending on where you go.

Weather-It's a little cooler in NWA.

Dating scene-Little Rock.

Night life-Little Rock, but NWA is getting better and better all the time.

Architecture-Little Rock is an established city and has been for a long, long time. NWA is new development, but Fayetteville has some architectural gems, and there's a Wright house on the grounds of Crystal Bridges. Also, Eureka Springs is a treasure with many Victorian homes.

Overall activities-It depends on what you like. There is always something going on in both locales. I think NWA is more outdoorsy with all the hiking/biking trails, the lakes, the nearby rivers, and because NWA is primarily four cities each with a distinct personality, and numerous smaller communities, the offerings are pretty unique. But Little Rock is the state capital, and it has a bigger population, and it's been establishing different venues for different activities for a long time. Plus Little Rock is in the very center of the state, so getting to other parts of the state is fairly doable.

Diversity-Depends on what you mean. Fayetteville has the University, and it attracts people from all over the world. Springdale has the most Marshallese in the world outside of the Marshall Islands. NWA has a healthy, thriving Hispanic population. Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville also attracts people from all over the world. That said, NWA is a whiter world than Little Rock.

[techie_g]

I don't think they're comparable at all. I lived in west LR. I would say that LR might have more options, but things change.NWA has changed dramatically and has grown no doubt.

[Rock Climber]

Originally Posted by Turnerbro

Wondering which of these two areas in Arkansas would be better to move to based on this criteria.
1. Walk ability
2. Economy (mainly in the tech, communications and business field)
3. Scenery
4. Weather
5. Dating scene
6. Night life
7. Architecture
8. Overall activities
9. Diversity

1. Walk ability: It depends on where you live. NWA has a regional bike trail system. The downtown areas of Bentonville, Rogers and I'd say most of Fayetteville in general, are very walkable. Downtown Little Rock probably offers a larger "walkable area" as far as acreage, than downtown Fayetteville, but not by much. Fayetteville has focused in on walkability, and there are probably more total people living in downtown Fayetteville than live in downtown Little Rock. In Fayetteville, most of those are college students, but depending on your age, that can be a good thing.

2. NWA economy is solid. There are 3 Fortune 500 companies and a major state university here in the metro. Tech, I'd give a slight edge to LR, but there are plenty of startups and a good ecosystem in NWA.

3. Scenery: Little Rock has a riverfront and the ouachitas. NWA has lakes and the Ozarks. Fayetteville is much closer to what is considered Arkansas' best outdoor area, the Buffalo National River area.

4. Weather: depends on what you like. Milder summers in NWA, milder winters in Little Rock

5. Dating scene: Being a millennial, NWA is probably better. NWA scores higher as a magnet for Millennials than Little Rock in the data I have seen. Having a major flagship university and growing companies here helps.

6. Night life: I don't know much about Little Rock in this regard. Fayetteville has a pretty great night life, for young people, it is very hipster, very collegiate crowd. Bentonville is more young professional.

7. Architecture: If you like historic older architecture, Little Rock has a slight edge. NWA has small-town older architecture, but it also has the University of Arkansas and its old buildings. Modernism, NWA hands down. Marlon Blackwell, Modus Studio are good locals. Moshe Safdie designed Crystal Bridges, which also has a FLW house on the grounds. E Fay Jones and Edward Durell Stone were both Fayetteville guys and lots of their work is here.

8. Overall activities: for BIG concerts, Little Rock is better. Apart from that, NWA has the same minor league baseball, the same minor concert circuit, a couple of film festivals (Bentonville Film Fest), the Fayetteville Roots fest, there is always something going on in NWA. Also, SEC sports.

9. Diversity: LR is more black/white. NWA is pretty diverse, as far as having Latinos, Asians, a small black population, but Indians, tech workers, and internationals, due to having the global Fortune #1 located here, a major state university, and 2 other Fortune 500s here.

NWA is your better option, hands down.

[WestForkGrant]

Originally Posted by biscuitmom

In Fayetteville, #5 and #9 are problems. Otherwise you're good.

Diversity is a problem in Fayetteville?
I disagree
There's a major university with students and professors from over 100 countries. Not to mention just next door in Springdale a large Hispanic and Marshallese population. Fayetteville and the area in general attract a lot of people for the Fortune 500 HQ jobs. It could be a lot worse..