New England to Little Rock, Arkansas? (Fayetteville, Springdale: relocating, income, rent)

[The A-Team]

Not in Fayetteville though, right there in the Small mountains and hills. Breathtaking!!! When i talk about NWA I mainly refer to Fayetteville/Springdale area, which is the largest (much bigger than rogers, bentonville, etc), where most of the people are, and with the most to do. If you spent most of your time in the Benton County area, then no wonder you have a less positive view of NWA lol, its the part with the least character, least population, least beautiful scenery, etc etc. The view from Mt Sequoyah in Fayetteville is one of the most stunning in Arkansas. Have you spent much time in places such as this chris?

[bchris02]

Benton County - 203,107
Washington County - 194,292

Benton county has surpassed Washington county. Its where most of the growth is happening right now. It used to be Fayetteville WAS NWA, but now Rogers and Bentonville are taking over as the dominant cities. It really will not surprise me if within the next 10-15 years Benton county becomes the largest county in the state as most of LR's growth is going to counties neighboring Pulaski. Benton Co. is becoming a miniature Plano.

And yeah, the scenery in the Ozarks is amazing. I used to live north of Ft. Smith. Ive been many places in the Ozark Nat'l Forest there and also up towards Eureka Springs. The best overlooks are in the rural areas.

[The A-Team]

I'm not saying the counties as a whole, rather comparing cities like rogers to Fayetteville. More people out and about and much more to do imo in Fay. And yes the ozarks are stunning, even after living up here in Seattle, quite possible the most breathtaking part of the U.S(only matched by Hawaii and Alaska) i'm still always so happy to return and enjoy the Ozark views. When I'm back in NWA, i spend ALL my time in Washington county lol, we (my friends and I) never spent a whole lot of time in Benton county.

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by northbound74

Having lived in a few places myself, and attending schools in different states, I'd say that Arkansas' schools were a bit further behind in some ways. For example, a computer class that I took in 7th grade in another state, I took again as a senior in Arkansas. I realize computer classes are different, but still... a five year gap?
Arkansas' schools reputation probably stems from cultural issues more than anything else. Education hasn't always been the highest priority... in the rural areas, especially. As it was in my mom's family, farming was more important. Pick cotton first, if there's time for homework, then okay. She was discouraged from graduating. She did, though. The only one in her family to do so.
If you're an involved parent, and you're children are good students, they'll learn all the basics as well as anybody. What they might miss out on, however, would be the plethora of advanced and extracurricular programs offered in other places. LR and NWA may not be quite as bad as the rest of the state, but the schools in LR have such a bad reputation for so many things.

How odd that my son who just moved from one of the more prestigious school districts in Maryland to one these "horrible" Arkansas schools is taking subject matter 2 years more advanced than what MD had to offer. Lets go a bit further to state that the school district he was previously in was in the supposed top 100 in the country and they were just barely beginning to touch on pre-algebra in the 7th grade. Yet here in Arkansas, he's in full blown algebra, taking basic electronics design, binary logic, etc.... Yeah, we're SOOO behind.

[larrywriter]

Wow - lots of responses. Zoiks. I must say the sushi on every corner surprised me. I'm always surprised when a landlocked area has a lot of sushi. I've seen other NWA vs. LR arguments on this forum. Very interesting.

[DC at the Ridge]

BChris, one of the reasons this thread went into a debate of NWA v LR is that YOU introduced NWA into it. You took the first swipe, then you get tiffed when some people swiped back.

To the OP, I will say again, many schools in Arkansas are excellent. Unfortunately, in some of the more rural areas they don't do as well, because of funding and infrastructure and because of the agrarian culture that doesn't put as much weight on education. But in Little Rock there are some fine schools.

Please, visit the area and get a feel for it. Your attitude and expectations make all the difference when moving to a new place and how you adjust to it. You'll be pleasantly surprised by some things Little Rock has to offer, and at other times you'll have to wrap your mind around how different Little Rock is from Boston. I think moving from Mass to Arkansas as a kid opened my mind up a lot to different perspectives and to appreciate more the diversity across the entire United States. So good luck to you.

DC

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by larrywriter

Wow - lots of responses. Zoiks. I must say the sushi on every corner surprised me. I'm always surprised when a landlocked area has a lot of sushi. I've seen other NWA vs. LR arguments on this forum. Very interesting.

The Wal-Mart down the street from us sells freshly made sushi in the deli area. I'm not a sushi fan so I've never tried it and don't know if I'd recommend anyone to try theirs but I just thought I'd point that out.

[Sam I Am]

MODERATOR:

Okay folks - most of the regular posters are here, so let me take this opportunity to interject this...this is the ARKANSAS forum and at this time the Administrator doesn't want to break NWA into a separate region. I'm only the messenger.

I'm going to ask everyone, no matter where you are at, to stop the swiping. NWA is great and has wonderful things to offer - so does Little Rock. Two very different areas, but most importantly they are both in Arkansas...most of us are Arkansans. It is only natural to take up for "your" area, but not by downgrading another. Saying "I like X better" is acceptable - saying "Y is a hell hole" is not. We've got people who like it here, people who don't. Nonetheless, everyone deserves respect for their opinion if it is stated politely and not in a confrontational way.

Here's the Terms of Service one more time:

Terms of Service - City-Data Forum

"Be civil, no personal attacks, flaming, or insults. We may attack ideas (politely) but we do not attack the speaker of the idea. Be careful with your words, there is a point where being direct crosses a line into blunt, in-your-face hostility. Please, report bad posts instead of engaging in flame wars on the boards.

If you disagree with something, say so, but explain WHY.

Stay on topic. Attempts to hi-jack threads by switching topics or going off topic will be deleted and infractions issued. This is not a chat room - when people hi-jack threads by posting messages that are of interest to only few people, the threads often stop being useful discussions of initial topics.

Hate speech, racism or bashing of ANY sort will NOT be tolerated. Rude posts will be removed and infractions issued. Do not quote or talk to trolls or your posts will also be deleted. Use the report feature instead.

...

Our opinions on a location or issue are just that, opinions. Highly subjective. Personal preferences. Quirks, even. Leave wiggle room for dialogue, others may not see things the same as you, or been there as long as you, and any one of us can be wrong. Pouncing on someone you disagree with runs contrary to the spirit of this board and its members. We are here to help each other."

That says it all. Remember, when you bash an area you are talking about someone's HOME. Do unto others and all that jazz. Please.

Thanks,
Sam

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

The Wal-Mart down the street from us sells freshly made sushi in the deli area. I'm not a sushi fan so I've never tried it and don't know if I'd recommend anyone to try theirs but I just thought I'd point that out.

Wal-Mart/Kroger aren't the best choices for sushi. Crazy Hibachi in NLR is the best I've had so far, but there are a ton of places I haven't tried so I can't say if its the best in the area.

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by bchris02

Wal-Mart/Kroger aren't the best choices for sushi. Crazy Hibachi in NLR is the best I've had so far, but there are a ton of places I haven't tried so I can't say if its the best in the area.

Right...I didn't figure it would be. The thing is, this WM actually has a guy come in and roll them right there. It isn't prepackaged like I guess other WM/Kroger's sell. Still, I'm not saying it's high quality, lol.