Things to do - relocating from Manhattan to Little Rock? (Washington: housing, move)

[luvarkansas]

Why in the world would anyone want to pay $100 for a purse?

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by CAAR2008

For a New Yorker coming to live in LR, I do agree you are in for a big adjustment. But LR is a very charming place and you have to let Little Rock be Little Rock. It took me about a year moving from Los Angeles to adjust.
Dining options - LR has a lot of fine dining options if that's what you are looking for. It also has cafe-type places to hang out. Personally I like Capers, Vermillion Water Grille, and 1520 for fine dining. Ciao, Brave New Restaurant, Arcadia and Vieux Carre are great places too.

Warning: not too many ethnic restaurants. Will talk about "not-chain" restaurants here; I favor Asian food (I'm Aisan) so that is what I know most about. As of Feb 2008: two Vietnamese restaurants - Saigon is pretty good, there is another one that is good on South University Ave (cannot remember the name - Van or something like that) but go there during the day. Japanese cuisine - fares better but if you are looking for Teppanyaki aside from BeniHana, Shogun, there is one restaurant along Cantrell near Mississipi that does a decent job. ALso highly recommend Mt. Fuji along Rodney Parham and Osaka in West Little Rock. Korean - the Chi's restaurant which formerly was run as a Chinese restaurant has been taken over by new management as of a year ago by a Korean family so some Korean items are on the menu. Chinese - suggest Forbidden city at the mall along University (the updated one; not the one that is going to be torn down; the one across Midtown Shopping center); also suggest Hunan Oriental Cuisine along Pleasant Ridge Drive along Cantrell in West LR. Lilly's Dim Sum and some is OK especially with their appetizers; but otherwise I don't have anything else to say about it despite the reviews it gets (it really depends on where you are coming from...). Don't expect Ethiopian or Moroccan food in LR... There is no Filipino or Thai restaurant in LR. Italian - suggest the Italian couple along Cantrell near downtown (looks like a hole in the wall but highly recommend their lasagne and tiramisu). There is another Italian restaurant along Bowman Drive south of West Markham in West LR. Certainly, the variety of cuisine in LR is not match for what is in NYC and in LA partly because of the relative lack of immigrants/or lack of immigrants seeking to open up restaurants. Indian/Pakistani - there is a sizeable population of I/P professionals (mostly MDs) in the area - there are two restaurants in LR that you will not miss. BeneVita and La Luna Loca (I think that's the name... it was featured by Rachel Ray on one of her TV shows) are pretty good too - they are next to each other in the Riverdale area.

Good analysis. I've always found it strange how NWA can support 6 Thai restaurants but LR can't seem to support any. At first glance LR's cuisine seems lacking for a city its size, but you will find there is good stuff to be had. One of the sayings in Little Rock is that "its all here, you just have to look a little harder for it." I think Hot Springs has a German restaurant if its still open.

Originally Posted by CAAR2008

Bars? Not too much; didn't look for it in LR just because I had tons of good friends who had really nice houses where we would hang out for drinks and food. You can look at the other replies...

This is one area where I praise Little Rock. The downtown area especially in the River Market has some very good bars/clubs. They may not be good by LA standards, but compared to anything else in the state they are good.

Originally Posted by CAAR2008

Concert venues, Museums - Alltel sometimes would get good shows (eg. Michael Buble) but for the most part you may have to drive to Memphis for Broadway shows, Camille Pissaro exhibits etc. Robinson's theatre is another concert venue. LR has its own Arkansas Repertory - they are pretty decent for a small group. LR also has the AR symphony orchestra - pretty decent too; they also have quartets playing during the off season. But I know of friends who would still fly out to Dallas or Boston for the symphony or orchestra. All i am saying is the culture is there for the taking...

In addition to being such a small city, LR suffers in this department from being so close to Memphis. Most concerts and cultural events pass LR up and go straight to Memphis.

Originally Posted by CAAR2008

They updated the Midtown shopping center about a year ago so finally LR now has Pottery Barn, Ann Taylor Loft, Williams Sonoma. A newer shopping mall is going to open up near Chenal in West Little Rock - I'm back in LA for job reasons but am planning to go back to visit friends once this mall (which is advertising as having tons of higher-end shops) opens up. Tons of boutiques in the Heights/Hillcrest area.

More on shopping - there is no Neiman Marcus, Saks. The most decent department store is Dillards on University Ave; the Belk (unfortunately took over Parisian) along Cantrell in West LR is decent. BUT the one surprising thing about LR is that although you will not always find ultra-high-end stores here with top of the line/designer brands, you will be surprised to find you can get relatively bargain prices on good products --eg. $100 for a Cole Haan or Coach bag. If you look for it, you will find them. BTW there is a NEW shopping mall opening up along Chenal Parkway that is promising some pretty good stores - will open in Spring 2008 (I haven't been back so I am not sure if it has opened or not).

The new Promenade at Chenal is expected to have mostly duplicate stores from Park Plaza with the additions of a few like Apple and J. Crew. The shopping should really be much better than it is in a metro this size with these demographics. The reason it is not is there is a certain anti-growth movement here that succeeded in stopping Simon Properties from building a new super-regional mall in west Little Rock buy filing lawsuit after lawsuit until Simon just gave up. As a result, multiple smaller "lifestyle centers" have been constructed and these new centers have little gravity to bring the new retailers into the market that a regional mall would bring. Hopefully in a few years when these new shopping centers are online and the economy improves, so will our retail market. This has been very bad timing for the city of LR. For now at least, you will need to go to Memphis or Dallas for most high end/speciality shopping.

Originally Posted by CAAR2008

But really, in LR, our friends and I joke about it this way (and all of us came from somewhere else like NYC, LA, Chicago) -- live in LR, "play" elsewhere - because living in LR is what affords you to play elsewhere.

This is a true statement. Little Rock itself doesn't have a lot of attractions. Hot Springs has a bit more, which is about an hour away. I know a lot of people who go to Memphis on the weekends. Memphis is a true urban city that is in a class above Little Rock - more like Tulsa or Kansas City.

[Pearlbob]

Why would anyone want to pay LESS than $100 for a purse? To each their own!

I'm glad to hear LR has started to develop more! I'm sure it doesn't compare to Manhattan, but at least it sounds like there are some options. I know decades ago, that was not the case.

Originally Posted by luvarkansas

Why in the world would anyone want to pay $100 for a purse?

[luvarkansas]

Originally Posted by Pearlbob

Why would anyone want to pay LESS than $100 for a purse? To each their own!

I'm glad to hear LR has started to develop more! I'm sure it doesn't compare to Manhattan, but at least it sounds like there are some options. I know decades ago, that was not the case.

People really need to get their priorities in order.

[Sam I Am]

MODERATOR: Drifting off course - return to topic, please...

[arguy1973]

things to do outside of LR, well you could go frog-giggin, coon-huntin, swamp rabbit huntin, cow tippin, of course these are just of the things I like to do.
in all seriousness i think your in for some serious culture-shock. (but i do like to do those things)

[Capt. Dan]

There is another thing people up in the hills like to do at night. They like to chase and try to capture this one particular critter that roams the hills at night. Its a pesky little thing. makes all kinds of strange noises. Buzzing around. Flitting here and there. And if you do manage to catch one you better be careful because it can be really mean. Its called a samiam and they are fun to chase!!!!

[arguy1973]

i forgot all about snipe hunting..thats the funnest thing to have your kids do..

[Mandy214]

Oh girl - I read your plea for info on Little Rock and only read the first response... but seriously come visit for a week or two and THEN decide. Think of Manhattan and then think of the TOTAL OPPOSITE! There is VERY LITTLE entertainment there. Unless you like college sporting events. Take it from me - I am a girl from Atlanta (similar to Manhattan but on a much smaller scale) and I even lived in Memphis for 3 years and HATED it! There is nothing to do. Shopping sucks... PLEASE visit first - and be prepared for a completely different lifestyle.

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by Mandy214

Oh girl - I read your plea for info on Little Rock and only read the first response... but seriously come visit for a week or two and THEN decide. Think of Manhattan and then think of the TOTAL OPPOSITE! There is VERY LITTLE entertainment there. Unless you like college sporting events. Take it from me - I am a girl from Atlanta (similar to Manhattan but on a much smaller scale) and I even lived in Memphis for 3 years and HATED it! There is nothing to do. Shopping sucks... PLEASE visit first - and be prepared for a completely different lifestyle.

Many people nationwide live in small cities like Little Rock and make it work. Not everybody can live in Atlanta or New York. Sure, Little Rock is lacking for its size especially when it comes to shopping, but that should change throughout the next decade. This economic recession has come at the worst possible time for the city of Little Rock. Our retail market has been held hostage by Simon Properties for the past decade and now that its finally opened back up we are falling into recession. Another part of it is Dillard's corporate headquarters is here, and they lobby to keep competing department store chains out of the market. There are a lot of pros to Little Rock as well (relatively low traffic by big city standards, stunning natural scenery in WLR, just large enough cultural/bar scene, among other things). Overall Little Rock is a tolerable small city. If I had the opportunity to live somewhere more exciting, I would, but I don't hate Little Rock by any means. It is still large enough to feel citified. Like I said, if you need a real city fix, Memphis is 2 hours away and Dallas is 5.