Suburbs of Little Rock - HELP! (Conway, Jacksonville: property taxes, housing, rent)

[leavingnashville]

Hubby, son & I are moving to the Little Rock area in August due to a job transfer. I've never been to the area, so I need help DESPERATELY. Online searches have drawn me to Conway, Cabot, Jacksonville and Maumelle. My son will be in kindergarten, so schools are DEFINITELY an issue. Any help is much appreciated.
Debbie

[Stormcrow73]

If you can afford it, I'd recommend Maumelle. You'll have two elementaries to choose both in the Pulaski County Special School District. If you live on north or eastern side of town your child would go to Pine Forest right there in Maumelle. If you live on the south or west side of town he would go to Crystal Hill Magnet. Both are very good schools. Maumelle has a middle school and it is TOP notch! We should also be getting a brand new high school assuming the current plan stays in place.

Conway is a nice enough town but traffic isn't great because the town really outgrew it's capacity. I've heard some schools are really good and others not so good.

Schools in Jacksonville are not so great. In fact, Jax just tried to pull out of PCSSD because residents there feel their schools are underfunded because Maumelle gets all the money. The school board wouldn't allow it but I'd bet the issue is not at rest and will come up plenty more. They do have a point, the schools over there are old, outdated and in need of LOTS of investment.

Can't answer any questions about Cabot, don't know anything about the schools.

[Sam I Am]

Cabot schools are good IF your child is "normal" and has no learning disabilities, and even better if your child is involved in sports. They do have excellent teams, but it was my personal experience that the players got by with a little more than the kids who didn't participate.

I'd think at this age the schools would be great for him and there is always a lot of participation by parents. Cabot is another town that has about outgrown the original plan, though.

If your work is in Little Rock, I'd opt for Maumelle as well.

[bchris02]

Conway used to be the "place to be" but its a hefty commute and with $4 gas I would highly recommend you look a little bit closer. Maumelle, north NLR/Sherwood, Jacksonville, and Bryant are probably your best bet and the commute is signifficantly shorter than from Conway or Cabot. I believe Maumelle is building a new high school. I personally love Maumelle and also NLR. West Little Rock is nice if you have the money. It tends to be pricey. Although you would be in Little Rock city limits, it is serviced by Pulaski County school district and not LRSD.

[Sam I Am]

leavingnashville,

I want to make sure I understood what you said...it takes me a while to click sometimes! Your issues with moving to LR proper have to do with the school system, is that correct? There ARE some good public schools, you just have to pick and choose and really beat the bushes to get there. If you are up for private schools, there are a number that come to mind that are excellent if somewhat pricey and sometimes clique-ish.

There are good buys to be had all over Little Rock - that's not to talk you out of your initial ideas, just to say it can happen and does every day. Are there other things we should be considering before pointing you in a particular direction? Are you looking for a neighborhood or rural setting (I'm guessing neighborhood since you've named towns rather than areas)? What area will your commute take you to? Traffic is always a consideration as well!

[Hog-I]

My family just moved from West LR to Bryant and we love it. Here are some reasons why:

Great schools and after school care--Our son is in kindergarten now and loves it. The schools always rate in the upper echelon of Arkansas schools and always outperform the state average on standardized tests. Plus, the Bryant Boys and Girls Club provides on site after school care for, get this, $150 per kid per school year. That's not a typo. It's very well-run also. They also have a 7:30-5:30 summer camp for $175 per kid for the whole summer.

Affordable housing--Housing prices are a bit lower in Bryant than in LR. There are also a lot of newer subdivisions popping up. Plus, the housing crash hasn't hit this area very hard and property taxes are still pretty low.

Family friendly--Our kids have tons of neighborhood friends and kids are always out playing. The sports programs are great as well.

Safety--Very very low crime rate.

Accessibility to LR--The highway from Bryant to LR was recently expanded to six lanes. I work in downtown LR and it takes me twenty minutes to get from my house in Bryant to my office.

Growth--Bryant is growing at a very fast pace. Many families are moving from LR to Bryant for the reasons here listed.

There are probably other things I'm not thinking of, but maybe this will help you start exploring.

[fordarama]

I lived in Cabot for three years,
The schools are great, the town is really nice, and the people are wonderful.
The town has one major flaw, It has outgrown it's road system,
Traffic can be terrible certain times of the day,
And the hwy coming from Little rock into cabot(167) During rush hour is a nightmare.
Cabot has two exits, And they will back up out onto the freeway at times...
Cabot has low crime.
Jacksonville is not a safe town, The side with the airbase is best,
But the schools are bad...
I moved to a small town north of cabot,
Good schools,
But I drive into little rock to work four days a week and it cost $80.00 for gas...For those four days of work..
And I sit still in traffic coming thru jacksonville, every day...
I run a cleaning service and work all over little rock, maumelle,
West little rock is a nice area, But it does have a problem with home robberys, Because thieves think that the nicer areas are better to break into.
I have had several customers get broke into, so they all have alarms,
And The heights area also has the same trouble.
And maumelle has had recent problems with break ins as well.
There have been some front doors kicked in broad daylight, and problems with golf clubs and such being stolen out of the garages.
Conway is too large, traffic is a nightmare, Daily freeway wrecks coming in from conway,
Benton , bryant have drug troubles, but are better than some areas as far as being a nice place to live.
But the drive into LR is also slow ,
I guess you have to weigh the gas prices, vs, schools,
Out of all of them, I would go with cabot, then west little rock in the chenal area,
Hope this helps a bit...

[bchris02]

..thats $320 per month in gas prices, commute 5 days per week it will be $400. Not worth it in my opinion when you have closer options without being in LRSD. Personally, I would rather live in LR and put my child in private school and give them my money rather than give my money to the oil companies. I am not suggesting that for you though. One reason Cabot is so popular is its 95.5% white. Benton/Bryant are the same way. Many of the fringe LR suburbs are pure white flight communities.

[North Pulaski Player]

Sounds like Maumelle would be a great fit for you. It is literally across the river from west Little Rock and the Pulaski County School District elementary schools in the area are top notch. If it turns out Maumelle is just beyond your budget, check out Bryant/Benton, Sherwood, and Cabot. Although demographics in Bryant and Cabot are similar, the mentality of Cabot folks are a few decades behind so if you have some "tint" to your skin you may need to look at Bryant over Cabot. If this was ten years ago I would've put Conway at the top of the list, but Conway people that I know are trying to move to Pulaski County because they all say that gasoline prices are kicking their rear.

[paramour]

Originally Posted by fordarama

<snip>

I run a cleaning service and work all over little rock, maumelle,
West little rock is a nice area, But it does have a problem with home robberys, Because thieves think that the nicer areas are better to break into.
I have had several customers get broke into, so they all have alarms,
And The heights area also has the same trouble.
And maumelle has had recent problems with break ins as well.
There have been some front doors kicked in broad daylight, and problems with golf clubs and such being stolen out of the garages.

<snip

I'm not going to disagree with the home burglaries (not robberies; there is a difference) in Maumelle. However, before anyone scares someone out of Maumelle, they should also recognize that most of those burglaries reported to the police also indicate that the perpetrator entered through an unlocked door.

Lock your frakkin' doors and don't keep your garage doors open. Problem solved (in a good number of these cases).