[homesickredstick]

Can anyone advise me on schools and neighborhoods in and around El Dorado? My husband would be working in El Dorado, and does not mind driving up to an hour to work. I'm interested in private schools, unless we could find an area with great public schools.

The closest city I've found that seems to have a good public school system is West Monroe, Louisiana which according to mapquest is about 90 miles from El Dorado. Is this accurate? If so, it would be too far.

Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[btoverdrive]

I have been waiting to see what kind of answers you would get regarding El Dorado. Since no one has reponded, I guess I will give you my impression. I was born in El Dorado and spent my first 18 years there before leaving in 1969 to attend college. While growing up there, it was a pretty fun town, albiet small and not much to do, but we made our own fun. I have not lived there since 1969 but I still visit frequently as my father still lives there. I would not recommend living there. The town has slowly been dying due to industries closing and it has turned into a crack infested, gang heaven. If work brings you to El Dorado, you may wish to move to Smackover, Norphlet, Mt Holly, Junction City or Old Union. One thing to consider, Murphy Oil just announced that they would be providing a free college education to anyone that finishes school in El Dorado, the only good thing to happen to that town in a very long time. Check out this website http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16756836/

Take a trip there and see for yourself before you decide but I would think long and hard before living in El Dorado. One other thing, if you do go there, be sure and go to the Spudnut Shop and try a spudnut. You will never eat another donut as long as you live.

[homesickredstick]

Thank you for your reply. I was wondering if anyone would ever reply. It does not sound very appealing. All of the other towns you mentioned are just so small (2000 people). I don't mind small towns, but that is way too small. I was looking at the West Monroe, LA area as a possible place to live. I wonder if it would be a very long drive?

[btoverdrive]

You might try Farmerville, La, 36 miles from Eldo or Ruston, La, 50 miles from Eldo. Farmerville might be too small for your liking but you can get a pretty nice place on Lake Darbonne if you like lake living. Ruston is a college town, Louisiana Tech, so it has most all of what you might need. Also, look at Magnolia, Ark, about 35 miles from Eldo.

Good luck as there really isn't much around there. I used to live in West Monroe and personally, I would not make that drive to Eldo and back every day.

[Grani]

That's a shame about El Dorado. It's been happening to a lot of towns/cities. It's happened to my town.

Back in the 60's, it was a thriving, growing town. With new factories moving in. Now it's been reduced to one grocery store, One gas station/quick snack, a liquor store, and that's it. But just 5 miles away is a larger city, with everything. So I don't mind my town being reduced to bad. I love the rural country anyway. We have about 1300 people here, and I think we all know each other

[anjoe]

I live in Camden just 30 minutes south of El Dorado. The town is around 12,000 and rather friendly. We have our small town problems, but doesn't every small town these days have their small town problems? We have (2) private schools. I recommend Camden Christian Academy in Camden. The website is just starting up but ready for view at www.camdenchristianacademy.org There is also Magnolia that is also 30 miles southwest of El Dorado. Columbia Christian School is in Magnolia. It's around 300 students and is a good private school also. Magnolia has a University-South Arkansas University and Camden has a 2 year Junior College-South Arkansas University Tech. Here is help if you need any.....

[puckett]

I use to live around the area that you are talking about the only thing I can say is that I am truly sorry that you are having to move there . The people are rude the place is trashy, and the schools are horrible. I am really truly sorry for you may i wish you the best of luck

[momofthree_arkansas]

I am so sorry that you have received such negative feedback! El Dorado is a wonderful place. We have one of the most pleasant downtown areas in Arkansas which is where MusicFest is held every year. In January 2007, Murphy Oil did give a 50 million dollar scholarship (El Dorado Promise) to the students who live in the district and attend the El Dorado Public Schools. I transferred my 3 children from a very small school into El Dorado, and it was the best move I ever made for my children!!! They are thriving, and I have no doubt they will be overly prepared for college--not only because of the El Dorado Promise but because the school is the best in the area, public and private!
And as someone suggested, just visit! I think you will be surprised.
And as for the schools being horrible, unless one has currently attended or has a child enrolled there, I am not sure I would give much credit to that source. I do have 3 children there and we all love it!

[TriumphDaytonaFan]

No doubt El Dorado has its problems with crime and drugs just as in any other city large or small, but the overly negative attitude displayed by btoverdrive and especially puckett is over the top. Saying that El Dorado is crack infested and a gang heaven is akin to saying Venice, Italy is nothing but an old flooded city that breeds nothing but mold and pigeons. OK, maybe that's a bit of a stretch, but you get my point.

As for the town itself, El Dorado has probably the prettiest downtown of any small town in Arkansas. The city government and business leaders have really made it a point to try and move El Dorado forward, and as someone who moved here in 1988, I have to say in my opinion the town is a much better place to live now than then. Yes some businesses have closed over the past few years, but there have been new businesses move in as well.

As for the El Dorado public schools, my daughter graduated from EHS this past year and she never had any problems in school. We also have a son who will be in the 2nd grade next year and I we wouldn't let him attend the public schools here if I thought things were as bad as some folks would have you believe. My wife teaches in the El Dorado schools so I do have a good handle on what is going on in the schools. Because our daughter started in El Dorado schools in 2nd grade, 95% of her college tuition will be paid by the El Dorado Promise. Thanks Murphy Oil. Hope the program continues another 10 years! Also, the El Dorado public school system has so much more to offer children that want to excel in school than some of the surrounding school districts. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the education your child might receive from Smackover, Norphlet or Parkers Chapel schools, just that El Dorado has more to offer, and if college is a child's goal, the El Dorado School District is the place to be. That can be verified by checking the district's websites.

Here are a few sites that you should check out.

El Dorado, Arkansas - Live. Enjoy. Work.

#1 Website for all that is El Dorado, Arkansas

El Dorado, Arkansas - Live. Enjoy. Work. (broken link)

El Dorado Arkansas attractions lodging restaurants events & discounts

El Dorado Public School District (broken link)

SouthArk - South Arkansas Community College

MusicFest El Dorado, El Dorado AR, 71730 (broken link)

Having moved here from a city of over 2 million people, it was definitely culture shock to live in a small town in South Arkansas. What we discovered is that the people are what made El Dorado feel like home. Don't take the opinions (positive or negative) of folks posting on an internet bulletin board as the gospel, check El Dorado out for yourself.

Good luck, and I hope you do decide to pay us an extended visit.

[Trapped In ElDorado]

Stay away from El Dorado. All of the jobs are disappearing. Even if you have a job around here, more than likely, you'll have to relocate if you loose it.

All of that El Dorado Promise and El Dorado Forward is a bunch of crap. There's nothing here, and soon there will be less than nothing here.