Possible Relocation to El Dorado (Little Rock, Russellville: motel, travel, income)

[Lorilei]

My company is building a new ambulatory surgery center in El Dorado and I've been asked to consider moving there. I'm originally from Arkansas, Little Rock to be exact, and I've lived in Searcy, AR before moving to Tulsa. How is El Dorado for raising an 11 year old boy? Any suggestions are welcomed.

[anjoe]

El Dorado is just your average small South Arkansas small town. It has a few nice places to eat, Wal-mart Super Center and a few places to shop. Also, it has a very nice down town area. Murphy Oil of El Dorado has donated 50 million dollars over the next twenty years for college money to graduating students of El Dorado that start in kindergarten and finish through 12th grade. The publics schools are about the same in South Arkansas. Smackover seems to have a decent public school, but people are moving to the district to flee from Camden Fairview School District which is getting more problems and over crowding every day. Smackover is a 15 minute drive from El Dorado, a very rural community with nice folks. Crime and immorality are growing everywhere these days so its hard to now where to live. Magnolia has a larger private, christian school named Columbia Christian School (300 students) and Camden has 2 smaller private christian schools, Camden Christian Academy (www.camdenchristianacademy.org) and Victory Christian (Assembly of God-based). Both towns are within 30 minute commutes. I'm from Camden but like to go to El Dorado to eat and shop, so I'm here to help if I can.

[Lorilei]

Thanks for the information. I'd like to have information which is as accurate as I can get regarding the city before I relocate my son and me there. Are there any gang related activities going on there? What would be a good area of the city to live in, being a single woman with a child? Any other information you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

[momofthree_arkansas]

El Dorado has come a long way! The downtown area is beautiful now. So much work is being done to make it a good place to live. I love the school district. I have 3 children, and my 2 older transferred in from a really small school district. Moving my kids was the best move I ever made!!

[TriumphDaytonaFan]

Since your original post was from back in February, you may have already made the decision whether or not to move to El Dorado. In case it's still up in the air, I'll offer these comments for consideration.

With an active Boys & Girls Club (baseball, basketball, soccer etc.), Healthworks Fitness Center (swimming & diving teams) and Upward basketball and flag football programs sponsered by local churches, children have plenty of activities to keep them busy.

Having moved here from Slidell, LA (just outside New Orleans) when our daughter was in second grade, 95% of her college tuition will be paid by the El Dorado Promise. Even if a child enters the El Dorado school district as a freshman in HS, they can recieve 65% of their college tuition from the El Do Promise. Pretty sweet deal. Thanks Murphy Oil.

Being a public school teacher for over 20 years in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas, my wife is a pretty good judge of school systems. Our daughter graduated from EHS this year and our son will be in 2nd grade. We have our children in the El Dorado public school sytem because we feel it offers the best opportunity for them to accel academically. Nothing wrong with the surrounding schools, we just felt El Dorado had more to offer. There is also a church based private school in El Dorado for primary grades at Westside Bpatist Church. Except for that very small minority, public schools are the norm in the El Dorado area. BTW, the El Dorado school district will be opening a new high school within the next 2 years. Along with the new Civic Center to be built next to South Arkansas Community College, these should be two very nice additions to the city.

Like all small towns, there are areas that are lacking, shopping being one of them. As for national retail chains, you are pretty much limited to JC Penny, Stage and that big blue giant from Bentonville. There are several small specialty shops located downtown, which is in my opinion the prettiest downtown in Arkansas.

Good luck in your travels.

[Trapped In ElDorado]

Stay away from South Arkansas, especially El Dorado. Jobs are constantly leaving and none are being replaced. And if they are, they are filled by relatives and in-laws. Unless you know someone, you won't be able to get a job, regardless of your experience, background, and/or know how.

So if you move for a job here, be prepared to move somewhere else if you loose your job here. Because there are no jobs here. Most of the dislocated and laid off workers are just going to school, because they receive funding while doing so. But most do it because there are no jobs and at least they can have some income this way. But when they leave the program they will be right where they left off......looking for a job where there are none and by then it will be worse.

No El Dorado Promise, no El Dorado Forward, or no act of Congress can help El Dorado now. In ten years from now, El Dorado will be a cow town, if it isn't one already.

Be prepared to offer hand outs as people will start to beg for money and food. And if they don't get it, be prepared to defend yourself. Because it will come down to survival.

[Sam I Am]

Trapped, I would say you have made your point on numerous threads...we've got it, you don't like it. Several other people have mentioned ED may not be the #1 hot spot for Arkansas....we've got that too...but the only way a place ever changes is with new people, new ideas, people who want to get involved in a community and see it be the best it can be. And let's not forget we've heard some great things, too.

The entire southern part of Arkansas and the delta region have historically taken a beating financially and the delta now has the Mississippi casinos to contend with. Why not be a part of the solution - if you can't find the job you want, take your extra time and volunteer....see if you can find the redeeming qualities that make ED home for some folks and find a spot for yourself. Who knows, it may turn into the job of your dreams and you can do more, or you can get out...but continually blasting someplace on a forum isn't the way to improve the town or your life. Triumph above seems to have made a life there - I have to believe there's more than one happy person there. Volunteer, run for city council, find a cause and get involved...your life and your community will be richer for it and you will learn more about the people there than you ever imagined. Take a temp job - it may go permanent. It may or may not be the job of your dreams, but find something to do so that you don't feel you're stuck. Maybe it still isn't for you, but at least you will have made the effort. If it's not for you, then you've earned the money to move on to another spot.

I live in Russellville - a cowtown not 20 years ago....since then it has turned into a booming little area of the river valley, but it was with the work of the whole community. Nuclear One being here certainly didn't hurt matters any, but not everyone works for Nuclear One. It used to be a wide spot in the road - now it's a destination for a lot of people because of the small town feel and the amenities. I've heard the same arguments out of other people here - you can't get a job without being related. Strangely enough, my husband and I both work all day every day and we came here knowing exactly two people.

I think your life is what you make it and your own unhappiness is holding you back. Remember, everyone has a story...perhaps as you immerse yourself more in volunteer work you will find those stories and the reasons people chose to make ED their home.

[Trapped In ElDorado]

Trapped, I would say you have made your point on numerous threads...we've got it, you don't like it. Several other people have mentioned ED may not be the #1 hot spot for Arkansas....we've got that too...

I'm glad that you do. But I must continue to spread the word as much as I can. If that means posting it in every thread....then that's what I must do.

And let's not forget we've heard some great things, too.

Yes, you've heard what other people are wanting you to hear. But you must also hear the truth from someone who is experiencing it.

Take a temp job - it may go permanent.

There are no jobs.......No full-time, no part-time, no temp jobs.

Volunteer, run for city council, find a cause and get involved...your life and your community will be richer for it and you will learn more about the people there than you ever imagined

perhaps as you immerse yourself more in volunteer work you will find those stories and the reasons people chose to make ED their home.

I already do volunteer work. I tutor/teach my knowledge to others. I give my personal property to those who I believe can or need it more than me. And I know that my voice in a council would do no good around these hypocrites.

Plus, I'm doing volunteer work right now by posting what I can here. If I can just save one person, one family from going through the hardships that many El Doradians are going through now, then I succeeded.

Maybe I was meant to go through this.......To post on here.....To save others.

[peggydavis]

Hey, I stopped for a night at a motel in El Dorado on our way back from Florida a year ago, and I did not see the hellhole you are describing. We ate a delicious breakfast cooked for us by some very nice folks, everyone we met seemed friendly and happy. Maybe your attitude has something to do with your unemployment.

[Sam I Am]

Originally Posted by Trapped In ElDorado

Maybe I was meant to go through this.......To post on here.....To save others.

Or maybe not.......