[SouthernMomto3]

junkman...there are plans in the works for the old mall to be redone and bring even more stores by Belz-Burrows that did the Turtle Creek Mall. Aren't you lucky to live in CV? It's such a nice place. My parents used to have a vacation home there. I love the lake, Spring River and the shops in Hardy.

[junkman18]

Thanks Southernmomto3, it is nice here and the lakes are really pretty... And I did hear about the old mall getting redone and bringing in new stores...

[Laredo2007]

I'm planning to apply for a job at ASU. I'm a mid-40s divorced man (no kids) and am wondering if it's an o.k. place to meet professional people to hang out with or to date once in awhile. I live in the rather unpleasant, provincial city of Laredo, TX, but hopefully not for long. One reason I want to leave is that the insulated culture here, a holdover of 17th century colonial Spain, is not at all open to having "outsiders" date their cousins, sisters-in-law, etc. Laredo's geography is also set up to make such social interaction difficult (a dying downtown, and a sea of shopping centers, parking lots, and hostile motorists).
I've lived in the South and like much of it, but I've not yet lived in Arkansas. Basically the quality of life of Jonesboro as described on this thread sounds reasonably good. But I'm wondering if it's a decent place to establish a social network of young professionals who are older than the students, and who enjoy talking about interesting things (politics, global issues, society, art, music, etc.) Is there a neat downtown for bumping into people you know? Is it easy to get to know people, or would I be lonely there?

Hope these questions make sense, and thanks for any replies.

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by Laredo2007

I'm planning to apply for a job at ASU. I'm a mid-40s divorced man (no kids) and am wondering if it's an o.k. place to meet professional people to hang out with or to date once in awhile. I live in the rather unpleasant, provincial city of Laredo, TX, but hopefully not for long. One reason I want to leave is that the insulated culture here, a holdover of 17th century colonial Spain, is not at all open to having "outsiders" date their cousins, sisters-in-law, etc. Laredo's geography is also set up to make such social interaction difficult (a dying downtown, and a sea of shopping centers, parking lots, and hostile motorists).
I've lived in the South and like much of it, but I've not yet lived in Arkansas. Basically the quality of life of Jonesboro as described on this thread sounds reasonably good. But I'm wondering if it's a decent place to establish a social network of young professionals who are older than the students, and who enjoy talking about interesting things (politics, global issues, society, art, music, etc.) Is there a neat downtown for bumping into people you know? Is it easy to get to know people, or would I be lonely there?

Hope these questions make sense, and thanks for any replies.

Sounds like probably Fayetteville would be more your speed.

[Pearlbob]

Unfortunately I found Jonesboro to be just the opposite of what you are looking for. Most young professionals in Jonesboro are already married with kids, grew up there or around there, and have had the same circle of friends for decades. Where you live now sounds much like Jonesboro - the waryness of outsiders, the dying downtown, tons of strip malls...

I wish you the best of luck, however I have dealt with ASU for decades and have not found it to be any different than what I have described. Hopefully things have gotten better recently. And agreed with the above poster - Fayetteville is much more of a cultured, educated, college town than Jonesboro. Jonesboro is just a larger version of a small rural town. It is definitely not a "college town."

Originally Posted by Laredo2007

I'm planning to apply for a job at ASU. I'm a mid-40s divorced man (no kids) and am wondering if it's an o.k. place to meet professional people to hang out with or to date once in awhile. I live in the rather unpleasant, provincial city of Laredo, TX, but hopefully not for long. One reason I want to leave is that the insulated culture here, a holdover of 17th century colonial Spain, is not at all open to having "outsiders" date their cousins, sisters-in-law, etc. Laredo's geography is also set up to make such social interaction difficult (a dying downtown, and a sea of shopping centers, parking lots, and hostile motorists).
I've lived in the South and like much of it, but I've not yet lived in Arkansas. Basically the quality of life of Jonesboro as described on this thread sounds reasonably good. But I'm wondering if it's a decent place to establish a social network of young professionals who are older than the students, and who enjoy talking about interesting things (politics, global issues, society, art, music, etc.) Is there a neat downtown for bumping into people you know? Is it easy to get to know people, or would I be lonely there?

Hope these questions make sense, and thanks for any replies.

[arguy1973]

actually the downtown part of j-boro has finally taken off...I was down there about 30 minutes ago..lots of activity..other than that..its still about the same as described above...Until one gets out of it (Jonesboro)..and sees how other towns function that are equal in size..its hard to make a comparison..I liked the Conway area pretty well...

[Pearlbob]

So good to hear! Last I paid attention the downtown was a few antique shops and empty buildings. There used to be a restaurant or two but I don't think either made it. Maybe there are more now. But beware that "downtown" is still only a few blocks of a street or two. Not a huge area.

Originally Posted by arguy1973

actually the downtown part of j-boro has finally taken off...I was down there about 30 minutes ago..lots of activity..other than that..its still about the same as described above...Until one gets out of it (Jonesboro)..and sees how other towns function that are equal in size..its hard to make a comparison..I liked the Conway area pretty well...

[Laredo2007]

Thanks, Pearlbob, and others. . .

I agree with y'all that Fayetteville is my kinda town. I have been there several times for conferences, etc., and consider it perhaps the most ideal city in the entire US. But I gotta go where the jobs are, and U of A doesn't have an opening in my field now. That's the nature of the beast with higher ed.

I plan to toss my hat in the ring for the ASU position and see what happens. Hopefully I'll get invited for an interview and can check out for myself the degree to which it would be an improvement over my present job. Of course one advantage of Jonesboro over my present location is that a major city (Memphis) is only 60-75 minutes away, compared to 2.5 hours to San Antonio or Monterrey.

[Pearlbob]

Memphis is closer than that too, 45 minutes or so to the downtown area. Only problem is driving through the little town on the highway outside of Jonesboro, where cops set up speed traps. Memphis is a ton better than Jonesboro; lots of crime, very urban, nothing like San Antonio....but still has 100x more to do than ol' jtown.

[arguy1973]

Originally Posted by Pearlbob

Memphis is closer than that too, 45 minutes or so to the downtown area. Only problem is driving through the little town on the highway outside of Jonesboro, where cops set up speed traps. Memphis is a ton better than Jonesboro; lots of crime, very urban, nothing like San Antonio....but still has 100x more to do than ol' jtown.

As of now..the road to Memphis is 70mph all the way..and the "local yocal" police have had to stay off the interstate.