[bchris02]

Originally Posted by Fasder

100% of reason why I live in Dallas. In my field, I can not move back to Arkansas. And if I moved back for something related to my field, I would incur a 30-40% pay decrease.

I agree. I am currently making 28K in Arkansas doing a job that I could be making 50K for in Dallas. When the economy improves I plan on getting out of this state, or at least making my best attempt to. I graduated from a not-so-good college with no experience in my field so it was difficult for me to get recognized outside of Arkansas upon college graduation. Once I have some experience under by belt I am hoping that won't be the case.

And somebody mentioned air pollution and smog in Little Rock? I never thought it was that bad, but if it is it goes to show that currently Little Rock has all the negatives of a big city (crime, traffic, pollution, sprawl), but not many of the positives (culture, nightlife, shopping, events, etc). We can surely do better than that. I honestly think what makes Little Rock feel so sleepy for its size is the fact that much of the educated twenty-something crowd leave for college or after college graduation.

[hognoxious]

The salary thing works both ways - I currently make $140k+ in Bentonville and would have a hard time making $80-90k in the same field in Dallas. Not to mention COL adjustments.

[nmnita]

Interesting about the salary comparison, our granddaugher graduated from Ar last spring and has a job totally unrelated to her major (that is another story) she is working for a small to mid sized company and is making a decent salary, as much as she could be making doing the same thing almost anywhere. By the way, her job does not require a college degree. To move up in the dept probably does and she loves what she is doing.

Nita

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by hognoxious

The salary thing works both ways - I currently make $140k+ in Bentonville and would have a hard time making $80-90k in the same field in Dallas. Not to mention COL adjustments.

I have heard a lot of people say that NWA, despite being cookie cutter and even more car-centric than Little Rock, has a lot more going for it in this arena and is also much more active if you are a young single. In some ways it seems that NWA has what Little Rock is lacking and Little Rock has what NWA is lacking, and it takes the whole pie to make a vibrant urban area. If only Sam Walton would have been from Little Rock......or the capital in Fayetteville for that matter.

[hognoxious]

Originally Posted by bchris02

I have heard a lot of people say that NWA, despite being cookie cutter and even more car-centric than Little Rock, has a lot more going for it in this arena and is also much more active if you are a young single. In some ways it seems that NWA has what Little Rock is lacking and Little Rock has what NWA is lacking, and it takes the whole pie to make a vibrant urban area. If only Sam Walton would have been from Little Rock......or the capital in Fayetteville for that matter.

Any area with new development is going to have pockets of shiny and new (cookie cutter) development. You can see the same style developments in Bentonvillle, Rogers, Conway and West Little Rock. Some would call it progress.

Sam was from Oklahoma - so it could have been worse!

[naomisday]

bchris02,

My cousin born and raised in Little Rock...ended up moving to Dallas...She is a schoolteacher....she
said she couldn't make a living in Little Rock....

[hognoxious]

Originally Posted by naomisday

bchris02,

My cousin born and raised in Little Rock...ended up moving to Dallas...She is a schoolteacher....she
said she couldn't make a living in Little Rock....

Being a school teacher is a noble profession - a career choice admired by all - but most don't get into the profession for the money.

Pulaski county is one of the higher paying school districts in the state - combined with the lower cost of living in the LR area, your cousin must have experienced a significant pay increase to justify a move to Dallas with the higher COL.

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by Timtheman

RogMar,

It is always a big mistake to define a state by urban culture. Culture is much richer than that -- and Arkansas has plenty.

I believe it does. It's just not the culture that a lot of people want.

Making the state "better" is a lot of different things to different people. One can sit around and lament that we don't have this or that here, just as one can lament "I wish I had a steak" while eating a hamburger.

One doesn't go to McDonalds to get a lobster, and ya don't come to Arkansas to get a rich, vibrant, urban life.

We're going to stay slightly ahead of Mississippi here, as we always have, and hopefully maintain our level of living so the river of people that are relocating to here will still find something they yearned for.

Anybody that's gotten around much or hung out on boards is aware of the *many* people that have come here from California, Texas, Florida, and several other states because they were living in a place where rampant growth and everything that goes with it was choking their souls half to death.

I was one of those people that looked at my career at one point, realized that I could make30-40% more doing the same thing somewhere else, and moved to where the money was.

I did not sit around and cry, "I wish they paid us more here", because it would never happen.

16 years before I retired, I researched....and researched. I wanted a place with very little chance of growth. A place with a slower pace and a quality of life.

16 years ago I plopped a big chunk of change down on that final destination, and now, 16 years later, it's exactly the same.

It's Arkansas.

I dare guess that 15 years from now, on whatever cyber-level we communicate on, children of those present right now will be carrying on the turmoil of "more & better".

While people on urban boards tell of the great vacation they just had, their canoeing the Buffalo, hiking the montain trails, and the funky little BBQ joint they ate at, and how they can't wait to retire to there, we will still be trying to figure out a way to get more business in here, throw up some toll roads all over to help pay for scholarships that will ultimately fuel Houston's job market, and scramble for the Sonic franchise atop Petit Jean.

We've got a great state, but it is what it is. The politicians are not going to change things to make the wages higher, or the jobs more attractive.

We are the "pigs ear" in that field, but the roads are always open to the "silk purses".

And they're not even toll roads......yet.

[ridicter]

Originally Posted by RogMar

I was one of those people that looked at my career at one point, realized that I could make30-40% more doing the same thing somewhere else, and moved to where the money was.

I did not sit around and cry, "I wish they paid us more here", because it would never happen.

16 years before I retired, I researched....and researched. I wanted a place with very little chance of growth. A place with a slower pace and a quality of life.

16 years ago I plopped a big chunk of change down on that final destination, and now, 16 years later, it's exactly the same.

It's Arkansas.

I dare guess that 15 years from now, on whatever cyber-level we communicate on, children of those present right now will be carrying on the turmoil of "more & better".

While people on urban boards tell of the great vacation they just had, their canoeing the Buffalo, hiking the montain trails, and the funky little BBQ joint they ate at, and how they can't wait to retire to there, we will still be trying to figure out a way to get more business in here, throw up some toll roads all over to help pay for scholarships that will ultimately fuel Houston's job market, and scramble for the Sonic franchise atop Petit Jean.

We've got a great state, but it is what it is. The politicians are not going to change things to make the wages higher, or the jobs more attractive.

We are the "pigs ear" in that field, but the roads are always open to the "silk purses".

And they're not even toll roads......yet.

I understand your hyperbole, but I feel you keep mischaracterizing ("straw man") those you disagree with. Absolutely I'm an advocate of vibrant cities, but I'm also an advocate of conservation--in fact, I'm sure I've done quite a bit more in that respect than most (including those worried about rural lifestyles).

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by ridicter

I understand your hyperbole, but I feel you keep mischaracterizing ("straw man") those you disagree with.

OK.....

Correct me.

Is it not, generalized, of course..."I want this area to have <this> like <that> area, and yes we have a lot, but I want more"?