Jonesboro, AR vs Davenport, IA (live, best, state, better)

[CarlOfDuty]

Used to live in New Orleans, now live with my friend in Hattiesburg cause my house got demolished by the hurricane. Thinking about moving to Jonesboro, AR or Davenport, IA to get a fresh start. Which one would I be better off in? Here is my criteria:

Colder summers and lots of snow in the winter (I went to Colorado once in the summer of 2010 and again in the winter of 2011 and loved the weather while I was there)

Cheap housing

Low crime

Fun things to do (doesn't get tons of tourists like New Orleans though)

Light traffic

Conservative-leaning (I'm not really into politics, I just found conservatives to be a lot more friendly and down-to-earth than liberals)

[fajitajamboree]

I'm sorry to hear about your home being destroyed, what a time to live through!

I can say that I drove through Jonesboro, Arkansas just last month and was really surprised with the downtown. It was very lively, had lots of shops and restaurants, and was definitely not touristy. Generally the area was very pretty with rolling green hills. We visited a nearby park, Crowley Ridge State Park, which was nice, but honestly nothing special or especially memorable. The area seemed safe and I'm sure meets your criteria- except for colder summers as it can get pretty warm in that area of the state, along with lots of snow, which I don't think they get much of. It looked like a pretty quiet, pleasant place to live.

[sub]

Jonesboro will be cheap and conservative with virtually no traffic.
Crime rate isn’t the best, but likely better than a lot of places in Louisiana.
It gets very little snow. Other than getting a little cool, that area has more deep south type of weather.
It doesn’t get much love in the Arkansas forum but I think it’s as good as any other area of the state and might surprise those unfamiliar with it.
It’s only an hour from Memphis for bigger city amenities.

Davenport is part of the Quad Cities which is a much bigger area.
I’ve been through there many times but not super familiar with it. Most places in Iowa are a notch to several notches better than what you see in Arkansas on average. Less poverty. Less crime.

For Colorado weather, you’ll have to go out west.
Neither of these places are remotely like that. Some might try to say the Ozarks, to which I must give a hard eyeroll.

Iowa isn’t particularly liberal and seems friendly enough, but Jonesboro might be more like the culture you’re looking for.

[kdb05f]

I agree with the other replies. It might be worth pointing out that Jonesboro is in a dry county, though it's said to be easy to join a club that's allowed to serve alcohol, and the nearby city of Paragould is wet.