Birmingham to Little Rock (North Little Rock, Conway: violent crime, houses, landscaping)

[Bham Man]

Birmingham has to be the most mis-labeled city I have ever known. Is AR getting the same treatment? We are moving to Little Rock from Birmingham and are wondering how different the two are. Birmingham has quite a few nice places to eat and visit with certain area's very safe with good schools. Not many folks would send their kids to "Birmingham" public schools but the surrounding suburbs have excellent public schools. Does this seem to fit Little Rock also? Where are the good communities and schools? Does most of the crime generally happen in the same places? Thanks

[Sam I Am]

I absolutely believe Little Rock is getting a bad reputation based on stupid stuff....and yes, most of the crime happens in the same places, involving the same people, until they eventually kill each other off....and then people scream about the murder rate. I personally don't see the problem - but I was a Little Rock Police officer for 9 years and I'm still reading about the progeny of the people I dealt with then.....some things never change. I would hazard a guess that daytime burglary of homes is probably the biggest problem....but it probably is anywhere, anytime.

Little Rock has boomed in the last 10-15 years - it has it's share of growing pains. There are wonderful restaraunts, the downtown area is thriving again, and SOME public schools are okay right in town, but overall the school district leaves much to be desired. Great suburbs with great schools - Benton, Bryant, Cabot, Sherwood, Jacksonville, Maumelle and Conway. Good communities - are you talking about the smaller towns around Little Rock, or in Little Rock proper, more like neighborhoods? What are you looking for? Ages of kids, lifestyle, broad financial expectations?

[Bham Man]

I have a job moving me there to open a franchise. We are looking to live inthe Greater LR area. Sp far the neighborhoods to the north west seem to be most attractive in the Chenal/Aberdeen 72223 and Pleasant Valley 72212 area's. How far out are these areas considered? Safe, wy wife will be home alone. I have 2 kids, who will be 8 and 5 so we are looking for the best school area or are thinking of going private. I will need to be 15 minutes or so from easy interstate access. I appreciate your help, the computer only tells me so much.

[Sam I Am]

Absolutely. You will be in the nicer areas of west Little Rock.

Pleasant Valley is a 70's development with large houses and large lots....it has experienced a re-growth recently. When everything went west toward Chenal, it suffered a bit of a setback (newer/bigger/more prestige in Chenal than PV). Now PV is for those who don't want to pay Heights or Chenal prices but it is a wonderful family atmosphere - wide streets, very accessible to the interstates (I-430 and I-630). Hwy. 10, which is also known as Cantrell Rd., will take you west to Pinnacle Mountain, Wye Mountain, and Lake Maumelle....not to mention a huge amount of retail and grocery stores that lay between there and Chenal. East it is an easy hop down Cantrell or I-430S to I-630, then east, to downtown, although the traffic at peak hours is heavy. You have good access to Baptist Medical Center and the Arkansas Heart Hospital, which has an excellent ER with almost a no-wait policy. The river is north across the bridge and there is a walking bridge down by the lock and dam - you won't be real far from Riverfront, where there is the farmer's market, great artists, good food, good bars, and bands that play on Business Thursdays. Some of the bars also sponsor various singers - I don't know if you are familiar with Robert Earl Keen (west Texas country), who recently played at one of the corner bars downtown...there's also Rebsamen Park east at the bottom of Cantrell Hill with parks, jogging and biking trails...it's very nice. Across the river you will also find the Dickey Stephens ballpark for the AA Arkansas Travelers, and Alltel Arena, which hosts a TON of events from concerts to sporting events.

You will be right at the interstate in PV, and if you are traveling at nonpeak hours I can't see you being more than 15 minutes from the interstate if you are in Chenal. If it's peak hours, give yourself a little extra time. The traffic on Cantrell is heavy headed downtown in the mornings and the other direction at 5:00.

Dollar for dollar and ease of accessibility, I would pick Pleasant Valley - I think your better values are there. Some parts of Chenal are so new there isn't established landscaping - other parts are quite lovely. Both Chenal and PV have private country clubs and golf courses, tennis, yada yada, if you do that deal.

I personally would send my kids to private school - and if you have no aversion to the Catholic schools, they seem to be among the best. There is a Montessori just west of PV and there may be more private schools that have gone up - Pulaski Academy is in west Little Rock not far from PV or Chenal. Please wait... It is an excellent private school.

Hope that helps - please feel free to post or PM me if you have any other questions - and if you don't have a Realtor I can hook you up with a great group that moves a lot of property in west Little Rock.

Not sure why that "Please Wait" thing is up there - I guess for the website to clear the moderator....if it doesn't clear, please PM me and I'll pass you the info privately.

[North Pulaski Player]

Just like Birmingham, Little Rock is also unfairly mislabeled. Violent crime in Little Rock is concentrated in a couple of general areas, and like what a poster above mentioned it is basically just a bunch of low-lifes killing each other off. Out of all the murders in Pulaski County in 2006 only one(1) was a random murder. So when you are in Little Rock, you need to worry more about your spouse or significant other killing you than some random person. If you are in west Little Rock or most communities in Little Rock north of I-630, then you will be fine. If you have kids attending public school I would recommend suburbs like Benton, Bryant, Sherwood, or Cabot though...Even North Little Rock has a decent school district.

[cmcwilliams]

Definitely check out N Little Rock. I loved it there! I grew up in N Little Rock in the late 90's graduating from N Little Rock High in the 2000. My family decided to stay in Arkansas after my father retired from the Air force. They bought a home in the very family friendly area of Park Hill. I lived in this neighborhood from 1995-2000. I have nothing but wonderful stories to tell! My parents even fall asleep sometimes with the doors unlocked. The schools are great! I attended Lakewood middle school and N Little Rock. My little brother attended Park Hill Elementary. My parents are still residents to day! they have never complained and they absolutely love it. It is also in the vicinity of parks, shopping, entertainment, all you need is right at your door, all with the feel of a small city within a city. As far as crime goes, with the exception of a few breaks ins here and there my parents have never so much as heard a whisper over here, except when graduation time rolls around and the high schoolers get rowdy! Good luck

[Bham Man]

Visited LR this weekend and was really impressed. The whole revitalization of Downtown seems almost complete, easy to get around, physically a pretty small place, hence the easy getting around. Toured the West side with a realtor and think we are interested in the Baker elem school district. PA didnt have room and is a surprising $8200.00 year, d'oh! Anyway looked at the neighborhoods of Wellington, Pebble Beach, Longlea, and PV and thought them nice. Have since read about a place called Woodlands edge...anyone heard or know anything about this neighborhood? Besides the Nascar death dash we had to make from Memphis to LR on I-40 we were really happy whith the whole place.

Sam I Am I did not know how to PM you.

[Sam I Am]

Originally Posted by Bham Man

Visited LR this weekend and was really impressed. The whole revitalization of Downtown seems almost complete, easy to get around, physically a pretty small place, hence the easy getting around. Toured the West side with a realtor and think we are interested in the Baker elem school district. PA didnt have room and is a surprising $8200.00 year, d'oh! Anyway looked at the neighborhoods of Wellington, Pebble Beach, Longlea, and PV and thought them nice. Have since read about a place called Woodlands edge...anyone heard or know anything about this neighborhood? Besides the Nascar death dash we had to make from Memphis to LR on I-40 we were really happy whith the whole place.

Sam I Am I did not know how to PM you.

To PM, click on my name on the upper left of this message and it will give you the option to do so.

I'm so glad you have nice things to say about Little Rock - I think the renovation of downtown is awesome, and fun too....

Another private school you might look into is Cathedral, as well as any of the Catholic schools - but I would imagine the tuition might be a bit pricey unless you are Catholic and a parishioner.

Welcome to our state!

[strumpeace]

Christ the King Catholic School near Cantrell and 430 is very, very inexpensive, even for non-Catholics. Give it a look-see.

My only connection with Baker school is that it was my polling-place when I lived in WLR. That is the school on Kanis, right? Seemed like a normal elementary school the few times I was in there.

[Sam I Am]

What's the other Catholic school there, Strum? Lord, my boss' kids went there for elementary and middle school - up in upper Hillcrest...Holy Souls! North Taylor....Might also check out Christ Lutheran there off Markham on Hughes (I think it's Hughes - just west of University Mall, on the south side of Markham).