Considering move to Hillcrest area (Little Rock, Van Buren: for sale, to rent, crime)

[DCtoAR]

My family is considering moving to from DC to Little Rock to be closer to family, and from what I have researched online the Hillcrest neighborhood seems to be a good fit for us. We are city people (enjoy walkability,etc). In searching for homes (3-4 br), it seems that there are lower prices for homes of comparable size/renovation close to Markham in Hillcrest. Is the area near Markham generally safe for a family with small children (200 or 300 block of Linwood, Colonial, Crystal for example)? Desired price range is 350-450K. I read somewhere to try to stay north of Kavanaugh, but it seems that there is less available in our price range there. Any advice or comments would be helpful, thank you!

[Sam I Am]

It is safe enough, I guess - the "badder" area is on further south - my concern would be traffic on Markham and the noise from the traffic, but any of those streets are fine. As is Midland if you can afford it, and the other one that runs N/S that I've forgotten the name of! Ridgeway - that's it! Stay off Pine and Cedar - the traffic is horrendous - Woodlawn and Lee have pretty steady stuff going on too.

Staying north of Kavanaugh is sorta a hard thing to explain. It runs N/S, but in an E/W pattern - yeah, you gotta see it - If you are down toward Stifft's Station (the Markham/Kavanaugh intersection and around that area), and you are closer to Stifft's on Linwood than say N. Taylor, then it doesn't really matter much. Actually, you know - the walking/shopping is better the closer you get to Kavanaugh, but as far as real living and just walking to be walking, anywhere is going to suit you....all the way to University. Stay north of Markham for the most part after you cross about Woodrow...and north of I-630 altogether.

There are also some lovely areas on the south side of Markham west of Woodrow - that neighborhood with S. Martin, Brown, Valentine, Johnson Sts., etc., has been up and coming for some time now. Not sure on families, but I'd bet there are some...and if you go east but stay south of Markham you are in the area of Capitol View - Fountain, Thayer, Pearl - which for a long time were just going toward the 'hood but are really beautiful these days.

With small children, I'd really lean toward the "off" streets without too much traffic. Midland, Fairfax, Charles, Vernon - all in the general area you were talking about - lovely, but not quite as hectic as Pine/Cedar - again, the further north you can go, the more you can avoid Markham.

[mariabahia]

I would avoid being so close to stiff's station (south of Markham). It's an up and coming neighborhood but it's close to 630, which you dont' want to live near.

My advice to you is find a good realtor, I often see houses that have sold that never made it to market. I love Hillcrest and wouldn't live anywhere else. We have a small child and were luck enough to find a property on 1.5 blocks. Your budget is very large for the area and you should have no problems finding a great place.

To me the agencies that specialize in the Heights/Hillcrest area are Janet Jones, Pulasky Heights, and Carol Jenkins with Adkins, McNeil and something other. Carol Jenkins is popular for her I heart Hillcrest stickers.

[thewizard16]

All three of those streets are quite nice, and that block range is perfectly fine. Almost any part of Hillcrest north of Markham will be perfectly fine from an overall safety standpoint, I think the "north of Kavanaugh" designation is quite outdated, probably by 10 years or so. The areas between Markham and Kavanaugh have really seen a lot of investment in the past several years and they just keep getting nicer as more and more homes are updated/redone and more families and young professionals move in. The only crime I ever worry about living in Hillcrest is burglary, which is pretty much the only real concern in this part of town. Buy a good security system and put a sign up and you should be fine. Burglars hit this part of town because it's relatively affluent, but they still seem to pick the easiest targets overall. I've lived here for two years now with no issues, but our neighbor did get broken into and cleaned out when they were on an extended vacation, so it does happen from time to time. Being right along Markham can be a concern due to traffic (Markham is a major thoroughfare and traffic often moves as if it were the autobahn), as can parts of Lee between Van Buren and Cedar/Pine, but nowhere near as severe as Markham. N. Cedar (my area) and N. Pine also have higher than average traffic due to being connecting streets between Hillcrest and I-630, but other than "rush hour" times it's not too hectic.

With your criteria, being closer to the main part of Kavanaugh should be a consideration- you'd be able to walk up to the grocery store, local shops, post office, restaurants and a few nice bars, etc. very easily if you lived closer to Kavanaugh.

I made a quick map of where I'd shop if I were looking with your price range and criteria:


Blue: Some of my favorite neighborhoods for look/feel in Hillcrest. I think this area contains some of the nicest homes in Hillcrest. It's a bit less convenient from a walking to shops, etc. standpoint, but this has some of the best architecture and most attractively maintained/updated houses and I think you'd be very happy with anything in this zone.

Light Green: This area contains nice to very nice homes depending on the block, and is a reasonably short walk to the actual "town" part of Hillcrest, as well as Allsop Park. The eastern part of this is very close (easy walking distance) to Pulaski Heights Elementary school, as is the western part of the blue section. I live in this zone and really like it. I can walk places if I so desire (I'm a short walk from Walgreens, or Allsop Park, and just a few more minutes to the cleaners, Kroger, etc.) and about half of the homes on my street have been completely renovated/redone.

Green: This is the absolute best place to live if walkability is a priority for you. It's right along the part of the Kavanaugh where the shops, restaurants, etc. are and surrounding blocks. Homes are very similar to those in the light green and blue, probably a pretty good mix of the two zones actually. If you want to be able to walk to the grocery store or local shops in 5-7 minutes or less, this is the place to look. If I were buying in Hillcrest, this is probably the first area I'd look in.

The Janet Jones Company, the Charlotte John Company, and Pulaski Heights Realty are the most common signs I see around this part of town, so they would be a good place to start shopping. (Or Zillow.) Hope that helps, and good luck with your search!

[thewizard16]

In fact, I just noticed that 500 N. Cedar (a beautiful home near me) is for sale and might fit your criteria perfectly. It's worth checking out, anyway.

[DCtoAR]

Thank you for the insight. We decided to rent to get a feel for the area, as we have not lived in AR for many years. So far, so good. Thanks again.