Info on Chenal Valley Shannon Hills vs benton bryant (Little Rock: new home, landscaping)

[COUNTRY_ANGEL_HORSE]

Hi !! Well Im a native arkansan that has moved away but REAlLY want to move back. Im proud of where I come from and love the Natural State. Its in my soul !! I grew up in Southern AR and when I move back am going for Central AR. Im not familiar with this area. I have family in the Benton, Salem to be exact. The area is nice but I m not sure its for me. I have been trying to research the Shannon Hills area and the Chenal Valley areas but have come up short on info. I have two small children and want a safe haven for them to grow up in. So safety, good schools and great neighbors are key.
Any information on these areas vs the benton.bryant area will be helpful. Well be headed that way to have a look around and want to know if the Shannon Hills or Chenal Valley area will be worth the look.

[COUNTRY_ANGEL_HORSE]

Welp !! I had thought that I would get some help from my native arkansans. Maybe you guys want to talk about the weather there with me... I know your in the middle of a bad storm...its 64 and sunny here But help me remember the seasons..how is the summer, i love the fall, what about winterl when does it start when does it end, does it ice or snow. What about bugs.

[ecloebl]

Originally Posted by COUNTRY_ANGEL_HORSE

Hi !! Well Im a native arkansan that has moved away but REAlLY want to move back. Im proud of where I come from and love the Natural State. Its in my soul !! I grew up in Southern AR and when I move back am going for Central AR. Im not familiar with this area. I have family in the Benton, Salem to be exact. The area is nice but I m not sure its for me. I have been trying to research the Shannon Hills area and the Chenal Valley areas but have come up short on info. I have two small children and want a safe haven for them to grow up in. So safety, good schools and great neighbors are key.
Any information on these areas vs the benton.bryant area will be helpful. Well be headed that way to have a look around and want to know if the Shannon Hills or Chenal Valley area will be worth the look.

Of the three areas you mentioned, Chenal is by far the nicest and also the most pricey. We lived there for a year, and it was OK, although a bit far from shopping, schools, work, etc. A year ago, we moved out of Little Rock after thirty years there, and you could not pay us enough to ever go back.

[COUNTRY_ANGEL_HORSE]

Thank you ecloebl. Well Im REALLY nervous about it. I have no one to talk to about it because they are family who desperatly want us there and of course are going to never point out the negative. Could you , if you dont mind, please elaborate more on why even largest sum of money could not take you back

[Milam]

I live in the Benton and Bryant area. I build houses in this area and personally think it is a great area to raise a family. Shannon Hills and Chenal Valley are two different extremes. Shannon Hills being older and Chenal the newer of the two.
Bryant is probably the fastest growing community in the state. Schools are really good and continue to expand what they offer. New retail is going up everyday and a new airport was completed about 2 years ago. Hope this helps.

[GlendaRN]

Just found you post. I lived in Benton for 15 years until 1 year ago and moved to Chenal Valley and love it. We wished we had moved alot sooner. I think you really need to take a look at both areas to see which meets your needs. If you have children, of course you will want to look closely at the options. There are good public schools in LR but many people who can use the private schools for lots of reason- wanting a Christian school being one of them. Benton/Bryant also have good schools although my understanding is they have really had to work hard to keep up with the influx of people bec it has been a fast growing area. I wonder if that will slow at all with gas prices increasing at the rate they are. We have no kids in school so it wasn't an issue with us. We moved for 2 reasons, our neighborhood began to look like the home values might begin going down and I wanted out before that. (Neighbors not taking care of their property.) the 2nd is we work and spend more time in LR and were tired of the commute. I wouldn't recommend Shannon Hills at all but seriously think you need to come and spend time both in Chenal, Maumelle (another option you didn't mention), and Benton/Bryant. I would be glad to show you around but I am sure your relatives woudl be happy to do that with you too. Good luck in finding your new home!

[Aporkalypse]

I live in Chenal and love it but there's a big price difference between it and Shannon Hills. It has the highest per capita income and home prices of any zip code in the state. THe benefits are that it is close to the core city, has beautiful forested mountain views, a new shopping center that is the nicest in the state, and is very safe. The schools are part of the Pulaski County Special School District, not LRSD, and a state of the art first class elementary will open this fall.

[CAAR2008]

Chenal valley i agree is a really nice place - right now it still has that wooded area feeling but am not sure what the developers have in mind for it in the next 5 years. Shopping centers - new one on Chenal parkway with easy access to the other one that just opened about 1-2 years ago (previously parisian, now belk) along Cantrell; grocery: relatively decent Kroger's along Chenal Pkway, Fresh Market next to Belk; most friends send their kids to private schools (eg. Christ the King Parochial, Pulaski near Pleasant Valley, Mount St. Marys). Friends who live in the farthest Chenal devt (eg. Bronte circle) say it takes them 20-25 min during morning "rush hour" to get to work in the UAMS/VA hospital area. (Coming from LA, rush hour in LR is nothing...)

[COUNTRY_ANGEL_HORSE]

Thank you so much. That helps. Ive heard such positive things about the school district in Benton/Bryant and heard that LR schools can be big and I dont want that for my kids. But the Chenal Valley area seems more up our alley since living in the Phoenix (GILBERT) area. Everything here is uniform, landscaped and eye appealing. So I will def. check out both. In the end Ill go where its better for my kids but really like the chenal valley area. Ill also check out Maumelle. Thanks to you

[Aporkalypse]

If Chenal seems a bit too high-priced take a look at some similar nearby neighborhoods like Villages of Wellington, The Ranch, and Woodland's Edge. It's pretty much the same community but you get more for what you pay for in those developments, though the landscaping, amenities, etc aren't quite as ritzy. If you're looking in that range I agree Maumelle is a wonderful place to live.