New England to Little Rock, Arkansas? (Bella Vista, Hope: where to stay, for sale, houses)

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by Aporkalypse

. Little Rock is outgrowing most other similar-size metros in the region like Memphis....

When did the Memphis metro lose half it's population?

[Aporkalypse]

Originally Posted by northbound74

When did the Memphis metro lose half it's population?

Memphis is virtually always used to compare with Little Rock and I wouldn't think anything of comparing Memphis to larger metros like St Louis or New Orleans. Jackson, Springfield and Shreveport now have considerably smaller CSAs and MSAs than LR but are good for comparison as well.

If you look at CSAs the difference isn't that great, LR has 841,326. It would make as much sense to compare LR to Memphis as to NWA.

[North Pulaski Player]

Originally Posted by northbound74

When did the Memphis metro lose half it's population?

The population of the Little Rock Metro increased 9.2% between 2000 and 2005; The population of the Memphis Metro increased 6.3% between 2000 and 2005. Granted that 9.2% growth in five years is nothing extraordinary, the fact is that the LR Metro currently has a faster growth rate than the Memphis Metro, which is what you were trying to deny, "northbound"...

[bchris02]

Memphis is in a tier above Little Rock but its not so far above LR that it can't be used for comparison. Not to derail this thread, but outside the touristy Elvis stuff and the NBA, does Memphis offer a lot that LR doesn't?

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by North Pulaski Player

The population of the Little Rock Metro increased 9.2% between 2000 and 2005; The population of the Memphis Metro increased 6.3% between 2000 and 2005. Granted that 9.2% growth in five years is nothing extraordinary, the fact is that the LR Metro currently has a faster growth rate than the Memphis Metro, which is what you were trying to deny, "northbound"...

Hold on........
I WASN'T denying that LR was growing faster.
M.S.A. of Little Rock is 666k, while Memphis is 1.28.
If you're talking about the C.S.A., Little Rock jumps to that 800+ figure. That includes some pretty far-flung places, but if that's what people want to use, then so be it. I have no problem with comparing the two towns, if that's what you want to do. I just thought it was odd that someone said that Little Rock was similar in size to Memphis.
Depending on who you ask, Memphis may or may not have as much to offer, but it's definitely much bigger in every way. They have some similarities, but are worlds apart in many ways, also. I like Memphis, but don't call me a booster.
I know I sound like I'm always putting down Litttle Rock, but in this instance, I wasn't trying to. My personal opinions of LR derive from 4 1/2 years of living there, trying to like it, but I just couldn't make it work. I hated the weather, anyway.

By the way, Aporkalypse, Memphis was very similar in population to New Orleans before Katrina. Now, it's bigger.

[undertheironsea]

Originally Posted by larrywriter

Could a New Englander survive in Little Rock? Could a city person survive in Little Rock? We come from a place where there is lots of culture, great public schools, lots of job opportunities, restaurants, diversity, including diversity of thought (we are not all liberals). The problem here is expense. Its killing us to live here and raise kids here - I'm afraid they won't be able to go to college because we can't save anything. There are some potential opportunities in Little Rock, but my fear is that we wouldn't fit in. Advice please!!!!

Could a city person survive in Little Rock?

Moderator cut: edit

[schwilj]

Originally Posted by ArkLexee

What about HOT SPRINGS!!!! Not too large; not too small. Diversity, definitely!! Schools are growing but I have not followed what sort of ratings they have...my kids are grown. From talking with parents who have children, Lake Hamilton is THE school system to have your kids in here.

We're about an hour from Little Rock but it's gotten so that we have all we need here so we rarely go but it IS a fun place. I'd not like the traffic but it's easy to learn how to get around there.

GOOD LUCK!!!

There are a couple of good schools around Garland County - they have a large amount of schools for one county...

Lakeside School distirct is located in Hot Springs and has been in the Golden Apple Awards (awarding the 10 best school districts in the state) the last two years, and one addtional year a few years back).

[Sam I Am]

Yeah, but the OP has specifically asked about Little Rock with regard to possible opportunities in that city. The commute to HS would be a doozy between traffic and gas prices...if the OP is interested in more info on other cities we probably need to start a new thread, unless the opportunities are not location specific.

[Aporkalypse]

Originally Posted by northbound74

Hold on........
I WASN'T denying that LR was growing faster.
M.S.A. of Little Rock is 666k, while Memphis is 1.28.
If you're talking about the C.S.A., Little Rock jumps to that 800+ figure. That includes some pretty far-flung places, but if that's what people want to use, then so be it. I have no problem with comparing the two towns, if that's what you want to do. I just thought it was odd that someone said that Little Rock was similar in size to Memphis.
Depending on who you ask, Memphis may or may not have as much to offer, but it's definitely much bigger in every way. They have some similarities, but are worlds apart in many ways, also. I like Memphis, but don't call me a booster.
I know I sound like I'm always putting down Litttle Rock, but in this instance, I wasn't trying to. My personal opinions of LR derive from 4 1/2 years of living there, trying to like it, but I just couldn't make it work. I hated the weather, anyway.

By the way, Aporkalypse, Memphis was very similar in population to New Orleans before Katrina. Now, it's bigger.

I couldn't live in Memphis, either, so I understand. There's nothing wrong with using the two for comparison because of geographic proximity, as I was. Otherwise you end up comparing Little Rock to Des Moines and Charleston, which have far less in common with LR than Memphis does.

Memphis certainly has some things to offer that LR doesn't. like NBA basketball (for now), Beale St and the Blues culture, far more direct flights and a better zoo and museums as well as a slightly better selection of shopping and restaurants. It also has far more of the problems you see in bigger cities - traffic (by a longshot), flight, suburbanization, failing public schools and crime than you expect in a city that size. One just has to weight these things and see what balance is more important.

[Stormcrow73]

Back on topic...

I work with guys from Boston, York PA, Chicago, Seattle, and Ontario CA. They've all made a very good transition to living in Little Rock and are raising or have already raised their families here. The guy from Boston still cheers for the Sox and Pats (of course) but he also follows the Hogs even though he didn't go to UA. In fact, unless you came from another area with only college sports, everyone winds up cheering for the Hogs when they come here. None of them have any plans on ever leaving and all seem very happy about their choice to come and live here.