New England to Little Rock, Arkansas? (Conway, Rogers: fit in, best town, transplants)

[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!!!!

[northbound74]

Fitting in probably wouldn't be a problem, with just enough transplants living in Little Rock. It sort of has a city feel to it. Don't expect Boston. Not the best town to pick if throwing a dart at a map, though. Public schools are an absolute joke, especially in the city itself. Just about everyone who can afford to, sends their kids to private school, of which there are plenty of good ones. People don't generally move there to raise kids, but the suburbs get some of that.
It highly depends on what you do as to whether or not jobs are plentiful.
There's plenty of diversity, and diversity of thought.. a redeeming factor. Sad to hear you have to leave New England.

[larrywriter]

Well, we're still just thinking about it. We have lots of family here so that is a factor.

[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!!!

[Stormcrow73]

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!!!!

I believe the air here is toxic to New Englanders. In fact, we just recently had a die off so that's probably why there are opportunities here.

Facetiousness aside, leave the New England mindset up north and you'll do fine. In fact, if you come here with an open mind you'll very likely be pleasantly surprised.

[bchris02]

Little Rock is a surprisingly diverse city. There are quite a few transplants so you shouldn't have a problem fitting in. Schools - there are some good ones and bad ones. If you don't want to send your kids to private school yet want to be completely safe, you might have to commute a bit. Unfortunately a majority of the LR suburbs are could qualify as white flight communities and lack the diversity that you get in the city. As far as safety, live north of I-630 and west of I-30 and you shouldn't have issues with crime. There is also suburban WLR, which is a sprawling area west of I-430. Also don't overlook NLR/Sherwood. There is culture here, but don't expect it to be on the level of the Northeast. I think LR has a decent selection of restaurants, but that is an area we could really improve on. I notice an imbalance as there is a sushi establishment on almost every corner but we are lacking on some of the ethnic cuisines, especially middle eastern. Chain restaurants are abundant and there are a lot of fine local establishments to choose from. Overall you would probably be pleased with LR. I would suggest making a visit to the area.

Many posters on board will likely try to steer you to Bentonville/Rogers in Northwest Arkansas, home of Wal-Mart. You could probably find good job opportunities with Wal-Mart and the public schools in NWA are good, but it is a very generic suburban area and LR has far more culture/vibe.

[Stormcrow73]

On the topic of schools, there are some fine schools in the metro area. Central High is the indisputable king of Arkansas schools for those who are AP type students. It produces I believe more National Merit Scholars than most all other high schools in the state combined (OK I exaggerate but you get the picture). Pulaski County also has some very good schools. Not all of the suburbs are "white flight communities" either. Maumelle is a rather diverse community for example.

Let's also be very clear on the commute aspect...Most commutes in the LR Metro are so significantly less than what people in larger metros do, it's a bit laughable. Ok so Conway to downtown can approach 45 minutes, that's really not much compared to what some people have to do and it isn't like you'll be sitting in a bumper to bumper parking lot for 20 or 30 minutes of it either. You're flowing along pretty nicely most of the way. The biggest traffic issue here is that you always seem to get people who are afraid of the 70mph speed limit. The volume really isn't all that heavy.

[ArkLexee]

I do know the med facilities in Little Rock are top-notch. People from here STILL go to Little Rock for a few procedures and treatments that we just don't have here yet. And the history there....it's really worth delving into.

[DC at the Ridge]

A city person could definitely survive in Little Rock. But bear in mind, Little Rock is a smaller city, I wouldn't say it has the feel of Springfield, MA, but it's not going to feel anything like Boston. That said, it has some great restaurants, galleries, historical sites and so on. It's central location makes trips to Dallas or Memphis or even New Orleans or Houston pretty doable. We moved to Arkansas from Massachusetts when I was a kid, and I will say that it took a while to adjust. The heat was absolutely stifling, but then everywhere you went there was central air conditioning, so you adjusted. The relatives we have in New England now say that the climate has changed tremendously in the past 30 years, so you might not be as struck with it as we were. The sense of history is quite different, as well. So many events of the Revolutionary War happened in Massachusetts, while none obviously took place in Arkansas. The Civil War is more present in Arkansas because of the battles and the events, and also because the South lost that war, and so the scars are still there, too. Politics are, I think, rather different in the South than the North.

I have heard both good and bad things about the schools in Little Rock. I attended school in Northwest Arkansas, and frankly, I think many schools in Arkansas are excellent, quite able to compete with schools in Massachusetts. Nationally, the reputation is poor, but when I attended college out of state, there were no glaring deficiencies in my education.

One thing that impresses me each time I go to Little Rock is how green it is. Along the river, in the deeper south than Northwest Arkansas, the city seems to stay perenially green. Plants flourish, lawns have a special lushness, you turn down a street and overhead is a green canopy. It's really quite lovely, I think you'd enjoy a visit there if you're seriously considering a move.

[GetmeoutofAR]

Ur coming to Arkansas from New England. Are you sure you want to do that? I've traveled all over New England especially in Massachusetts. New England is quite beautiful (albeit kinda crowded in some places) compared to it,... Arkansas is very boring....However, Arkansas isnt nearly as boring as some other awful states such as Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Mississippi....The weather and culture will both be verrrrrry different from what you are used to....If you must move to Arkansas, Move to Northwest Arkansas. It's a desicion you won't regret.......Moving to LR......well yes you might regret that in some ways......