Little Rock Underrated? (Conway, Cabot, Bryant: high crime, hotels, houses)

[InLondon]

I recently visited Little Rock and I was really surprised. The city is really nice and it's really underrated. Why is that? The western area of Little Rock is especially nice. There's a lot of large beautiful homes.

[PurpleLove08]

So because we have nice homes we're suddenly a nice city?

I could make a long list of reasons for people not to move to Little Rock.

To each their own I guess....
Once I get my degree, I will be trying to get away as fast as I can.

[InLondon]

Originally Posted by LiveTodayLez08

So because we have nice homes we're suddenly a nice city?

No, not necessarily; but for a city the size of Little Rock I was impressed. There's obviously a good economy there. The weather there is great, little snow in the winter, not very cold.

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by InLondon

I recently visited Little Rock and I was really surprised. The city is really nice and it's really underrated. Why is that? The western area of Little Rock is especially nice. There's a lot of large beautiful homes.

Little Rock is in fact very underrated and is in fact one of the most negatively viewed cities in the country. Little Rock has its problems but its in no way as horrible as its made out to be. There are three big reasons I think Little Rock is so underrated.

1. Its in Arkansas. This is more of an issue as far as our national image, but most of America doesn't have a favorable opinion of our state period. This only compounds the image problems of a city that has more than its share of its own image problems.

2. The growth and momentum of NWA has taken Little Rock's dominant position in the state. In many ways right now, NWA is ahead. I believe this is because NWA residents have more pride in their area and an ambition to make it better, while Little Rock residents are complacent and many have an "i could care less" attitude about their city. The attitude of a city really does matter - take a look at OKC for proof. Plus some bad luck and the timing of the current US recession has hurt Little Rock.

3. In 1994, there was an HBO documentary called Gang Wars: Bangin' in Little Rock. The purpose of the documentary was to show that gang activity wasn't restricted to the major metro on the coasts, but what it did was lump in Little Rock with Gary, IN and Flint, MI as one of the most horrible cities in the country. While LR certainly has a high crime rate, much of the crime is localized in certain parts of town, and its nearly all black-on-black, and is usually drug related.

The truth is, Little Rock is underrated, but the reasons it is in my opinion comes down to city attitude and pride. I think LR should follow OKC's lead. Within 10 years through the MAPS projects, they went from the perception of being a dump to being a truly second tier city and now they are getting an NBA team and a new supertall skyscraper. People in OKC are very proud of being OKCitians. Little Rock is probably a half century from being on that level, but it all starts with baby steps. Little Rock could be the nations next boomtown if only people had the desire to make it that.

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by LiveTodayLez08

So because we have nice homes we're suddenly a nice city?

I could make a long list of reasons for people not to move to Little Rock.

To each their own I guess....
Once I get my degree, I will be trying to get away as fast as I can.

I'm not particularly fond of citys or structured living in general, but I've spent quite a bit of time in LR lately and didn't find much to dislike.

Yes it has it's "city" problems, as everywhere does, but I see the opportunity there to maintain most any lifestyle on any level one desires. There is upward mobility as much as any city, and the chance to get a good education, find entertainment, and it has all of the services one could utilize.

Having lived in a few cities in my life that you could fit a number of Little Rocks into, I've yet to find one that doesn't have crime, poverty, ghettos, and some real bad attitudes.

However, I also haven't found one that doesn't have nice parks, schools, a plethora of recreational opportunites, and more places than you can count to divest ones self of "upscale" dollars.

If one wants to find a manure pile, you can certainly find that in LR. However if one is instead looking for an urban paradise, that's there too.

When I was working, I would occasionally encounter a co-worker who would say, "I hate it here and can't wait to get out".

My reply would always be (pointing a boney finger) "There's the door, bud....there's people standing out there waiting for your job that like it here".

It works that way in society also. If one ascertains a problem and isn't trying to improve it, relocation to other environ, and depriving those who are trying to push the life level up the pleasure of said company, would probably bring that naysayer....and those around them, closer to personal nirvana.

Yes, Little Rock is under rated.

[anjoe]

it's just that as in every attractive city you have your down falls from some of the people that give "all" cities a bad reputation. In any city, you have to find the neighboorhood that you most feel safe in and where you can "keep" up your property values. That just makes common sense these days....

[PurpleLove08]

My big gripe is the lack of things to do. Maybe it's me...
I wish we had more museums (I miss the children's museum), better public transportation, more things for teens to do than go see a movie or go to the mall, and...yeah.
Also there are a lot of things to do outside...and I'm not a big outdoors person.
Eh...
I do realize I am "free" to leave at any time but the lack of sufficient funds is what's stopping me. I'll just keep saving.

I'm glad some do like the city...or else we'd be in bad shape. I'm glad there are people willing to invest and see the potential in the city. I see the potential, I just wish more people would invest so we can have more people and become a true major city.

[Aporkalypse]

Originally Posted by LiveTodayLez08

My big gripe is the lack of things to do. Maybe it's me...
I wish we had more museums (I miss the children's museum), better public transportation, more things for teens to do than go see a movie or go to the mall, and...yeah.
Also there are a lot of things to do outside...and I'm not a big outdoors person.
Eh...
I do realize I am "free" to leave at any time but the lack of sufficient funds is what's stopping me. I'll just keep saving.

I'm glad some do like the city...or else we'd be in bad shape. I'm glad there are people willing to invest and see the potential in the city. I see the potential, I just wish more people would invest so we can have more people and become a true major city.

I understand what you're saying, and I agree.

However, for a city this size in this part of the country LR is light years ahead. Cities like Shreveport and Jackson are trying to figure out how to do to their downtowns what we did. A decade ago there was no River Market, downtown was dead, and that area was full of abandoned windowless warehouses with multiple drug hotels infesting the area. Overall, LR has cleaned up most of that crime, made that area as safe as any downtown, and spawned a development spree that would be impressive in a city twice its size. I want more cultural amenities as well, and they will come. As for public transportation, to have any rail in a city as small as LR is pretty unusual, as is the size of the bus system and ultranice downtown terminal.

I know a lot of people that visited LR that were rather surprised by how "nice" it was. Many liked the trees, hills and scenery. Others just thought it was clean and felt safe in the areas they visited. I think one of the reasons they were surprised was the relative affluence of a mid-sized Southern city, which are often quite poor. The Cliff Notes version of that is that the city has 1.5-2x as many college graduates as most cities in the South, only a couple exceed it. 36% of adults are college grads. Some of the reason for this is the number of white collar jobs in medicine, law, banking, and IT. Some is the fact that the upper middle class and upper class generally live in LR proper and not in the suburbs like Bryant, Cabot, and Conway.

Core cities the size of LR in the South and Midwest are losing population and have been for two decades. LR keeps growing, in part because of these reasons.

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by LiveTodayLez08

My big gripe is the lack of things to do. Maybe it's me...

Most of the time when people complain about having "nothing to do", unless you are young and living in a retirement town, or are in a town with one stoplight, its usually more of a problem with the person than with the place.

As a teen growing up in OKC, most of the teens either went to movies or went to the mall just like in Little Rock. Bricktown and the River Market both cater to the 21 and up crowd. In my opinion, teenage years can be fun or boring no matter where you live.

I probably left out earlier that Little Rock has come a long ways from where it was just a few years ago...but its only half-way through the process. Other posters are right that most visitors to Little Rock are impressed after visiting. Little Rock needs to somehow show America that it isn't the dump that its perceived as being. Once Little Rock gains a better national perception, more businesses, services, and amenities might consider locating in the city.

One thing that might help is beautification of the city along the interstates. Many probably come through LR on I-30, which skirts the sprawl of southwest LR for probably 15 miles before turning towards downtown. For the most part its just downright ugly. If this is all people see of LR, its no wonder they think its the armpit of America.

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by bchris02

In my opinion, teenage years can be fun or boring no matter where you live.

Here, here.

I was raised in a small town, but my son was raised in a *really* small town.

Your typical farm-spot on the backroad.

When he was growing up, I would ask him, what are you doing this evening/weekend.

I never heard...."nothing". I heard, going to <friends> house, going to the pool, going to <other city>, going mountain bike riding....on & on.

These kids were busy. In a town of 175.

There's nothing to do in a city of 190,000 with a metro population of over 600,000?

When one has steak & chops to eat at every whim, it's pretty easy to turn up the nose at black eyed peas.

I'm so glad that I was raised the way I was, that I have been very hungry in my life, that I have nearly frozen in my life, that I have had to crouch in bushes in 120 degree heat with people shooting at me, that I've known people who were happy with nothing they have and people who are pleased simply by your smile.

When one can be in an environment that they prefer, with running water at whim, electricity, 500 channels on TV, endless food supply within walking distance, a car, gasoline, paved roads, and all the rest of the amenities, including a lot of times a parent paying for it, and finds reason to compalin that, "There's nothing to do", pardon me for not falling to my knees in sympathy.

There are a lot of people in this country....not to mention the wider arena outside of our boastful existance, that would think they were in heaven if they woke up in Little Rock.

I'm a pretty simple boy, and I think every day that I'm walking upright, is a *beautiful* day in the Ozarks.

The things that I've seen in Little Rock, however, are splendid examples of diversity, scenery, architecture, commerce, and technology.

I fail to understand how one cannot find their own peace in a city like that.