Little Rock, a review. (Augusta, Huntsville: rental car, amusement park, lofts)

[HANNU]

I would like to thank the OP for taking the time posting such an in-depth review of Little Rock. Your critique is important to people who use this website in their search for a new home. Obviously, your preferences are subjective and what may disappoint you, may be an attraction for another individual.

The one thing that you may have missed is the 'naturalness' (e.g. Pinnacle State Park) of the area, but I do not believe it makes up for the city's shortcomings.

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by stx12499

All in all, LR does have some culture, but it was a culture shock for this Chicagoan now living in Louisville. I don't think I will be taking the job, but I was asked to review the city by jbchris. I don't think LR has enough of a professional vibe for me, and certainly not enough good restaurants and an urban, pedestrian culture.

Heh.....

I think I tried to warn you in a post some time ago when you first posted.

"Scale your expectations back".

I am happy that in these trying times, you have the chance to find a place that will fit your lifestyle better before surrendering to the head hunters.

Now.....imagine me...a self admitted hillbilly...going to Chicago to work.

That happened, and it lasted over 20 years.

So I could post about going to the Loop or River North and getting hit up for money every 20 feet by the aggressive bums. Or the sweet smell of rotting whatever that constantly spews from the street steam grates.

Or the "Lincoln Park Pirates" that tow your car, hold it for 3 figure ransoms, and when you get it, all your CD's and toll change are gone.

Or the $30 parking fees at the garages.

Or the "parked in traffic" hours on the Stevenson and the Ike.

Or the ultra-cool burbanites puking outside the bars with their friends screaming, "YEAH, DUDE......WE AIN'T LEAVING TIL WE'RE HEAVING".

Or the $300 dinner bills at the restaurants, $8 beers, and $30 valet parking, in which you have no choice.

Or the cab drivers that take 20 minutes to take the tourists 3 blocks and charge them $30 'off the meter'.

Or the taxes, the taxes on the taxes, and then the taxes on that.

Or the 'encounters' that are interrupted when trying to use the public restrooms in Grant Park, Lincoln Park, and the lakefront.

Or the rejection of 'straights' in the Lakeview district.

Or the 1 bedroom condos for $300,000.

Or the attitude of people that want to tell you up front..."OH, I live in *the* city".

Or countless other items that make Chicago just the most perfect urban mecca this side of Mars.

But, no...

No, I won't do that.

I'll tell you about good restaurants, festivals, views, and diversity.

Because, ya understand, I looked at it like a life experience.

Something different.

Something to do to make a living until I could retreat to my personal utopia.

I didn't look for it to "meet my standards".

Just like fighting a war, hunting wild boar with a hand gun, and bringing my wife flowers for no reason at all so I could see the look on her face, I did it so on that day when my "life passes before my eyes", it's an eclectic mix of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and emotions.

Not vanilla.

Naw......you're doing the right thing

For everybody.

But....hey........

I've always admired a man that knows his limits.

[northbound74]

Chenal Valley is just a section of town, not a suburb, although people in that part of town are quick to say West Little Rock, not just Little Rock, so as to not be confused with the rest of the town. I think they're jealous that North Little Rock gets to say it and mean something.

Other than that, the OP's observations are dead on. Their account seemed honest, in no way trying to insult the place. Little Rock is what it is, and people who live there can be defensive towards it.
Judging by the way people have been talking on these forums, I actually was expecting Little Rock to have changed more over the last five years. Apparently, it hasn't changed much at all.

I've never found Little Rock to be overly religious or conservative by southern standards. Much of the nightlife and "bar" scenes in that town are actually on the west side. Places like Chili's and Outback Steakhouse generally would have a bigger crowd around their bar than anything downtown. I remember working with people that would mention how they were going to hangout at the Longhorn Steakhouse after work. Downtown still has a reputation of emptiness and transients to get over.

Of course no one should try to compare a place the size of Little Rock and somewhere that's substantially larger. It doesn't seem too unreasonable, however, to expect a bit more out of a town that's the hub of it's region, and for decades was the only major city in the whole state.
There's a lot of towns smaller than Little Rock that are much more lively. The size of the city doesn't have to matter as much as we'd like to think sometimes.

With the exception of retail, Little Rock has plenty of "stuff", just not very many people get out and do things, at least not locally.
I went to several different types of events at Alltel, and remember thinking, "Jonesboro's Convocation Center would have had a crowd twice this size" for whatever event may have been going on. Of course, the Convocation Center was half the size of Alltel, but it would sell out at 9k for something that Alltel would only have 2-3k for.
It does have a perception problem to overcome. People who live 2-3 hours away often never think to go to Little Rock for anything. Instead, they go to some other city in a neighboring state. Getting those people to come to LR is key to making the city seem less of a ghost town.

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by northbound74

Much of the nightlife and "bar" scenes in that town are actually on the west side. Places like Chili's and Outback Steakhouse generally would have a bigger crowd around their bar than anything downtown. I remember working with people that would mention how they were going to hangout at the Longhorn Steakhouse after work. Downtown still has a reputation of emptiness and transients to get over.

This is very sad but true. West Little Rock is where all the activity is at. The Lakeweood area of North Little Rock is pretty hoppin' as well. TGI Friday's is the place to see and be seen on weekend nights. As I said in one of my original posts, Little Rock is an extremely car-centric and suburban minded city. From hearing people talk, most people in Little Rock want nothing to do with true urbanism and they talk about real cities like Memphis and Dallas like they are horrible places. There is an pretty significant anti-growth sentiment in Little Rock. To me, Little Rock is pretty much Fort Smith with crime and traffic.

NWA is a little different because the college is there and it is also younger and slightly more progressive, but it is still extremely suburban and car-centric.

But ask yourself this, with the exception of retail (which is appalling how horrible it is for even a city this size), are places like Jackson, MS and Augusta, GA really much better than Little Rock? Sure there are more lively places smaller than Little Rock, Fayetteville being one of them, but most of them are college towns.

Originally Posted by northbound74

It does have a perception problem to overcome. People who live 2-3 hours away often never think to go to Little Rock for anything. Instead, they go to some other city in a neighboring state. Getting those people to come to LR is key to making the city seem less of a ghost town.

People in rural areas generally go to a larger city for things like concerts, shopping, amusement parks, museums, etc. People in Fort Smith for instance are not going to drive to Little Rock for shopping when much better shopping is available in Rogers and even better shopping in Tulsa. Very few concerts come to Little Rock but many do go to Tulsa. Little Rock has no real museums other than the Clinton library to be a big draw. Magic Springs, Central Arkansas' amusement park is actually in Hot Springs, which is a much more touristy destination. There really is nothing in Little Rock to draw people in from more than say an hour away. I honestly think Little Rock suffers from being so close to Memphis.

[PurpleLove08]

Originally Posted by northbound74

I've never found Little Rock to be overly religious or conservative by southern standards. Much of the nightlife and "bar" scenes in that town are actually on the west side. Places like Chili's and Outback Steakhouse generally would have a bigger crowd around their bar than anything downtown. I remember working with people that would mention how they were going to hangout at the Longhorn Steakhouse after work. Downtown still has a reputation of emptiness and transients to get over.


With the exception of retail, Little Rock has plenty of "stuff", just not very many people get out and do things, at least not locally.
I went to several different types of events at Alltel, and remember thinking, "Jonesboro's Convocation Center would have had a crowd twice this size" for whatever event may have been going on. Of course, the Convocation Center was half the size of Alltel, but it would sell out at 9k for something that Alltel would only have 2-3k for.
It does have a perception problem to overcome. People who live 2-3 hours away often never think to go to Little Rock for anything. Instead, they go to some other city in a neighboring state. Getting those people to come to LR is key to making the city seem less of a ghost town.

I don't find LR to be overly religious or conservative either.
Some people still try to proselytize to you or invite you to their church but that happens in most places in the South.
Catch 22....we need to bring more people to get more entertainment and retail but because we lack the retail and entertainment...less people come.

Originally Posted by bchris02

This is very sad but true. West Little Rock is where all the activity is at. The Lakeweood area of North Little Rock is pretty hoppin' as well. TGI Friday's is the place to see and be seen on weekend nights. As I said in one of my original posts, Little Rock is an extremely car-centric and suburban minded city. From hearing people talk, most people in Little Rock want nothing to do with true urbanism and they talk about real cities like Memphis and Dallas like they are horrible places. There is an pretty significant anti-growth sentiment in Little Rock. To me, Little Rock is pretty much Fort Smith with crime and traffic.

NWA is a little different because the college is there and it is also younger and slightly more progressive, but it is still extremely suburban and car-centric.

But ask yourself this, with the exception of retail (which is appalling how horrible it is for even a city this size), are places like Jackson, MS and Augusta, GA really much better than Little Rock? Sure there are more lively places smaller than Little Rock, Fayetteville being one of them, but most of them are college towns.



People in rural areas generally go to a larger city for things like concerts, shopping, amusement parks, museums, etc. People in Fort Smith for instance are not going to drive to Little Rock for shopping when much better shopping is available in Rogers and even better shopping in Tulsa. Very few concerts come to Little Rock but many do go to Tulsa. Little Rock has no real museums other than the Clinton library to be a big draw. Magic Springs, Central Arkansas' amusement park is actually in Hot Springs, which is a much more touristy destination. There really is nothing in Little Rock to draw people in from more than say an hour away. I honestly think Little Rock suffers from being so close to Memphis.

I love Memphis and Dallas, more so Dallas but I hate the traffic and freeways there.

What kind of retail would you like to see here? Just wondering. I am just fine with the retail here but then again I'm not out spending a lot of money these days either and I do a lot of shopping online....

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by LiveTodayLez08

I don't find LR to be overly religious or conservative either.
Some people still try to proselytize to you or invite you to their church but that happens in most places in the South.
Catch 22....we need to bring more people to get more entertainment and retail but because we lack the retail and entertainment...less people come.

Depends on where you are at. Hillcrest/Heights not so much but West LR and Benton/Bryant - big time!

Originally Posted by LiveTodayLez08

What kind of retail would you like to see here? Just wondering. I am just fine with the retail here but then again I'm not out spending a lot of money these days either and I do a lot of shopping online....

Apple store for starters. There are markets the size of Little Rock and even smaller that have them. Best Buy is currently the only computer/electronics outlet in Little Rock. Another one is Macy's. They are slightly above Dillard's and are even in markets quite a bit smaller than Little Rock. It would also be nice if our mall was a little bigger with some more variety. Park Plaza is a very nice mall but its small and really lacking in a lot of ways. Many of the retail stores our market should have but do not were supposed to go into the Promenade at Chenal but many of them have delayed or pulled out entirely because of the economy. This recession hit at the absolute worst possible time for retail in Little Rock.

Of course retail is not doing well right now and most retailers aren't expanding anywhere, but these are really things Little Rock should have had before we went into this recession.

[NowInGreenville]

stx12499, you must do a lot of traveling and job interviews. You wrote a similar post on Orlando January 11 2009. Same thing, you were there for 3 days, and broke the whole city down. I would venture to say there are more posts like these out there that I just haven't run into. What gives? Are you a travel journalist?

[AllenKarber]

Although I don't agree with it,the op's review was well-researched and written.

I think LR is a great city for the most part. It doesn't have all the "stuff" that a big city has,but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I love the River Market and Hillcrest/Heights. On warm and sunny days, the River Market and the Argenta district is VERY vibrant. Of course you have the ball park too! On a Friday or Saturday night in the Summer it has taken me over 30 minutes or more to get from The Peabody to the eastern end of The River Market. If I were a young single person You couldn't keep me out of there. There are some very nice looking young ladies hanging out down there!

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by NowInGreenville

stx12499, you must do a lot of traveling and job interviews. You wrote a similar post on Orlando January 11 2009. Same thing, you were there for 3 days, and broke the whole city down. I would venture to say there are more posts like these out there that I just haven't run into. What gives? Are you a travel journalist?

I am no travel journalist, but I have now visited 66 of the top 100 largest US metros. I have lived for extended periods in 6 major metros. I love to travel, and I am an urban nerd. I pick apart any city like this, and enjoy doing it. For those of you getting so defensive, please see the honest review in my post. I call it like I see it, with no sugar coating. As you can see, I was not as hard on Orlando because despite its newness and sprawl, I found a ton to love about that city.

[PurpleLove08]

Originally Posted by AllenKarber

Although I don't agree with it,the op's review was well-researched and written.

I think LR is a great city for the most part. It doesn't have all the "stuff" that a big city has,but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I love the River Market and Hillcrest/Heights. On warm and sunny days, the River Market and the Argenta district is VERY vibrant. Of course you have the ball park too! On a Friday or Saturday night in the Summer it has taken me over 30 minutes or more to get from The Peabody to the eastern end of The River Market. If I were a young single person You couldn't keep me out of there. There are some very nice looking young ladies hanging out down there!

In the summer time, The River Market area is more lively.
I don't venture much into the Argenta area (despite it being closer to my house than the River Market...).
Right now I don't see the need to get out and freeze my butt off just so I can be downtown. I'll leave the River Market trips mainly for April-September.