Wikitravel Gives Bad Review of Little Rock (Fayetteville, Clinton: credit card, how much)

[strumpeace]

As I've written many times before, LR's crime is high because of a number of factors. You will find very few Southern cities of LR's size on low-crime lists. Poverty, low education levels, welfare culture, thug culture, gun culture, etc. are things that LR has to deal with everyday. And those things are ingrained in the South. LR cannot remove itself from this part of the country. It is what it is.

LR's crime rate is largely in line with Nashville, Memphis, Birmingham, Jackson, Atlanta, Chattanooga, and New Orleans -- all of which have very high crime rates. Even Huntsville, Alabama (similar size to LR) which is one of the more educated, less impoverished Southern cities, has an outrageous crime rate. If you can figure out how to prevent crime in Southern cities, you'll be doing better than the thousands of police chiefs who have come and gone hoping to do the same in this part of the country.

[nmnita]

I like what D.C. said, Little Rock isn't anything but Little Rock, why do we think if should be like some other city?? As he said, the more important thing is to make it a better Little Rock, not to make it something else. Albuquerque isn't Sante Fe, Los Angeles isn't San Francisco...

Nita

[jenni-b]

Most of my friends are very afraid to go east of I-430, and I can imagine they aren't the only ones.

It just blows my mind when I read something like this. I don't even know what to say. No offense to your friends, bchris, but it is sad that people would limit themselves like that out of fear.

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by strumpeace

Exactly.

After two threads and ten or twelve pages of posts, somebody finally got it.

Don't come to LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS expecting 'urban vibe'. We don't have it. Why anyone with any sense would think we would have that is beyond me. It's a small city in a rural state, for goodness' sake. Go out to Cheyenne or Butte or Wichita (also small cities in rural states) and tell them they're not 'urban hipster' enough for you.

(BTW, I've been to Louisville many times. I lived for several years in Campbellsville and spent many of my weekends in Louisville. It's a lovely enough town, but it's pretty dull, too. People have been fleeing the city in unprecedented numbers over the last few decades.)

Wrong. Your impression of Louisville must be mired in circa 1998. Louisville is hopping with nightlife, restaurants and bars, and there are young professionals actively out in several urban neighborhoods. Its simply no comparison. Even though it's not a huge city, its like New York compared to Little Rock.

I agree with Bchris that there are many similar sized cities to LR killing it in the growth of professionals etc, and Des Moines is one.

[DC at the Ridge]

Originally Posted by stx12499

Wrong. Your impression of Louisville must be mired in circa 1998. Louisville is hopping with nightlife, restaurants and bars, and there are young professionals actively out in several urban neighborhoods. Its simply no comparison. Even though it's not a huge city, its like New York compared to Little Rock.

I agree with Bchris that there are many similar sized cities to LR killing it in the growth of professionals etc, and Des Moines is one.

Oh, please. You visit for a couple of days, and you are an expert on Little Rock? Louisville is like New York City compared to Little Rock??? LOL, it's more like Louisville is like Little Rock compared to New York City!!

[AllenKarber]

Originally Posted by bchris02

It's true that Little Rock will never be a Louisville, but there is no reason it couldn't be a Des Moines. Des Moines is roughly the same size as Little Rock and also in a rural state, but has been much more forward thinking and as a result is decades ahead and has an overall positive perception.

I'm sorry,but Des Moines just doesn't sound very exciting to me.

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by AllenKarber

I'm sorry,but Des Moines just doesn't sound very exciting to me.

Des Moines has been signifficantly more sucessful than Little Rock at attracting knowledge based job growth, young professionals, cultural amenities, nightlife, and good retail. It's a small city with a large city feel. Des Moines itself may not be Louisville but it's signifficanttly ahead of Little Rock in about every way. There is only so much you can expect from a city of only 200,000 and Des Moines is one of if not the best in it's tier. That gives Little Rock something to strive for.

[strumpeace]

Originally Posted by bchris02

Des Moines has been signifficantly more sucessful than Little Rock at attracting knowledge based job growth, young professionals, cultural amenities, nightlife, and good retail. It's a small city with a large city feel. Des Moines itself may not be Louisville but it's signifficanttly ahead of Little Rock in about every way. There is only so much you can expect from a city of only 200,000 and Des Moines is one of if not the best in it's tier. That gives Little Rock something to strive for.

What if the vast majority of people in LR don't want to strive for that?

[DC at the Ridge]

Originally Posted by bchris02

Des Moines has been signifficantly more sucessful than Little Rock at attracting knowledge based job growth, young professionals, cultural amenities, nightlife, and good retail. It's a small city with a large city feel. Des Moines itself may not be Louisville but it's signifficanttly ahead of Little Rock in about every way. There is only so much you can expect from a city of only 200,000 and Des Moines is one of if not the best in it's tier. That gives Little Rock something to strive for.

No, it doesn't. Little Rock shouldn't strive to be like Des Moines at all. Little Rock should strive to be the best that Little Rock can be. I'm sorry, but cookie-cutter cities, all with the same retailers, with similar entertainment venues, aren't any better than cookie-cutter neighborhoods with three floor-plans and five color schemes repeated ad nauseum.

It's the things that are unique about various cities that make them special. Not the similarities. Hip, urban vibe equals big yawn. I want Little Rock to build on what sets it apart from other cities. Is it rural, yes, it's rural. So build on that. More parks, more farmers' markets, more shops featuring local craftsmen. Why would I want Neiman Marcus to open a store, I can order from them on-line. Why would I want more TGIF's, I want more local cuisine using local ingredients. Nightclubs? meet Bible Belt. I want Arkansas writers and Arkansas artists and Arkansas musicians to have more venues. I certainly don't want the same urban scene that exists in Des Moines or Minneapolis or Louisville to become the norm in Little Rock. Celebrate who we are, not who we aren't.

[PurpleLove08]

Originally Posted by DC at the Ridge

No, it doesn't. Little Rock shouldn't strive to be like Des Moines at all. Little Rock should strive to be the best that Little Rock can be. I'm sorry, but cookie-cutter cities, all with the same retailers, with similar entertainment venues, aren't any better than cookie-cutter neighborhoods with three floor-plans and five color schemes repeated ad nauseum.

It's the things that are unique about various cities that make them special. Not the similarities. Hip, urban vibe equals big yawn. I want Little Rock to build on what sets it apart from other cities. Is it rural, yes, it's rural. So build on that. More parks, more farmers' markets, more shops featuring local craftsmen. Why would I want Neiman Marcus to open a store, I can order from them on-line. Why would I want more TGIF's, I want more local cuisine using local ingredients. Nightclubs? meet Bible Belt. I want Arkansas writers and Arkansas artists and Arkansas musicians to have more venues. I certainly don't want the same urban scene that exists in Des Moines or Minneapolis or Louisville to become the norm in Little Rock. Celebrate who we are, not who we aren't.

I think Little Rock has a lot of local businesses, people just aren't all that aware and their first instinct is to shop at Wal-Mart. I know Wal-Mart is based in AR but that does nothing for the cities of Little Rock, North Little Rock, Sherwood, etc. Wal-Mart is investing in Bentonville with some of their profits...they aren't doing much in other communities.

I would recommend looking in Arkansas Times. A lot of times they have ads from local retailers.
The Station is a local business that features local and organic food. From what I've heard, it's pretty affordable. A lot of times shopping local can be cheaper and I'm sure we'll see this once gas prices go up. The food doesn't have to travel 500 miles to get to you, it might have came 75 or even 100 miles but that's much better than 500+ miles.

I think there are a good number of venues for Arkansas musicians and writers. I bet a lot of local bars would want to host events if they knew there was a market for it. Speak up if you want things done differently.

I think there is a market for nightclubs. Backstreet is pretty much a gay club BUT a lot of times you will find a lot of straight people there because there just aren't many night life options for the younger set.