possible move to LR (Little Rock, North Little Rock: rentals, condo, how much)

[abt123]

My husband and I are thinking of moving to LR. He would be a cop there if we moved. We are from SW AR originally, but don't really know anything about the LR area other than it used to be pretty rough. Is it still? What are the good parts to live in and where should we stay away from? If we went, I would be going to NS school, so if anyone has any tips about schools, that would be great too.

All comments good and bad are welcomed!

Thanks!

[PurpleLove08]

Little Rock is not the big bad terrible city that it's made out to be.
As far as schools, I really wouldn't know any elementary or middle schools to recommend.
High schools: Central and Mills are pretty good. Mills is in the Pulaski County School District and Central is under the Little Rock School District.

Enrollment Information helps with finding a school.

I think if your child is doing well in school now, there is no need to worry.
It is really parent involvement that is key. Of course teacher quality, class size, etc is also an issue but I wouldn't be worried about the schools.
Little Rock School District just suffers from a lot of white flight (lots of whites enrolling their kids in private or charter schools) and the students they have now tend to be of lower socioeconomic status which tend to do worse than other students. At the same time, the teachers cannot make the students want an education nor can they force the parents to help the kids with homework, read to them, feed them properly before they come to school, etc.

As for good parents to live in...I really wouldn't know. I'm sure you can do a search in other posts that mention "Little Rock" and "neighborhoods" that can help. I'm more familiar with North Little Rock.

[strumpeace]

I can't make a recommendation because I don't know what 'NS school' is. Since that's an important aspect of your move, you might want to clarify.

Thanks.

[PurpleLove08]

Originally Posted by strumpeace

I can't make a recommendation because I don't know what 'NS school' is. Since that's an important aspect of your move, you might want to clarify.

Thanks.

I was wondering about the NS too but failed to talk about that in my post.

[abt123]

Nursing School, sorry guys.

[abt123]

Also, we are married, workaholics... So basically, I was just wondering if the town itself was rough... what parts are good to live in, stuff like that. No kids, but 1 dog and 2 cats that are like kids!

Thanks so much!

[PurpleLove08]

Well completely disregard my earlier post on schools.
Nursing schools:
UAMS (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences)
UALR (University of Arkansas At Little Rock)
Baptist Health (heard some pretty negative things about it)

I would recommend UAMS.
UAMS College of Nursing

[abt123]

can someone tell me where are good parts to live, like east lr, west lr, north lr, etc. is the downtown area ok?

[Stormcrow73]

$$$$ - Hillcrest, Heights, Downtown/RiverMarket
$$$ - WLR, Maumelle
$$ - Sherwood, NE North LR, Some areas around Stift Station, Benton, Bryant, Conway, Cabot

The last 4 in the $$ category are suburbs that are pretty far out, Conway and Cabot being the furthest. A condo in Downtown/Rivermarket would be safe and quite nice. I'll throw in the Argenta area of NLR here because I'm not sure how much some of the new developments are selling for over there. I think Argenta may be one of the best bargains around right now. There are new townhomes (called City Grove) being built that are within walking distance of pretty much all the night life LR has to offer. Argenta is right across the river from downtown/rivermarket and has trolley connectivity and the new pedestrian bridge so you can easily access both sides of the river. The area is rebranding itself as an arts and entertainment hub. If we didn't have kids, we'd probably be there ourselves.

[abt123]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but are you talking about buying or renting? We are looking to rent for a few years until I get out of school and we get settled. Are there rental in those areas also, reasonably priced? From what I can tell, West LR is a pretty good area to live in. I see alot of advertisement for rentals that say West LR.