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Little Rock - Conway area Pulaski, Faulkner, Grant, Lonoke, Perry, and Saline Counties
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Old 04-06-2010, 07:17 PM
 
8 posts, read 20,060 times
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My husband has a possible opportunity to relocate to LR. We currently live in the SE. One of our biggest issues with where we currently live is that it is not very cosmopolitan, but we ARE 15 minutes from the beach, which we love. So what is LR like? Can an island girl enjoy life in LR? Where are the up and coming areas? Where is the best area for shopping? Restaurants?

We don't have children, but we'd like a good school district as we know how important that is for a community.

What's the employment outlook for LR? I'm in marketing.

Any suggestions/ideas/comments would be greatly appreciated.
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Old 04-06-2010, 07:52 PM
 
Location: Quapaw Quarter, Little Rock
837 posts, read 2,249,354 times
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You will definitely miss the beach. I miss it a lot. If it's really important to you, I don't think I'd move to a landlocked state. And cosmopolitan is not a word I'd use to describe Little Rock. It's a typical small southern city.

Downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock are probably the most up-and-coming areas. Argenta (downtown NLR) is especially thriving right now. Capital View (LR) and Park Hill (NLR) are also becoming more popular. Hillcrest and the Heights are well-established older neighborhoods. The new homes are in West Little Rock.

Shopping: Hillcrest and the Heights are the best area for boutiques, and West Little Rock for the chains. Park Plaza is the biggest mall, with most of the typical stores (Dillard's is the anchor), and there are also new malls in midtown (across from Park Plaza) and far west Little Rock (the Promenade on Chenal, and Pleasant Ridge on Cantrell). No Macy's or Nordstrom in town. Little Rock has some great restaurants of all types, you can search for threads in this forum for lots of favorites.

I highly recommend Little Rock's magnet schools, but some people prefer to live in the surrounding towns and send their children to those schools. I prefer more diversity myself.

There was a rash of layoffs over the past few years at some of the city's biggest employers, and some people are still looking for new jobs. I wouldn't say the job outlook is rosy, but there are jobs out there.

Come for a visit and see what you think! It's really the only way to be sure if a city is for you.

Last edited by jenni-b; 04-06-2010 at 08:56 PM..
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Old 04-06-2010, 08:46 PM
 
Location: Charlotte, NC (in my mind)
7,943 posts, read 17,254,198 times
Reputation: 4686
Quote:
Originally Posted by katrinaschex View Post
My husband has a possible opportunity to relocate to LR. We currently live in the SE. One of our biggest issues with where we currently live is that it is not very cosmopolitan, but we ARE 15 minutes from the beach, which we love. So what is LR like? Can an island girl enjoy life in LR? Where are the up and coming areas? Where is the best area for shopping? Restaurants?

We don't have children, but we'd like a good school district as we know how important that is for a community.

What's the employment outlook for LR? I'm in marketing.

Any suggestions/ideas/comments would be greatly appreciated.
As jenni-b said Little Rock isn't very cosmopolitan, but how you'll receive it depends greatly on where you are coming from. If you have experienced truly urban cities and prefer that environment, you will probably go crazy in Little Rock as I did. If you've spent most of your life in rural/small town environments, you'll probably find Little Rock offers plenty. No beaches in Little Rock, but there is plenty of natural beauty. Shopping is lacking. Park Plaza is the only mall worth going to and its tiny. Most people in the area who want to shop till they drop take a weekend trip to Dallas or Memphis. The new "malls" such as Promenade at Chenal were very promising initially but were built around the time the recession hit and thus are pretty much empty, and not even worth going to. Restaurants...chains dominate but there are locally owned establishments worth going to. Not an endless amount but most common genres are represented. It would probably be a good idea to visit before you move to see if you would like Little Rock or not. The town is great for some but its not for everyone by a long shot, so be sure you know what you are getting into before you move.
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Old 04-07-2010, 06:05 AM
 
Location: Dallas, TX
5,680 posts, read 11,545,659 times
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As a non-resident, I've found the LR area to "feel" much bigger than population numbers indicate, esp downtown LR. Was really impressed with the city/area myself. Of course, I have no info on the specifics you asked about, but it seems to be a city/area that is "on the ball" to me (from the perspective of someone who's originally from Alabama anyway!).
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Old 04-07-2010, 09:50 AM
 
Location: Quapaw Quarter, Little Rock
837 posts, read 2,249,354 times
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I'm glad you're enjoying your visit, UpstateBooster!
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Old 04-07-2010, 11:18 AM
 
Location: Dallas, TX
5,680 posts, read 11,545,659 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jenni-b View Post
I'm glad you're enjoying your visit, UpstateBooster!
Actually, I haven't been in a few years.... And those were my impressions from then - I'm sure it's even better now! Just a really nice city/area.
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Old 04-07-2010, 12:04 PM
 
Location: Quapaw Quarter, Little Rock
837 posts, read 2,249,354 times
Reputation: 376
oops, I think I got you and AceShopper mixed up! sorry about that.
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Old 04-08-2010, 11:23 PM
 
Location: Jacksonville, Arkansas
369 posts, read 1,302,444 times
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As mentioned above, if the beach is very important to you, a landlocked state may not be a good choice, but this is the "Natural State" after all and there are plenty of other outdoor activities to get involved with. The only two traditional shopping malls in the metro are Park Plaza in LR and McCain Mall in NLR. There are several other large shopping centers such as the Promenade at Chenal and Shackleford Crossing on I-430/Shackeford Road, but both are slow to getting stores to fill the spaces as both were setting up at the beginning of this recession. Park Avenue Mall will connect with Park Plaza and it seems to be very promising. There is just about any type of restaurant that you can think of in the metro area and I doubt that will be an issue for you, and the River Market District has really become something nice over the years - Not a bad entertainment district at all for a city the size of Little Rock. Schools in all three of the major school districts in the area (LR, NLR, and Pulaski County) are kind of sketchy, and you just have to see what schools are zoned in your area before buying or renting. Within Pulaski County alone, we have among the best schools in the nation and also some of the worst so you'll just have to do a little research (I like GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community). Oh, and the Big Dam Bridge is beautiful around sunset!(I just got back from there this evening and I just had to mention that...)
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Old 04-09-2010, 08:45 AM
 
Location: Quapaw Quarter, Little Rock
837 posts, read 2,249,354 times
Reputation: 376
I tried to find the restaurants threads I was thinking of and I couldn't. maybe they ended up in the Arkansas section. anyway, here are a couple of listings:

Arkansas Times

Find Restaurants



some of my favorites:

La Hacienda
The Pantry
Sushi Cafe
Oyster Bar
Rumba
Capers
Faded Rose
The House
Star of India
Saigon Cuisine
Van Lang
Sim's
Layla's
Ali Baba
Zaza
Ciao
D'Carlo
Villa
Casa Manana
Las Americas
Taqueria Karina
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Old 04-30-2010, 10:27 AM
 
12 posts, read 36,734 times
Reputation: 12
Default Woodlands Edge - West Little Rock

My family lives in a neighborhood called Woodlands Edge. It is a great family neighborhood with preserved greenspaces and an extensive trails system.

The location is great, its located in the heart of west Little Rock and very close to shopping, dining & business.

You can find out more at Woodlands Edge Little Rock Arkansas Subdivision - Home. Good luck with the relocation!

You can enjoy an outdoor lifestyle out your backdoor!
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