[saxondale351]

I was told by a man who used to live in Pine Bluff that no white person moves into Pine Bluff. He said the mall had more pants hanging around knees then he had ever seen in his life.

[Luvvarkansas]

Yeah, Pine Bluff is definitely a no-go.

REM08, don't even give it another second's thought.

[REM08]

Originally Posted by Luvvarkansas

Yeah, Pine Bluff is definitely a no-go.

REM08, don't even give it another second's thought.

DEFINITELY not considering that place anymore!

I'm heading to Arkansas next week and will definitely report back my thoughts.

[Suzzi]

I would recommend Hot Springs Village also. That home price will put you near the bottom of the price range but it may be doable and the neighborhood will be lovely regardless of the home. Get one in the Fountain Lake School district! The bus will pull up very near your house. The school is great looking; I can't say enough about the administration especially in the elementary school. In "the village" you'll have nine golf courses, many lakes with almost no fish in them, three gorgeous pools on a golf course and the entire village is termed "gated" for which I partly disagree. We sold our or my dream home there, came back for closing and some people had stolen all our tv components. If it isn't nailed down someone will steal it. But I love it anyway, I miss it terribly . Do not even consider living in Hot Springs proper. Lots of drugs, violence and arson in HS. Police there act like you're bothering them if you have something they need to investigate.

[REM08]

Originally Posted by Suzzi

I would recommend Hot Springs Village also. That home price will put you near the bottom of the price range but it may be doable and the neighborhood will be lovely regardless of the home. Get one in the Fountain Lake School district! The bus will pull up very near your house. The school is great looking; I can't say enough about the administration especially in the elementary school. In "the village" you'll have nine golf courses, many lakes with almost no fish in them, three gorgeous pools on a golf course and the entire village is termed "gated" for which I partly disagree. We sold our or my dream home there, came back for closing and some people had stolen all our tv components. If it isn't nailed down someone will steal it. But I love it anyway, I miss it terribly . Do not even consider living in Hot Springs proper. Lots of drugs, violence and arson in HS. Police there act like you're bothering them if you have something they need to investigate.

Great info - thanks!

My family and I will be touring these areas at the end of this week. Question though, with HSV being "gated," will we be able to drive through the neighborhood?

Also, I've noticed very few (actually havent' seen any) homes with fenced in back yards. We have a couple small dogs that make this a near necessity. Are there any restrictions against fences?

[btoverdrive]

Originally Posted by REM08

Great info - thanks!

My family and I will be touring these areas at the end of this week. Question though, with HSV being "gated," will we be able to drive through the neighborhood?

Also, I've noticed very few (actually havent' seen any) homes with fenced in back yards. We have a couple small dogs that make this a near necessity. Are there any restrictions against fences?

If you pull up to the gate and tell them you want to just look, they will not let you in. I would suggest you come in the west gate off highway 7 and before you get to the gate stop at one of the realty offices and tell then you are interested in buying a home. They will give you a pass to get in the gate. There are several along highway 7 between the Walmart and the gate.

As for fences, the only restrictions I know of are they must be four foot black metal and you cannot have a fence if you are on a golf course. You may see some different type fences but those were built some time back and have been grandfathered in.

There are no schools in the village but both districts for this area, Fountain Lake and Jessieville, are both highly rated and they do send buses into the village to pick up the children.

[kitteagirl]

Hi, there! I'll be moving to Arkansas too within the next couple years. My sister lives there in Conway, which is a commuter city about 45 minutes from Little Rock. Conway is really a booming city. When she first moved there, it was about 25,000 people. Now it is about 65,000. When you count North Little Rock and Little Rock and the suburbs into the metro, it is close to 1 million.

Conway is like any other city in the U.S. The downtown isn't much anymore, but there is lots of nice shopping in other areas of the city. I'd seriously recommend looking into Conway. I feel safe when I visit her, and I can't wait until I can move there. The only problem for me is that I don't do well with humidity...but that's the South for you! Best wishes to you.

[Luvvarkansas]

Originally Posted by kitteagirl

Conway is like any other city in the U.S. The downtown isn't much anymore, .

I have to disagree, although our standards for what constitutes a nice downtown may differ. I personally think Conway has a pretty nice downtown area. No skyscrapers, if that's what you mean by "isn't much", but nice old well-preserved buildings with lots of shops...not many vacant buildings. I've been there a couple of times to go antiquing.

One can always take a look at it on google street view. Start at W. Oak and Front St.

[MaiaRi88]

I lived in Sherwood/North Little Rock area for about year. Wouldn't recommend it. I've heard some good things about Conway, though, and everyone here seems to concur. That might be your best bet?

[RazorbacksWPS]

You can live in Little Rock's safest areas and be close to everything in the city. I wouldn't look into suburbs unless you really want to live in one. I don't know about your budget limit but you can check out West Little Rock, Echo Valley, Cammack Village, Hillcrest, and the Heights. Although they can be pricy, you still can find good deals if you look hard.

Basically, the safe part of Little Rock is anywhere north of Markham St. and west of University Ave. including Southwest Little Rock.

Traffic from Maumelle across the bridge into Little Rock is horrible during rush hours. Maumelle is nice though so is Bryant. I think Benton and Cabot are a little too far out so are the rest of the cities on your list.

Avoid Pine Bluff also known as "Crime Bluff" at all cost!