[HalFam4]

My family currently reside in the suburbs of Colorado and it is extremely diverse in regard to race, religion, marital status, work force etc. The main reason I pose the question is because my husband and I are strongly considering moving to Arkansas to further or degrees as well as me becoming a stay at home mom to our 4 year old son and 2 year old daughter. The cost of living in Colorado is outrageous, but this is home and we plan on returning once we are financially able to purchase a forever home.

We are an interracial couple, with mixed children obviously and we just want it to be a healthy and accepting environment for raising our kids temporarily. I'm sure it comes off as an ignorant question, but while we like to think our relationship doesn't bother others, we know there are people that disagree or may have a problem with it. We both have family there in Fort Smith and Little Rock and would prefer to be somewhere in the middle of the two. Just seeking some insight!

[ArkansasTgirl]

From what I've seen most of the towns along I-40 don't seem that bad.

I thought Clarksville would be pretty bad because of the national attention they were getting not that long ago. When I visited it the college seemed really liberal, theres an Asian market, and one of the churches had a sign for services in Spanish.

I'm pretty familiar with Ozark, I can't remember seeing any interracial couples but the there are minority's. I'm sure there are some idiots if you look hard enough but going to college there I haven't ran into any yet. I haven't looked at the stats but there are a lot of Catholics (I really like the view from saint Marys church). There are a lot of liquor stores and winery's in the area.

Conway is supposed to be nice and has three colleges apparently. I can't remember ever being there but I've been thinking about going.

If you want a bachelors or above from ATU I think you'll have to go to Russelville.

[Old Fossil]

As a biracial family, you would have no [or few] problems in the Little Rock area. The church I attend is very diverse and has one biracial family.

I would be somewhat concerned about the towns between L.R. and Ft Smith though if you are black/white biracial. The Asians FriendlFeller mentioned are descendants from the Viet Nam refugees from that war and almost every town in AR has a significant Latino population.

[ArkansasTgirl]

Originally Posted by Old Fossil

I would be somewhat concerned about the towns between L.R. and Ft Smith though if you are black/white biracial. The Asians FriendlFeller mentioned are descendants from the Viet Nam refugees from that war and almost every town in AR has a significant Latino population.

You know them?

Not every Asian came through Chaffee. People move from California, Thailand, or wherever too, but no there wouldn't have as many today if it wasn't for Chaffee.

[Old Fossil]

Originally Posted by FriendlyFeller

You know them?

Not every Asian came through Chaffee. People move from California, Thailand, or wherever too, but no there wouldn't have as many today if it wasn't for Chaffee.

Know them? Yep.

[xhgz]

Originally Posted by HalFam4

My family currently reside in the suburbs of Colorado and it is extremely diverse in regard to race, religion, marital status, work force etc. The main reason I pose the question is because my husband and I are strongly considering moving to Arkansas to further or degrees as well as me becoming a stay at home mom to our 4 year old son and 2 year old daughter. The cost of living in Colorado is outrageous, but this is home and we plan on returning once we are financially able to purchase a forever home.

We are an interracial couple, with mixed children obviously and we just want it to be a healthy and accepting environment for raising our kids temporarily. I'm sure it comes off as an ignorant question, but while we like to think our relationship doesn't bother others, we know there are people that disagree or may have a problem with it. We both have family there in Fort Smith and Little Rock and would prefer to be somewhere in the middle of the two. Just seeking some insight!

If you husband seeking for education or job, I only recommend NWA or Little Rock. For schools, I only recommend UA. I only interested in UALR if I go there for government school or a full-ride scholarship.

AR is a conservative state, but LR or NWA is fine. They are OK to interracial couple or kids, but NWA maybe more open because of fast growing diverse population.

[ArkansasTgirl]

Originally Posted by xhgz

AR is a conservative state, but LR or NWA is fine. They are OK to interracial couple or kids, but NWA maybe more open because of fast growing diverse population.

Uh, I think Arkansas is red largely becuase of NWA.

When I went to walmart in Fort Smith this morning I saw two interracial couples. (black man/white woman and a white man/black woman). Saw a lesbian couple too, I didn't actually ask but they were holding hands and I'm pretty sure they were. I wasn't there very long either.

[bjrush]

You will be fine, Arkansas is a "live and let live" state in my experience

[nmnita]

I see more and more interracial families in NWA all the time. Yes, it is a red state, and yes, primarily conservative our voting, but that doesn't mean we are not open minded. Where you get more urban influence you also get people who are generally better educated and more open minded. Also with it being a university area we have a lot of ethnic diversity plus many of the Walmart vendors are from all over the world.

[HalFam4]

Originally Posted by Old Fossil

As a biracial family, you would have no [or few] problems in the Little Rock area. The church I attend is very diverse and has one biracial family.

I would be somewhat concerned about the towns between L.R. and Ft Smith though if you are black/white biracial. The Asians FriendlFeller mentioned are descendants from the Viet Nam refugees from that war and almost every town in AR has a significant Latino population.

So we're leaning more towards Fort Smith to be closer to my husbands family. We are a white/black interracial couple. We visited last spring and got plenty of stares, but it doesn't bother us. We like to think they're more so from curiosity than anything else My main concern is the safety of our kids, especially with my son getting ready for kindergarten! What exactly would you say the biggest concern for us should be in considering Fort Smith?