[gemstone1]

"Hey Gemstone, you left out that we have a full slate of Republican Congressmen and state capitol "leaders" "....yes I did, thanks.....but I was trying to stay apolitical.

Regards
Gemstone1

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by AnimeKing5

I was wondering have you decided to move out of Arkansas? I was in Fayetteville for two years and decided to move to Michigan. No offense but Arkansas isn't exactly the most progressive of states.

It depends on what you call progressive and what you are looking for. We have great weather other than the humidity, but 4 seasons, none severe makes up for that, unusual beauty, that is why it is called the natural state and a low cost of living. It is becoming more diverse all the time, with a mixture of races, life choices and ages. The unemployment rate, even in the horrible days of the last decade has been below the national average and we have a wonderful combination of urban and rural. We have good medical facilities, good shopping and plenty of choices in entertainment. That is why so many are choosing to relocate.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by AnimeKing5

Support of gay rights, support of atheism, cultural diversity, lots of amenities, vegetarianism.

You lived in Fayetteville and didn't see any of that? You must have lived there many years ago or had your eyes closed. No, we are not as crazy liberal as some places, but gays are accepted and why would you think anyplace should support atheism? No one is turning their backs on atheists here, there are a lot of non believers and they are found everywhere. None are treated any differently. we have a lot of friends, and some relatives who do not attend church and are not believers,they still love this state and the people. As for cultural diversity, again it is everywhere here.

My guess is and I don't know you, that to you progressive means flaunt my life choices in your face. You are right, most do not accept that, we have manners and think of how others might feel.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by gemstone1

"Hmmm, and what is your definition of "progressive"?".....everyone probably has their own interpretation of "progressive", and mine would be the opposite of conservative.....which by any definition, Arkansas is.

LGBT in AR and expecting respect/rights.... you should probably seek it elsewhere.

Most conservative states in Congress, AR up near the top.

One of the three poorest states. A state will not improve their ranking in this category without spending money. Spending means change and is not something conservatives (by definition) willingly embrace. As shown below, there looks to be multiple major spending opportunities.

AR is ranked 50th (last) out of the 50 states in Healthcare, 39th in education, 48th in crime, 45th in infrastructure, 47th in opportunity, 39th in economy, 48th in gender equality, 41st in employment.

Any one of the above categories could be enough to cause an individual to seek greener pastures elsewhere, but taken in it's entirety, it would cause me to wonder just how progressive the residents (state wide) really are....after all, it is they who vote conservatives into office.

As stated above, AR is a state of great natural beauty, loaded with nice people, a moderate climate....however progressive is not something that would pop into my mind when touting the many attributes of AR

s a side note, after migrating to AR from liberal CA in the mid 70's, I somewhat reluctantly migrated out in the early 80's for several reasons, employment opportunities, education for my kids, and the search for a more liberal location that better suited our lifestyle. You see, for those not around the Ozarks in the 70's, it was a very clannish environment, extremely religious (Baptist), extremely racially bigoted, of which we were none....in a nutshell, we just didn't fit in.

Regards
Gemstone1

all you are saying is true based on stats and charts and yes, it is sad, but remember much of our problems are seen in only a couple of areas of the state. being a relatively small, and rural state it just takes a few disadvantaged regions to bring the entire state down. Our delta region is our problem. Otherwise we are pretty stable. We have great schools and great medical facilities in NWA and one of the best children's hospitals in the country in Little Rock.

Stats don't tell the whole story. Heck in almost every publication each year, NWA is voted in the top 10 or 20 best places to live or retire, but is this really the case?

[Sarahsez]

Originally Posted by AnimeKing5

I was wondering have you decided to move out of Arkansas? I was in Fayetteville for two years and decided to move to Michigan. No offense but Arkansas isn't exactly the most progressive of states.

Originally Posted by AnimeKing5

I live in Ann Arbor. It's sooo liberal and progressive!

Originally Posted by AnimeKing5

Support of gay rights, support of atheism, cultural diversity, lots of amenities, vegetarianism.

It appears you didn't do your homework before you moved to Arkansas. It also appears that you didn't try real hard to make friends while you were there. Fayetteville is one of the more progressive parts of the states. My observation has been that people there are relatively accepting of others even if their beliefs are different.

Some of us did move from Arkansas, but not for any of the reasons you listed. Arkansas has a brain drain problem because there are relatively few jobs available. Arkansas didn't attract enough jobs when they were more readily available. There are much better opportunities available elsewhere. Those of us who left still love the state.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Sarahsez

It appears you didn't do your homework before you moved to Arkansas. It also appears that you didn't try real hard to make friends while you were there. Fayetteville is one of the more progressive parts of the states. My observation has been that people there are relatively accepting of others even if their beliefs are different.

Some of us did move from Arkansas, but not for any of the reasons you listed. Arkansas has a brain drain problem because there are relatively few jobs available. Arkansas didn't attract enough jobs when they were more readily available. There are much better opportunities available elsewhere. Those of us who left still love the state.

Actually the unemployment rate is very low, but I think what you are saying, is jobs that call for special training or maybe mid management. Here in NWA we have plenty of desirable jobs, that pay well, but there are other parts of AR. where this is not the case.

[Old Fossil]

Originally Posted by Annemieke Roell

I think a good example would be a state where a raped woman doesn't need to ask her rapist's permission to have an abortion.

I was not aware Arkansas had that law.

[Sarahsez]

Originally Posted by nmnita

Actually the unemployment rate is very low, but I think what you are saying, is jobs that call for special training or maybe mid management. Here in NWA we have plenty of desirable jobs, that pay well, but there are other parts of AR. where this is not the case.

Close.

[Mike Town]

Originally Posted by AnimeKing5

I was wondering has anyone else moved out of Arkansas.

For the reasons you moved out of Arkansas is the same reasons others move too Arkansas.

[Nadal]

Originally Posted by Hollynla

So you moved to Michigan and are obviously much happier there with liberalism and progressives. I'm not quite sure what the point is of this thread?

I agree.

The OP is either looking for paradise where his preferences reign supreme, or he is trolling.