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There are folks who say everyone from the south is a redneck and I agree with them
I agree with you too, I live in Virginia, and there are people who are rednecks with the confederate flags out. I mean is memorial day is not the red necks memorial day.
I think you are being excessively hard on the OP. I don't think he and Texdave are the same. TDave may have some issues. I think the OP has some valid observations. I personally do not want him to leave the state. Who will I have to talk to then? I do think that a lot of the things that he thinks are negatives a lot of people consider positives...not me.
The unfortunate part about Arkansas is that it is not large enough to have a real diversity of culture. I think in Texas you would be able to find a city that would fit just about anyone. In Colorado you have Colorado Springs, which to me is a terrible place to live, but then you have Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins, which are completely different.
The fact is that all of the people who find what the OP stated as positives would love Ark, while the others who agreed would hate it. I did not think that anything that he wrote was factually inaccurate.
Lol, I have issues? I pretty much agree with everything the OP says. Anyone who doesn't is in denial. The food here really sucks. I ate last week at Catfish barn, hoping for a good country buffet with some veggies. Instead, I got a grease fest with watery mac and cheese, tart tasting green beans, awful lumpy mash taters, and bland chicken and fish. Probably one of the worst meals of my life. Brown's country restaurant didn't rank much better.
The shopping is really bad here. You can find more choices in Texarkana. The one thing I do like is the Bible belt culture, although people take it to extremes here. I keep meeting a lot of women who believe that kissing outside marriage is wrong. Now that sucks for a single dude. And the smokers. Good grief, I've never seen so many women smokers. YUCK!!!!
Is positivity the equivalent of honesty? I checked my thesaurus but didn't see the two listed as synonyms. IMHO, honesty sometimes means sharing a contrary view and adding in a bit of 'on the bright side' stuff to asuage the egos/feelings of others would actually make a post less authentic/honest. If I see that someone is sitting on a proven goldmine (as in a quality school system) and is about to sell it for a patch of fool's gold (a school system that does not serve its students as well), I'm going to tell them so. Frankly, I think too much time and energy is wasted on dancing around various issues rather than confronting them and discussing them openly and honestly.
Did I say they were synonyms? No, my complaint is not totally with the OP but as i have mentioned, with people who have never lived in a place and have nothing but negative things to say. Honesty is one thing, opinions are as well. When someone posts or says something as fact, but it is an opinion it loses credibility.
I don't think anyone has claimed AR or any other state is perfect, without problems, but totally negatism is another story. I understand what you are saying if someone asks a question "what about the schools?" and the answer is given honestly, I do not understand why anyone would come to any board and voice an opinion (as fact) just to rant. Again, though this may be addressed to the OP to some degree, some of his points do make sense, it is those who have no clue I fault. Again, if someone asks, that is a totally different thing, plus, I do believe those of us who have other views have every right to post them as much as you have a right to post yours. Is this correct?
So I go to college out of state in a major city, and I have to admit that coming back to AR for the summer is a bit of a culture shock. I definitely empathize with bchris, because his sentiments are the same that have been echoed by many other young Arkansans. I love the natural side of Arkansas, and that is probably what keeps me attracted to the state, honestly, more than certain elements of the culture/people.
The truth is, bchris isn't all that far off the mark. I know a few other Arkansans (six) at this college I go to, and all of us would be Governor's Distinguished Scholars had we gone in-state (i.e., full ride anywhere in state). But none of us have any intentions of coming back. Some are certain they don't ever want to go back, while others are open to going back, but simply don't have any opportunities to come back to. I'm in the latter category.
On one level, Arkansas is what is: Little Rock will never be a Dallas--at least not in the near future--and the state will not become an enlightened capital of innovation/education. It needs to be accepted for what it is. But that's not to say Arkansas can't be better. The truth is, there ARE objective ways to measure "progress," and AR should do better. But there is an obstinate cultural element in Arkansas that prefers not to ask the hard questions, and prefers to stay insular (and is in fact proud of it, at times, as evidenced on this forum). It is this element that many Arkansans flee from (,and it is this element that some from other states are attracted to).
But whatever. I'm just beating a dead horse. I think it would be interesting to map high school performance of students in Arkansas (ACT/SAT scores, GPA), and whether they stayed in state. I'm almost certain there's an inverse relationship, based on people I know.
Now yours is what I call an honest opinion even if I may not totally agree.By the way, don't be so sure Little Rock or some other place in AR will never be Dallas. You might be surprised. I am not a young person, I have lived more years than probably anyone on this board, lived in more cities as well and have seen cities and states change. OKC is an example, it is changing so fast, it or Tulsa may be the next Dallas with business moving in. I am not saying this as fact, but as a possibility. It was only about 20 years ago that Austin was the capital of a state and had a great university, but nothing more and a very low cost of living. Look what has happened.
I remember when Dallas had the Cowboys but on other major sports. Heck I remember when Los Angeles was the 6th largest city in the country and Ca had no major league baseball.
When I was a kid, Phoenix was a little city and AZ was a nothing state. So, for those of you who are 20 somethings, don't say "never"
Hotair, I am not sure where you read that about AR having the most per capita on SS, but I guess it could be true. FInd it and I will believe it, but knowing how many people in Fl and AZ on SS plus a few other places I am just not sure. The smaller states are more affected by per capita than larger ones. It only takes a couple of murders in a small town to make it appear as an unsafe place because of "per capita"
we are only responsible for ourselves and what we make of a situation too. why waste your time and wallow in your misery, find something to like, search for it and you will probably find people you can get along with.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Capt. Dan
I would not want the OP on my team. He is apparently a whiner and a quitter. Instead of making things better he just pisses and moans. There are things to do and enjoy EVERYWHERE. You just have to crawl out from under mamas skirt and find them littleboy.
I'm laughing because DH and I were just in LR for the weekend and really loved it there. Really, it's all about where you've come from, where you've lived before. Chris, you are obviously an urbanite. There are more places everywhere in the US that has that car culture you write about than there are places where you can leave your car at home and take a bus/subway. DC, NYC, Boston to name a few. Good God, Atlanta citizens live in their cars.
As for lack of young people, you'll find that phenomenon everywhere. When I graduated from college, I couldn't wait to leave Maine. Talk about a slow place. I moved to DC. Five years later, I couldn't wait to move back. You'll find as you get older that your values change. You won't be looking for bars, etc.
Crime - wherever you go, as I'm assuming you're moving to a big city, you'll find crime. Good lord, don't come to Memphis. LOL. This place is crime ridden. Crime is rampant in Nashville, too. Let me know when you find a city that doesn't have a lot of crime. Even Portland, Maine is becoming more crime ridden. It's a sign of the times.
Red neck culture - well, I have to agree with you there. I don't get NASCAR. Watching cars go round and round.
Obesity - yeah, I've got to agree with you there, too. However, it's all over the country, not just the South. Southerns say it's too hot to exercise, Northerners say it's too cold. Yada, yada, yada. I've gained 40 pounds since living in TN. My DH just bought me a bike, so I'm working on getting this weight off. People just don't seem to care about their weight/health.
Which brings me to smoking - I have to agree with you there, too. Man, I haven't seen so many smokers in my entire life. Maybe all these new cigarette taxes will help them quit. There's nothing more unattractive than seeing a cigarette hanging out of someone's mouth. It's a southern thang - after all, they do grow the tobacco down here.
Well, my DH and I love Arkansas. It reminds us of home. There are mountains. There are lakes that you can actually see the bottom of (DeGray Lake). I'm not into swimming in the muddy lakes down here. I thought LR had a lot to offer. We bought season tickets to the water parkin in LR and will be over a couple of times this summer. The Riverfest was awesome (except for the rain yesterday). The shopping seemed okay. People coming to Memphis to shop? I don't think so. If they do, they better hold on to their purses or they'll get robbed.
And speaking of hell holes, just be glad you don't live in Memphis. You would really complain if you lived here. After six years, we are embracing what Memphis and TN and the south has to offer. There are many things we like about living here. Of course, like everywhere else, there are many things we don't like. But it just doesn't make sense to complain about things, because complaining won't change anything. We have another 5-10 years in TN and don't know where we'll go next. But wherever we land, we'll make the most of it and try not to compare it to wherever else we have lived.
p.s. I've lived in Mexico City, Washington, D.C., the Memphis area, Portland, Maine and a small town in Maine where I grew up (Old Town, population 10,000). Each had their pluses and minuses.
we are only responsible for ourselves and what we make of a situation too. why waste your time and wallow in your misery, find something to like, search for it and you will probably find people you can get along with.
It has always amazed me when I hear this stuff about nothing to do, etc. Unless there are absolutely no restaurants, bars, music or clubs, movie theaters available and it is a totally dry county, young or old there is something to do. This applies to people from the farms to those engineers with masters degrees. Why not hang out with people at work? If you are in a similar age group, similar job responsibilities and work for the same company, you should be on equal footing unless you allow yourself to feel superior to another. Maybe it is just me, but I have always thought it was my place to make the attempt to fit in and accept the life style, not visa versa.
I'm laughing because DH and I were just in LR for the weekend and really loved it there. Really, it's all about where you've come from, where you've lived before. Chris, you are obviously an urbanite. There are more places everywhere in the US that has that car culture you write about than there are places where you can leave your car at home and take a bus/subway. DC, NYC, Boston to name a few. Good God, Atlanta citizens live in their cars.
As for lack of young people, you'll find that phenomenon everywhere. When I graduated from college, I couldn't wait to leave Maine. Talk about a slow place. I moved to DC. Five years later, I couldn't wait to move back. You'll find as you get older that your values change. You won't be looking for bars, etc.
Crime - wherever you go, as I'm assuming you're moving to a big city, you'll find crime. Good lord, don't come to Memphis. LOL. This place is crime ridden. Crime is rampant in Nashville, too. Let me know when you find a city that doesn't have a lot of crime. Even Portland, Maine is becoming more crime ridden. It's a sign of the times.
Red neck culture - well, I have to agree with you there. I don't get NASCAR. Watching cars go round and round.
Obesity - yeah, I've got to agree with you there, too. However, it's all over the country, not just the South. Southerns say it's too hot to exercise, Northerners say it's too cold. Yada, yada, yada. I've gained 40 pounds since living in TN. My DH just bought me a bike, so I'm working on getting this weight off. People just don't seem to care about their weight/health.
Which brings me to smoking - I have to agree with you there, too. Man, I haven't seen so many smokers in my entire life. Maybe all these new cigarette taxes will help them quit. There's nothing more unattractive than seeing a cigarette hanging out of someone's mouth. It's a southern thang - after all, they do grow the tobacco down here.
Well, my DH and I love Arkansas. It reminds us of home. There are mountains. There are lakes that you can actually see the bottom of (DeGray Lake). I'm not into swimming in the muddy lakes down here. I thought LR had a lot to offer. We bought season tickets to the water parkin in LR and will be over a couple of times this summer. The Riverfest was awesome (except for the rain yesterday). The shopping seemed okay. People coming to Memphis to shop? I don't think so. If they do, they better hold on to their purses or they'll get robbed.
And speaking of hell holes, just be glad you don't live in Memphis. You would really complain if you lived here. After six years, we are embracing what Memphis and TN and the south has to offer. There are many things we like about living here. Of course, like everywhere else, there are many things we don't like. But it just doesn't make sense to complain about things, because complaining won't change anything. We have another 5-10 years in TN and don't know where we'll go next. But wherever we land, we'll make the most of it and try not to compare it to wherever else we have lived.
p.s. I've lived in Mexico City, Washington, D.C., the Memphis area, Portland, Maine and a small town in Maine where I grew up (Old Town, population 10,000). Each had their pluses and minuses.
The smoking part does surprise me and yes, I am hoping the new tax convinces, at least the young generation not to smoke. I just quit (6 months ago) I did it because I didn't have one single friend here that still smokes, I quit before we moved to NM as well, but while there picked it up again because so many of my friends did smoke. I would imagine, in almost every state there are areas with more smokers than other areas.
I agree with you too, I live in Virginia, and there are people who are rednecks with the confederate flags out. I mean is memorial day is not the red necks memorial day.
So you live in Virginia, which is part of the South; therefore, you also must be a redneck.
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Lol
