[new_to_rville]

Sounds like Conway is really more of what you're looking for overall. Maumelle is nice, but it's quite literally a bedroom community for Little Rock.

We just moved from Conway for my husband's work, otherwise we'd have stayed. We loved it! Three universities, great restaurants and shopping, very family friendly and great public schools, and still about a 30 minute commute from West Little Rock (on a light traffic day, can be much worse, I'll admit.) For the most part, a well educated, somewhat diverse community, not overly "redneck", but plenty friendly and down to earth. We moved there as newlyweds and were blessed to start our family there.

Feel free to pm me if you want more specifics about Conway.

[CESpeed]

Originally Posted by rehabgradstudent

Greetings!

Well, looks like there are some interesting posts on this one! Hmmmm...I lived in Little Rock while my father was going through medical school, but it has definitely gone downhill in terms of socio-economic status and development. While it may sound harsh and racist, what the realtor told that other post's friend does contain a bit of truth. Though it is more of a social class issue than a race issue, most blacks in Little Rock are poor and uneducated. That being the case, if you live near many of them, the problems that tend to clump together with poverty will likely affect your family. My brother went to a school that was mostly black in LR, and he was in a fight almost every day because they told him, "We don't like white boys." I don't like it either, but I can imagine you are not willing to sacrifice your children and their development for some social experiment or ideal. It is the truth. However, some of the blacks are very educated and respectable, but they tend to live wherever "white flight" is taking place. I see no point in sugar-coating these issues, and I am a graduate student in rehabilitation counseling (undergrad major in psychology and history), so I would hope that I can be unbiased and intelligent in my answer. Go and look for yourself, and I think you will understand what I mean.

Sincerely,

Rehabgradstudent

Thank you. It's nice to know there are people who realize that there are respectable Black people. Like respectable Hispanics who have lived in whatever part of the country for years and those who have come here legally are mislabeled as criminals because of the illegals who come here and drain the social service resources, we Blacks who are hard working and positively contirbute to society are lumped in with those who are too freaking lazy to work hard and get a job. I, for one, do not think the White man "owes" me anything because of slavery. We need to get over slavery and stop making the deaths of Dr. King, Malcolm X and all the others who sacrificed so we can have equality, in vain. Respectable Blacks don't like the lazy, hip-hop represented, criminal Black people anymore than White people do.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by CESpeed

Thank you. It's nice to know there are people who realize that there are respectable Black people. Like respectable Hispanics who have lived in whatever part of the country for years and those who have come here legally are mislabeled as criminals because of the illegals who come here and drain the social service resources, we Blacks who are hard working and positively contirbute to society are lumped in with those who are too freaking lazy to work hard and get a job. I, for one, do not think the White man "owes" me anything because of slavery. We need to get over slavery and stop making the deaths of Dr. King, Malcolm X and all the others who sacrificed so we can have equality, in vain. Respectable Blacks don't like the lazy, hip-hop represented, criminal Black people anymore than White people do.

Wow CESpeed, pretty strong statements but very good points. Thanks for posting you views as you see them from another side of the coin. I think rasium can happen on either side. My mother in law, was as racist as they come, even against our Jewish son in law; she was born and raised on a farm in WV, uneducated, sheltered, and totally unsophisticated. As angry as I used to get with her I realized she couldn't help her feeling and would never change. I beleive middle class blacks, hispanics and whites deserve a fair shake and have every right to expect to be treated with respect, allowed to live and go to school anyplace they choose without worrying about acceptance and they certaily can be what they want if they are willing to work for it. We have a black couple at our church, he is a retired Lt Cor and his wife has a PHD> They are 2 of the nicest people you would ever want to meet (a little stuffy though There son is following in his dad's footsteps. I just want to add, their son's wife is white and they have 3 of the cutest kids I have ever seen. Of course mom and dad are good looking.

Nita