Little Rock listed as 4th best place to "Downsize in Retirement" (Fayetteville: best city)

[thewizard16]

I noticed this after bluenoter mentioned that Bella Vista was named a "Best Place" to retire in another category. Joining Bella Vista and Fayetteville on US News and World Report's list of "Best Places to Retire" this year is Little Rock- named the 4th best city in the category "Places to Downsize in Retirement". More at the link.

Little Rock, AR-#4 on "10 Best Places to Downsize in Retirement" Many Americans are looking for a way to reduce their cost of living in retirement. Here are 10 places that don't skimp on the services but still offer plenty of fun and low-cost activities for retirees.
Little Rock, Ark. : Best Places to Downsize in Retirement - US News & World Report

[ArkansasSlim]

And Wiz, it must also be a good place to "up-size". Each week the Arkansas Business newspaper lists at least a half dozen homes sold for over 500K, and several for 1 mil and above. Several people seem to be doing quite well in this recession. I have posted before that I look out my back window onto west bound Chenal Parkway and there is a constant flow of dump trucks and 18 wheelers loaded with building material. Someone is building something out there.

[thewizard16]

Originally Posted by ArkansasSlim

And Wiz, it must also be a good place to "up-size". Each week the Arkansas Business newspaper lists at least a half dozen homes sold for over 500K, and several for 1 mil and above. Several people seem to be doing quite well in this recession. I have posted before that I look out my back window onto west bound Chenal Parkway and there is a constant flow of dump trucks and 18 wheelers loaded with building material. Someone is building something out there.

Agreed, but I guess they didn't have a category for that.

I read those articles too- it is amazing how many $500K+ residential transactions happen each week out in the Chenal area. A real estate analyst friend of mine told me a few weeks back that Little Rock's success in the down economy owes a lot to the way things have developed around the area in recent years. Developers here tend to build a little at a time, which matches the slow, steady growth the area has been experiencing. They didn't fall into the "quick buck" trap that NWA developers did where everyone capable of getting a loan thought they could build a new, $400,000 and up subdivision and make millions off it. They were lured in with the magazine articles and studies showing how fast the area was growing, so the plans and projects got far too grandiose for the region (like a 20+ story Westin hotel in Rogers... really?) and the loans being made on those projects led to the collapse and bankruptcy of quite a few big developers. Little Rock developers have been much more cautious overall in the last decade (there are a couple exceptions, of course) which has allowed the demand to keep up with the supply much better.

Personally, if I had a few million I'd be working on some downtown projects or some midtown projects since that area has been in high demand in recent years and looks to keep being in high demand, but the Chenal end of town is doing very well for itself too.

[ArkansasSlim]

Something else on that same track; My Daughter lives in the Pride Valley neighborhood and that seems to be first stop for those moving up. Several of her neighbors have been young professionals buying their first (real) home since college or med school and they have lived there for a few years while their careers get on track, then they move on west. And talking to them, that was their plan from the beginning, not getting the sheep skin and immediately buying the megabuck home in anticipation of the income to pay it off, or burn it.

[Katie Liberty]

Sorry' but yall are wrong say's Kiplinger's, Which States give Retirees the Best Deals. It puts AR in 43rd place out of the 50 states in the highest taxes starting with Delaware at the lowest in #1 position and everything elce I have read, let alone living here, puts us at the bottom 10% in health care, education, housing, ect, ect. There is a Huge class distinction in this state even after so meny years since the Civil War. I've lived here since 1976 and it's the land of those that have and those that don't.

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by thewizard16

I noticed this after bluenoter mentioned that Bella Vista was named a "Best Place" to retire in another category. Joining Bella Vista and Fayetteville on US News and World Report's list of "Best Places to Retire" this year is Little Rock- named the 4th best city in the category "Places to Downsize in Retirement". More at the link.

Little Rock, AR-#4 on "10 Best Places to Downsize in Retirement" Many Americans are looking for a way to reduce their cost of living in retirement. Here are 10 places that don't skimp on the services but still offer plenty of fun and low-cost activities for retirees.
Little Rock, Ark. : Best Places to Downsize in Retirement - US News & World Report

Originally Posted by Katie Liberty

Sorry' but yall are wrong say's Kiplinger's, Which States give Retirees the Best Deals. It puts AR in 43rd place out of the 50 states in the highest taxes starting with Delaware at the lowest in #1 position and everything elce I have read, let alone living here, puts us at the bottom 10% in health care, education, housing, ect, ect. There is a Huge class distinction in this state even after so meny years since the Civil War. I've lived here since 1976 and it's the land of those that have and those that don't.

Well, I'm sorry, but the article you mentioned relates strictly to state tax rates, not to any other reasons to retire to a particular area.
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/retirementandwills/p45875.asp The original post (that started this thread) discusses an article that only evaluates cost of living, health care, crime rate, etc. Little Rock, AR - Best Places to Retire - US News So no one is wrong. You are just comparing apples to oranges.

In addition, the "haves and have nots" exist throughout the world, and are not unique to Little Rock, to Arkansas, to the United States, to North America, or to the rest of the world. This thread is not about global issues of poverty.

[thewizard16]

Originally Posted by Katie Liberty

Sorry' but yall are wrong say's Kiplinger's, Which States give Retirees the Best Deals. It puts AR in 43rd place out of the 50 states in the highest taxes starting with Delaware at the lowest in #1 position and everything elce I have read, let alone living here, puts us at the bottom 10% in health care, education, housing, ect, ect. There is a Huge class distinction in this state even after so meny years since the Civil War. I've lived here since 1976 and it's the land of those that have and those that don't.

And yet another list says Kiplinger's is wrong: » Our Worst States to Retire List Topretirements. These lists change frequently and every group has their opinions. I am confident, however, that the state income tax figure used in the Kiplinger's is high. My AR tax bill is always far, far lower than that and I was making more than the average retiree generally does, so I view that with some skepticism to say the least.

You're flat out wrong on the health care, education, and housing lists. Arkansas has been ranked in the top 10 public school systems in the US for several years now, is frequently listed for a low cost of living and affordable housing, and our health care facilities are often ranked among the best 100 hospitals in America (especially some of the ones in Little Rock). You're thinking of different issues that may be muddling the facts.

For example, I'll harp on my two favorite such misconceptions:

Myth: Arkansas has a poor educational system.
Fact: Arkansas has one of the "least" educated populations in that a lower percentage of adults in AR have bachelor's degrees or higher than many other states. Most of this is due to the large proportion of adult population living in rural areas where the economy is powered by labor oriented jobs that don't need a higher level degree. The percentages are much different in NWA and Central AR. Our public school system has been ranked in the top 10 states and we're home to a number of colleges features on "America's Best Colleges" lists by Kiplingers and US News and World Report.

Myth: Arkansas has a bad healthcare system.
Fact: Arkansas is actually home to quite a few hospitals that are often featured in the US News and World Report "America's 100 Best Hospitals", and has especially good facilities in Little Rock (UAMS, McClellan VA, Baptist, Arkansas Heart Hospital, etc. are all frequently sought after), NWA, and some smaller communities have stunning facilities for towns their size. Mtn. Home, Harrison, Hot Springs, Magnolia, and Pine Bluff all come to mind. The state wide trauma system and the implementation of a new $100 million+ broadband initiative to link all the hospitals in AR on a dedicated high speed sharing system are huge steps in continuing to improve our system. Your misconception comes from our poor ranks in overall population health. We have a more obese, more unhealthy population that most states overall and this is not due to a healthcare system, but rather our desire to eat ourselves to death and lack of exercise. NWA and Little Rock tend to do better on these measures, but the Delta and much of the southern and northern parts of the state tend to be what drag the overall figures down. We do have a primary care physician shortage in many counties, and that issue has been, and is continuing to be, worked on.

I'm sorry that you're unhappy living here, perhaps you should evaluate why that is and consider a relocation (I don't believe people should stay somewhere they don't like), but Arkansas has been consistently documented to have one of the lowest costs of living out there, affordable housing, strong educational system, numerous cities featured in "best places to retire", "best places to live, work, and play", "strongest economies", "best outdoors towns", and "best places for business" lists and low overall taxes. This list by Kiplinger is the first I've ever seen that claimed Little Rock had a high income tax burden, and I've certainly never heard of people here complaining about taxes if they've lived in a state in New England or Illinois/California/etc. We do have a strong healthcare system for a state our size, and a top-notch educational system in most communities. And, as you're attempting to prove, we also have our share of self-deprecating grumps.

[Made_it_To_the_Metroplex]

I'm sorry, but I'd say AR in general, and the LR area in particular, are pretty damn fabulous! Always seemed more urban/upscale than we expected during our numerous visits during the mid to late 90's. I'd LOVE to have an excuse to come back for another visit!