Comparing Memphis to Little Rock (Nashville, Ozark: home, schools, tax)

[northbound74]

Crime-wise, the difference between the two is minimal. Both have large swaths of bad neighborhoods. the percentages are similar, but Memphis being much larger will naturally have more bad areas.
I spent most of my life near Memphis and lived in little rock a few years. Little Rock is..... okay. It doesn't have much to offer. Not a place I'd raise a family. Well, neither is Memphis, really. The singles scene is somewhat tolerable because of the various colleges, but most of them seemed to be always itching to move elsewhere.
Little Rock has a slight edge for outdoors stuff, but Memphis is overall better in my opinion.
Little Rock came across as a bit uptight and political. Memphis is more laid-back.

[Dawn10am]

I grew up in Memphis and attended Hendrix for undergrad so I spent a lot of time in LR (and I now live in St. Louis, FWIW). Of the two cities I'd probably pick LR. Memphis is bigger and there's probably more to do there, but LR is cleaner and much prettier geographically. I've always been impressed with how much there actually is to do in LR despite its small size. It seems like more of an over-achiever while Memphis seems like an under-achiever. Most people I know in LR seem to have an attitude that is apathetic-to-positive about the city, while most Memphians I know are apathetic-to-negative. It's also much easier to avoid the ghetto in LR due to 630 separating the two halves of the city. In Memphis it's all mixed in together so it's hard to escape without fleeing to the burbs. Memphis is by no means a bad city, but I'd just have to give the edge to LR, which says quite a lot considering its metro area is half the size of Memphis'.

[btoverdrive]

Originally Posted by Dawn10am

I grew up in Memphis and attended Hendrix for undergrad so I spent a lot of time in LR (and I now live in St. Louis, FWIW). Of the two cities I'd probably pick LR. Memphis is bigger and there's probably more to do there, but LR is cleaner and much prettier geographically. I've always been impressed with how much there actually is to do in LR despite its small size. It seems like more of an over-achiever while Memphis seems like an under-achiever. Most people I know in LR seem to have an attitude that is apathetic-to-positive about the city, while most Memphians I know are apathetic-to-negative. It's also much easier to avoid the ghetto in LR due to 630 separating the two halves of the city. In Memphis it's all mixed in together so it's hard to escape without fleeing to the burbs. Memphis is by no means a bad city, but I'd just have to give the edge to LR, which says quite a lot considering its metro area is half the size of Memphis'.

How do you like living in St. Louis? Do you live in the city or county?

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by Dawn10am

I grew up in Memphis and attended Hendrix for undergrad so I spent a lot of time in LR (and I now live in St. Louis, FWIW). Of the two cities I'd probably pick LR. Memphis is bigger and there's probably more to do there, but LR is cleaner and much prettier geographically. I've always been impressed with how much there actually is to do in LR despite its small size. It seems like more of an over-achiever while Memphis seems like an under-achiever. Most people I know in LR seem to have an attitude that is apathetic-to-positive about the city, while most Memphians I know are apathetic-to-negative. It's also much easier to avoid the ghetto in LR due to 630 separating the two halves of the city. In Memphis it's all mixed in together so it's hard to escape without fleeing to the burbs. Memphis is by no means a bad city, but I'd just have to give the edge to LR, which says quite a lot considering its metro area is half the size of Memphis'.

I am going to have to disagree that Little Rock is an over-achiever. It does have a nice skyline and downtown for its size, but outside of that there isn't much. In most of the city the streets roll up at sunset. Two cities that are over-achievers are Des Moines and Tulsa.

Originally Posted by northbound74

Crime-wise, the difference between the two is minimal. Both have large swaths of bad neighborhoods. the percentages are similar, but Memphis being much larger will naturally have more bad areas.
I spent most of my life near Memphis and lived in little rock a few years. Little Rock is..... okay. It doesn't have much to offer. Not a place I'd raise a family. Well, neither is Memphis, really. The singles scene is somewhat tolerable because of the various colleges, but most of them seemed to be always itching to move elsewhere.
Little Rock has a slight edge for outdoors stuff, but Memphis is overall better in my opinion.
Little Rock came across as a bit uptight and political. Memphis is more laid-back.

Yeah, I remember among the younger generation in Little Rock, there was always talk of moving somewhere else. The ones who stayed were the ones who got married in their late teens/early twenties.

[Dawn10am]

Originally Posted by btoverdrive

How do you like living in St. Louis? Do you live in the city or county?

I live in the City (Central West End) and love it! I feel like STL is just the right size. It's big enough to have a genuine urban feel and there's enough to do without getting bored but still small enough to be manageable. I'd recommend it for anyone from AR who is looking for a big city but doesn't want anything too intimidating. And it's still close to the South, which is a plus (though far enough away for people to make fun of my accent ).

[btoverdrive]

Originally Posted by Dawn10am

I live in the City (Central West End) and love it! I feel like STL is just the right size. It's big enough to have a genuine urban feel and there's enough to do without getting bored but still small enough to be manageable. I'd recommend it for anyone from AR who is looking for a big city but doesn't want anything too intimidating. And it's still close to the South, which is a plus (though far enough away for people to still make fun of my accent ).

Just curious. We lived in Ballwin for 16 years before being transferred to Omaha and loved it. We made friends there that we are still close to.

Also, growing up in south Arkansas, I was a Cardinal fan and loved getting to go to games while we lived there.

I just never got used to highway "farty" and "where did you go to high school".

Loved Charlie Gittos!!!

[Dawn10am]

Originally Posted by btoverdrive

Just curious. We lived in Ballwin for 16 years before being transferred to Omaha and loved it. We made friends there that we are still close to.

Also, growing up in south Arkansas, I was a Cardinal fan and loved getting to go to games while we lived there.

I just never got used to highway "farty" and "where did you go to high school".

Loved Charlie Gittos!!!

Yeah the obsession with high school around here is pretty astonishing. And I still call it "64" even though my native STL friends look at me like I"m crazy. I do love all the little quirks about living here though. Always entertaining.

[giveitaname]

parking is way cheaper @ L.R.

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by nathanTim

lived in West Little Rock/Cantrell, and in Germantown a suburb of Memphis.. the cities are somewhat comparable but Memphis is dumber,, more dangerous and stupid for it's size I found LR to be far more intelligent but still regional in its favour..Memphis is influenced by Mississippi, which is the worst state in the Union..LR has no such aflliction which is to its credit - I enjoyed the Heights area, Shackleford/Reservoir area, places like the Train Stat, Coy's short Smalls and back in the day the ExecsInn on the river, fond memories of Cajuns Wharf and even places in NLR. I can say I think the sociocultural environment of LR is better than Mem, Mem seems trapped in about 20 years ago while other cities progress rapidly. Memphis could be a fantastic city, but it's not and it shoots itself in the foot every year and every decade. Choose Little Rock over Memphis in terms of the future ! Mem is playing catch up and will be doing it for years to come

Arkansas=Mississippi=Arkansas.

No, I don't think they're the worst two states, but there is little difference between them.

[Carlito Brigante]

Originally Posted by northbound74

Arkansas=Mississippi=Arkansas.

No, I don't think they're the worst two states, but there is little difference between them.

I disagree. At least most of Arkansas (the Little Rock area in particular) is a naturally beautiful state that nature lovers and outdoor types can adore. Mississippi on the other hand is an irredeemable dump of a state and nature wise it's not very scenic at all. It's hot as hell and you see the same boring visuals driving across the state for hours until you get to the Gulf Coast. the bottom half of Mississippi is also heavily influenced by backwoods, Louisiana swamp culture, which is another big strike against Mississippi, in my opinion.