Can a New York or California liberal be happy living in Conway and/or Little Rock?

[outofarkansas]

I have lived in NYC, Seattle, Chicago, and now Minneapolis. My wife (who is from both NY and Seattle) and I lived in LR for 9 years. There were things we liked and things we didn't like. We are not church-goers, and this separated us from almost everyone we knew. There were very limited options with regards to the arts: no art museums, few galleries, etc. Culturally, it was not a great fit. But there were other advantages. Cost of living is low, and we had summers off, so we were able to travel far more than any other time in our lives. Health care services, from pediatric care to surgery to dentistry, is very strong. People are friendly and they go out of their way for you, particularly around family-oriented events (births, deaths, weddings, etc.) As for politics, you won't find a more interesting place to live. Arkansas has generated more presidential candidates over the past 15 years than anywhere else (if you count Hillary, there were 4 legitimate candidates: two Clintons, Huckabee, and Wes Clark). If you are coming from the big city, I would opt for LR over Conway, and live in the Hillcrest area. We decided to leave for a number of reasons, career issues being among the most significant, but we don't regret any of the time we spent in LR.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by outofarkansas

I have lived in NYC, Seattle, Chicago, and now Minneapolis. My wife (who is from both NY and Seattle) and I lived in LR for 9 years. There were things we liked and things we didn't like. We are not church-goers, and this separated us from almost everyone we knew. There were very limited options with regards to the arts: no art museums, few galleries, etc. Culturally, it was not a great fit. But there were other advantages. Cost of living is low, and we had summers off, so we were able to travel far more than any other time in our lives. Health care services, from pediatric care to surgery to dentistry, is very strong. People are friendly and they go out of their way for you, particularly around family-oriented events (births, deaths, weddings, etc.) As for politics, you won't find a more interesting place to live. Arkansas has generated more presidential candidates over the past 15 years than anywhere else (if you count Hillary, there were 4 legitimate candidates: two Clintons, Huckabee, and Wes Clark). If you are coming from the big city, I would opt for LR over Conway, and live in the Hillcrest area. We decided to leave for a number of reasons, career issues being among the most significant, but we don't regret any of the time we spent in LR.

I am guessing the OP has made a decision by now, but your input might help others. You seem to feel, for different reasons, the way we felt about living in NM. There were lots of positive things about living in the Albuquerque area and we have never regretted moving there, but it simply wasn't us.

I can not imagine a eastern liberal being happy in AR, but then, we do have both sides and anyone can fit in if they make an effort. It is just, there are better places for some people to live than AR. BTW, here in NWA we have one of the finest Art Museums in the country, but it wasn't here when you lived here and you didn't live in NWA.

For us, moving to AR was a blessing and I can't imagine living anywhere else. We spent most of our lives in So Ca and other parts of the state, lived in the DC area, and Dallas. 20 years ago, we would never had considered someplace like here.

[Newfies]

Originally Posted by Sam I Am

Newfies, as a longstanding Arkansan, I thank you for your honest, frank, insightful post. I think it's a really fair assessment of the central part of the state - and BTW, I'm a delta lover too :-)

It's not as exciting as NYC or LA. Sometimes you might have to look a little harder for set entertainment to your liking...but newcomers could wear themselves out going to festivals across the state - it's a different sort of entertainment, but between that and driving the backroads you pretty much have something built in to do all the time. If all else fails you could be at the Gillette Coon Supper tonight. Yes, it's real, and quite the political event if you're a Dem:

Gillett Coon Supper - Encyclopedia of Arkansas

ARRA News Service: Thieves and Scalawags Meet in Southeast Arkansas

I loved your statement about bugs on steroids....oh yeah - we know....

Thanks for your insight - I think that's a great post!

Thank you for the positive response, I'm sorry to have missed out on the Gillett Coon Supper. Sounds like it could have been interesting as I've never tried coon before

[Newfies]

Originally Posted by Latina7

Newfies: I am not trying to derail the post, but would like to know why you moved to such a state that is so different than yours. I am from NYC, and would like to live in Southern California.

Well, I had been thinking about moving to another state for quite awhile to shake things up and try something new.

[alinark]

Most liberals i have know if they were in the garden of Eden , they would complain that the roots were too deep just sayin......GGG

[cjleather7169]

you're mostly fine in the south. the thing that a lot of New Yorkers, in particular, fail to understand is that just because you think it, doesn't make it ok to say down here. We're a more "polite" culture. (that means that we are sometime famously passive aggressive.) You'll get along fine as long as you attempt to fit in. Where many transplants go wrong is that so many of them begin complaining about "not being able to get a good slice" and "everybody down here's so freakin slow". To a native southerner, that's sort of insulting. After all, it's you moving into their home, not the other way around. So be open minded and respectful and avoid using the hyperboles and "f---in" (they don't like expletives down here) three times in the same sentence, and you'll be great. Bascially, be a good neighbor and you'll have good neighbors. Constantly b--ch and you'll find that people scatter like flies every time you approach.

[cjleather7169]

Smells like the offense may be blowing both ways here bud.