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After living in Little Rock for 9 years, I'm glad to be gone. There were some good things about the area: the physical beauty of the state, the low cost of living, the ease of getting around. But it's not a good place for a young professional, particularly if you are ambitious. I found the place to be impossibly mired in cronyism. Getting involved professionally or in the community was always, always tied to who you knew, not your skills, your credentials, or your potential. Most of the community leadership positions, for example, are filled by the same small group of people (for many years, it was one GUY who was head of this initiative, Dean of that school, founding dean of this other school, former dean of yet another school, etc. etc.). Such cronyism and old boy networking results in a real lack of diversity of thought, and a city and state that is rarely welcoming of new ideas or new people. I kept meeting new young professionals from elsewhere who were always planning to leave Little Rock and go back to one of the larger, more receptive, more open cities. The only reason people stayed was if they were FROM there, or if they COULDN'T leave for some reason. It was sad, because a lot of people in Arkansas kept complaining that talented young people were hard to draw to the state and harder to keep in the state if they did arrive for a while. The reason, though, was that the old timers just tend to hoard the small number of influential positions there, and don't make any effort to reach out and include new people. Go to a place like Chicago or Altlanta or even cities the same size as Little Rock like Ashville, North Carolina, and it's a completely different story. Those places are like an inclusive wonderland compared to Little Rock.
What I found is that as soon as I left, I was being sought out for positions and roles for which I had encountered nothing but obstacles in Little Rock. When I tried to VOLUNTEER for community-based initiatives in Little Rock, I was turned away. When I moved to larger northern city, I was getting calls all the time to ask and see if I would be willing to share my expertise with this or that community-based group. I offered to VOLUNTEER to teach a course in activism at a graduate program for community service in Little Rock and was rebuffed. Since moving, I have been sought out by a number of organizations to do just that because of my experience in the field. The contrast is striking.
Little Rock might be a good place to retire, if you are done with wanting to build your career, done with trying being creative with your professional time. If you are just coasting and no longer working, it might be a good place to be. But if you are looking for a place to build your career and expand your horizons, I definitely recommend going elsewhere.
After living in Little Rock for 9 years, I'm glad to be gone. There were some good things about the area: the physical beauty of the state, the low cost of living, the ease of getting around. But it's not a good place for a young professional, particularly if you are ambitious. I found the place to be impossibly mired in cronyism. Getting involved professionally or in the community was always, always tied to who you knew, not your skills, your credentials, or your potential. Most of the community leadership positions, for example, are filled by the same small group of people (for many years, it was one GUY who was head of this initiative, Dean of that school, founding dean of this other school, former dean of yet another school, etc. etc.). Such cronyism and old boy networking results in a real lack of diversity of thought, and a city and state that is rarely welcoming of new ideas or new people. I kept meeting new young professionals from elsewhere who were always planning to leave Little Rock and go back to one of the larger, more receptive, more open cities. The only reason people stayed was if they were FROM there, or if they COULDN'T leave for some reason. It was sad, because a lot of people in Arkansas kept complaining that talented young people were hard to draw to the state and harder to keep in the state if they did arrive for a while. The reason, though, was that the old timers just tend to hoard the small number of influential positions there, and don't make any effort to reach out and include new people. Go to a place like Chicago or Altlanta or even cities the same size as Little Rock like Ashville, North Carolina, and it's a completely different story. Those places are like an inclusive wonderland compared to Little Rock.
What I found is that as soon as I left, I was being sought out for positions and roles for which I had encountered nothing but obstacles in Little Rock. When I tried to VOLUNTEER for community-based initiatives in Little Rock, I was turned away. When I moved to larger northern city, I was getting calls all the time to ask and see if I would be willing to share my expertise with this or that community-based group. I offered to VOLUNTEER to teach a course in activism at a graduate program for community service in Little Rock and was rebuffed. Since moving, I have been sought out by a number of organizations to do just that because of my experience in the field. The contrast is striking.
Little Rock might be a good place to retire, if you are done with wanting to build your career, done with trying being creative with your professional time. If you are just coasting and no longer working, it might be a good place to be. But if you are looking for a place to build your career and expand your horizons, I definitely recommend going elsewhere.
What the devil is the reason for this post except to stir up a hornet nest? It means absolutely nothing and what do you hope to accomplish?
Your bio gives no information about yourself, all we know is you lived in LR for 9 years and now everyone wherever you are living is seeking you out, how wonderful for you. You sound like someone else that posts here on occassion but is still in the area I think.
NIta
What the devil is the reason for this post except to stir up a hornet nest? It means absolutely nothing and what do you hope to accomplish?
Your bio gives no information about yourself, all we know is you lived in LR for 9 years and now everyone wherever you are living is seeking you out, how wonderful for you. You sound like someone else that posts here on occassion but is still in the area I think.
NIta
Quite the contrary: I don't want to stir a hornets' nest, I want to advise others who might be weighing a decision to move to Arkansas. (And this is my first time ever posting on this forum). Little Rock is just a very difficult place for a young professional to gain traction. There were things I really liked about the place and there are great things about the city and the state, but building inclusive organizations, agencies, and community groups isn't one of them, at least in my experience, my wife's experience, and the experience of many people I met there. It's unfortunate, because the state needs young people with skills to devote to the issues and problems there: every city and state does. The difference is that Little Rock and Arkansas have the need for development and change, but not the willingness to include or involve new people, particularly if they are from elsewhere. So people leave. Things don't change as quickly there as in many other places. It falls further behind. It becomes more difficult to draw new people there. The problem is perpetuated. Like I said, if you are not looking for such involvement...if you are retired or are an artist who works in an independent or solitary way, maybe it won't bother you. But if you are a person who is looking to build networks for the purposes of creating community change, education initiatives, new non-profit organizations, etc., I advise going elsewhere. You will find Arkansa to be a very difficult nut to crack, even though the need for your services may be obvious.
Well I didn't know that about LR or Ar, but I could have made an educated guess since I live close to the border in La. The same scenario is at least this far into the state. It's like you need a special pedigree to move forward. Some people just won't believe this but I 've experienced it first hand. I must show some kind of dissimilarity to all the folks I have been raised with or maybe it was just me. But I have my doubts it was just me.
If I had it to do over again, I would hit the dusty trail. Never hang around places you can't thrive in. Now I'm not judging Little Rock, and I personally love Arkansas. I'm just saying that an alarm went off when I read this gentleman's (or Lady's) post.
Last edited by hdwell; 07-18-2009 at 03:35 PM..
Reason: spelling
After living in Little Rock for 9 years, I'm glad to be gone. There were some good things about the area: the physical beauty of the state, the low cost of living, the ease of getting around. But it's not a good place for a young professional, particularly if you are ambitious. I found the place to be impossibly mired in cronyism. Getting involved professionally or in the community was always, always tied to who you knew, not your skills, your credentials, or your potential. Most of the community leadership positions, for example, are filled by the same small group of people (for many years, it was one GUY who was head of this initiative, Dean of that school, founding dean of this other school, former dean of yet another school, etc. etc.). Such cronyism and old boy networking results in a real lack of diversity of thought, and a city and state that is rarely welcoming of new ideas or new people. I kept meeting new young professionals from elsewhere who were always planning to leave Little Rock and go back to one of the larger, more receptive, more open cities. The only reason people stayed was if they were FROM there, or if they COULDN'T leave for some reason. It was sad, because a lot of people in Arkansas kept complaining that talented young people were hard to draw to the state and harder to keep in the state if they did arrive for a while. The reason, though, was that the old timers just tend to hoard the small number of influential positions there, and don't make any effort to reach out and include new people. Go to a place like Chicago or Altlanta or even cities the same size as Little Rock like Ashville, North Carolina, and it's a completely different story. Those places are like an inclusive wonderland compared to Little Rock.
What I found is that as soon as I left, I was being sought out for positions and roles for which I had encountered nothing but obstacles in Little Rock. When I tried to VOLUNTEER for community-based initiatives in Little Rock, I was turned away. When I moved to larger northern city, I was getting calls all the time to ask and see if I would be willing to share my expertise with this or that community-based group. I offered to VOLUNTEER to teach a course in activism at a graduate program for community service in Little Rock and was rebuffed. Since moving, I have been sought out by a number of organizations to do just that because of my experience in the field. The contrast is striking.
Little Rock might be a good place to retire, if you are done with wanting to build your career, done with trying being creative with your professional time. If you are just coasting and no longer working, it might be a good place to be. But if you are looking for a place to build your career and expand your horizons, I definitely recommend going elsewhere.
So where did move to?
In any case, I do know what you're saying when you talk about the good 'ol boy system.
Some progress was made recently when a young female was put on some higher education board, council or something to that effect. Once they put a black male on the board, that will be some real progress.
I definitely have Asheville on my list of potentials but I'm jut not sure how it would work for me career wise. I plan on working in higher education so....
Last edited by LadyRobyn; 07-18-2009 at 07:13 PM..
Reason: removed personal attack...please do not single out other posters.
The things you posted are all true. My hope is that with expansion there will be less and less of the good ole boy network. In Atlanta, there are so many people from somewhere else that people are judged on their ability rather than where they went to high school or if they know their parents or not.
Eventually, hopefully, the city will expand and we will get some real change. Sorry you felt that you had to leave, but I certainly understand. I do have one problem with your post. If we are ever going to make any progress, we have to encourage young people to come to the city. Not everyone in Little Rock is locked into the GOod Ole boy network. It is changing, albeit very slowly.
That good ol' boy system doesn't seem to exist as much in NWA thanks to most corporations being from out of state and that most people living here are from out of state as well. It's sad that Little Rock can't seem to keep young professionals around.
However if you're good at your job in NWA you can be promoted and relocated which has happened to several of my friends that started small at vendors, were promoted and relocated to NYC, Minneapolis, Houston, Dallas, and St Louis.
I've heard that NW Arkansas is different. I guess the global influence of Wal-Mart and all of its support industries, as well as the university, help a great deal. Plus, it's beautiful up there in NW Arkansas. NW Arkansas is, in many ways, more cosmopolitan than Little Rock. But Little Rock ends up being so much more influential because it's the capitol, it's the population center, and it still has most of the industry and civil society organizations.
Entities that should promote change in Arkansas, like the Clinton School or the medical school, more often just perpetuate the problem of reactionary resistance to change. I never encountered so much difficulty, for example, trying to volunteer for activities as I did in Arkansas. I also found, as did my wife, that efforts at self-improvement, like seeking more education or training in new skills outside of the state, were often resented by those we worked with or interacted with. People who arrived in the state as newcomers wouldn't believe us at first, but after about a year or two, they would come back and say the same things we were saying. It was my impression that there was a real inferiority complex in the state, which is unnecessary, but it is accompanied with an unfortunate sense of "Who do you think you are, coming here and striving to succeed? We don't like that kind of ambition around here. Know your place." It was really unlike anything I have encountered before or since.
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