little rock, arkansas?

[hotmama]

hi ladies,

i'm a life-long cali girl (32 years) and just found out we may be moving to little rock, arkansas. am wondering if i might find anyone here on the CC boards that either lives there, has lived there in the past, knows someone that lives there, knows the area pretty well, etc.

clearly, i have ZERO idea of what it is like to live there. to say i'm anxious is an understatement. have never lived outside california and have no idea what to expect.

my husband may be relocated to little rock for a new job (we'll know for sure in about 3 weeks but we're 99% sure it's going to happen) we would live there for 3-5 years and than will back to cali. the only website i've browsed is the city of little rock and also a site for the community of chenel (spelling?).

any info would be helpful. i have already looked up the annual weather and it sounds ok...altho summers would be tough.

oh, and i have 2 small children, too. so if you are aware of family friendly activities, that would be really helpful!

thanks in advance!

[carrie9142]

I live in LR! But only for another two months or so. I know there are at least 5 or so of us on CC who live/have lived here. And I went to college with most of them ;)

I have lived in LR for 5 years and Central AR for 9. I am from Fayetteville, so I will always have a preference for NWAR. I can't really compare it to CA since I have never been! I imagine it has many fewer restaurants and I KNOW there is less to do at night. LR doesn't really have many clubs, but we do have an area of bars/shops on the River where there is decent 'nightlife' type of activities.

Re: areas of LR-only my opinions, so take them with a grain of salt! (It would help if I knew where you husband was going to be working. You can PM me if you want)

--Downtown is mostly businesses, some lofts and some historic houses.
--Heights/Hillcrest--older, more picturesque area. Houses from the 1920's-1950's or so and definitely the fashionable area of town...with prices to match-though probably NOTHING compared to CA, now that I think about it ;) Lots of boutiques, mature trees, restaurants. No big box stores like Home Depot or Wal-mart, but you are only 15 minutes or so.
--This area is only really 'really good' north of Markham St., and is only 'good' north of I-630. Things start to get muuuch sketchier on the south side of 630 by the further away you get.
--West Little Rock-newer, more suburban. Chenal is in WLR-the further west you go, the less development there is. Chenal especially is the other 'prestigious' area-lots of professionals, with kids, big houses.
--Southwest LR-it is definitely growing, but I don't really know much about it. I wouldn't be scared to live there.
--Maumelle-across the river, north of LR. Very much a suburb, more affordable (i think) than Chenal.
--North Little Rock-I work here, but don't know much about living there. Is generally less expensive than LR, but you can get anywhere in LR from there in probably under 30 minutes.
--Benton/Bryant-about 15-30 minutes east and further away from LR. True suburbs and definitely cheaper.

Summers are definitely warm and humid, but I guess I am just used to it now :) Everywhere is air conditioned. There are loads of kid's stuff, but probably not as much as where you are now. Little Rock is def. family friendly, but i don't know of anything specific.

Hope that helps!

[loving624]

I live in Central AR, about 30-45 mins away from LR. I dont know much about the school systems, but I did want to add to what carrie said. Maumelle from what I have heard has a GREAT school system and it is a great community to live in.

Feel free to PM me as well.