Is the Little Rock area right for me? (Conway, Hot Springs: crime, live)

[SwansonOfTheSouth]

I'm looking to move to Arkansas from Tennessee because there's too many people coming here. I originally looked at NWA but it was also growing too fast. Is the Little Rock area right for me? Here's what I want:


1. Near at least one big lake without much tourists (except for maybe the locals)
2. Mild-ish weather (summers not as hot as the deep south, winters not as cold as the north)
3. Lots of clear days
4. Plenty of live music, fairs, and other fun things to do in the summer
5. As little traffic as possible

[sub]

Little Rock is basically deep south. Summers are pretty much going to be the same.
Some say the Ozarks are a little better for the heat.
I've lived in both but personally found the difference didn't really amount to a hill of beans.
For people coming from points further south, perhaps it's more noticeable.
Winters are almost nonexistent. While it's nothing remotely like Florida, frozen precipitation isn't a guarantee.
It gets a little snow once in a while and an ice storm every now and then.
The weather isn't going to be drastically different from Knoxville.
Clear days...umm.. it's not the southwest by any means. Hazy and humid a lot. Not any more overcast than any other place east of the Great Plains, not the cloudiest either.

There are lakes everywhere in and around Little Rock. Lot's of options, never seemed terribly crowded when I lived there.

The most touristy place in the area would be Hot Springs, but it's pretty disconnected.
It's a good-sized city with plenty going on.

For city life I like larger cities so it got a little stale after a few years, but it suits a lot of people pretty well. One common sentiment I heard about Little Rock was that it was small enough to be manageable but big enough to have enough amenities. It has a lot of big city traits... both good and bad.

Crime is an issue. From what I know of Knoxville it's not the best in that area either, but Little Rock would be a bit worse on that front.

Traffic isn't hard to deal with there. There are ways around it, and it's not hard to situate yourself between where you might work and where you might live to avoid most of the traffic. Of course people out in the suburbs complain the most but even then it's nothing like larger cities or cities that don't have adequate infrastructure. The worst bottlenecks seemed to involve crossing the Arkansas River somewhere.

The Little Rock area is solid. It has growth, but not too much too fast.
It's at least worth consideration.

[SwansonOfTheSouth]

Originally Posted by sub

Little Rock is basically deep south. Summers are pretty much going to be the same.
Some say the Ozarks are a little better for the heat.
I've lived in both but personally found the difference didn't really amount to a hill of beans.
For people coming from points further south, perhaps it's more noticeable.
Winters are almost nonexistent. While it's nothing remotely like Florida, frozen precipitation isn't a guarantee.
It gets a little snow once in a while and an ice storm every now and then.
The weather isn't going to be drastically different from Knoxville.
Clear days...umm.. it's not the southwest by any means. Hazy and humid a lot. Not any more overcast than any other place east of the Great Plains, not the cloudiest either.

There are lakes everywhere in and around Little Rock. Lot's of options, never seemed terribly crowded when I lived there.

The most touristy place in the area would be Hot Springs, but it's pretty disconnected.
It's a good-sized city with plenty going on.

For city life I like larger cities so it got a little stale after a few years, but it suits a lot of people pretty well. One common sentiment I heard about Little Rock was that it was small enough to be manageable but big enough to have enough amenities. It has a lot of big city traits... both good and bad.

Crime is an issue. From what I know of Knoxville it's not the best in that area either, but Little Rock would be a bit worse on that front.

Traffic isn't hard to deal with there. There are ways around it, and it's not hard to situate yourself between where you might work and where you might live to avoid most of the traffic. Of course people out in the suburbs complain the most but even then it's nothing like larger cities or cities that don't have adequate infrastructure. The worst bottlenecks seemed to involve crossing the Arkansas River somewhere.

The Little Rock area is solid. It has growth, but not too much too fast.
It's at least worth consideration.

Thank you for your input, I'll definitely give the Little Rock area a look (specifically Conway).

[Yorker_in_AR]

Originally Posted by SwansonOfTheSouth

I'm looking to move to Arkansas from Tennessee because there's too many people coming here. I originally looked at NWA but it was also growing too fast. Is the Little Rock area right for me? Here's what I want:


1. Near at least one big lake without much tourists (except for maybe the locals)
2. Mild-ish weather (summers not as hot as the deep south, winters not as cold as the north)
3. Lots of clear days
4. Plenty of live music, fairs, and other fun things to do in the summer
5. As little traffic as possible

Based on the 5 items you listed I would say NO, Little Rock is not right for you.

[98sb715]

Originally Posted by SwansonOfTheSouth

I'm looking to move to Arkansas from Tennessee because there's too many people coming here. I originally looked at NWA but it was also growing too fast. Is the Little Rock area right for me? Here's what I want:


1. Near at least one big lake without much tourists (except for maybe the locals)
2. Mild-ish weather (summers not as hot as the deep south, winters not as cold as the north)
3. Lots of clear days
4. Plenty of live music, fairs, and other fun things to do in the summer
5. As little traffic as possible

1. Lots of lakes. I don't think this state is a huge tourist destination outside of people who already live here going to the lakes. Do see a lot of Texas plates here though.
2. The summers here are hot. Probably not as hot as parts of Texas or Louisiana or places further south, but the summers here aren't mild. 90-100 degrees most days. The winters are nowhere near as cold as up north, but it will be in the 30s and 40s, sometimes the 20s. Snow is rare.
3. There are clear days in the summer and fall. Rains a lot in the spring.
4. Don't really know. I'd say there are things to do for a city this sized. But it's not a big city.
5. If you're from a really small town the traffic will be bad to you. But if you have lived in bigger cities, the traffic here is nothing.