re: Just booked my trip to Fayetteville....

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This is one I would disagree with. I mean, there are plenty of jobs available, but that doesn't necessarily mean the "opportunities" are better. If you are working for a vendor of Wal-Mart, you really have a limited ceiling to your career unless you are willing to move to wherever that companies' HQ is. Outside of that, if you aren't working for the UA or one of the Big 3, there isn't a whole lot out there.

What you forget about Little Rock is that it has a huge health care sector. Baptist Health and St Vincent are HUGE hospitals, and that's not mentioning UAMS. If you haven't driven by UAMS lately, you should, because it is like a small city in itself. There are thousands of doctors/researchers/students there, I consider it LR's "answer" to the UA. It's just a much more professional crowd compared to the college students at UA.

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I don't know if you've been in NWA much but there are jobs outside of the big 3.

The larger vendors have big offices and the positions that go with them in NWA. The vendor jobs may have ceilings but they are much higher than the average ceiling you will find in the rest of the state including LR.

I would not brag too much on the finance sector in LR (or anywhere), specially when it is looking like Stevens may be interested in purchasing Metropolitan. If you hadn't heard, Metropolitan has been laying people off, at least up here. The rumor is Metropolitan is positioning itself to be purchased by Stevens. (BTW, Metropolitan had terrible timing on trying to create a presence in NWA)

IMO, Stevens and the insurance sector carry the finance sector in LR. BTW, Stevens can thank a little retailer in NWA for helping it grow. Taking Wal Mart public was a big benefit for both companies.

Axciom is struggling and will continue to struggle for some time. Hopefully the VC in charge will make the right decisions and salvage Axciom. Those are good jobs and I'd hate to see them lost.

UAMS and the other hospitals are good jobs and help stabilize the LR area. My wife actually worked at St. Vincents and now works at one of the local hospitals up here. While NWA has 7 hospitals they do not have the volume of the ones in LR.

Fayetteville definitely has a younger crowd but students do not dominate the scene in NWA, at least not any longer. Rogers/Bentonville has an older, more established/professional crowd and is more akin to LR, just a little smaller. This group has also become much more diverse with the influx of people to the area.


Great discussion and love the name SwineFlu.

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wmr

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Great list. Next time the fellas and I head out I'll check this list to see where we haven't been yet.

I do want to avoid the places like On the Rocks. Last time I was there some 6'7" guy tried to start a fight w/ one of my friends and service was terrible. The stupid bar tenders didn't know their butts from a hole in the ground.

@SLC:

Word on that. I usually avoid the super collegy places, too. I like Brewski's. They have a good staff. Crown Pub has a good staff, too. I find Stir intolerably douchey, and OTR can be that way, too. Game weekends are generally a little more grown up with all of the fans from out of town.

Louie's in North Fayetteville ("uptown") is more my speed. Its the best true sports bar in town, IMO.

LR - RiverMarket, Arkansas River, govt jobs, medical centers, RiverFest, slightly better national touring acts, closer to duck hunting, good public schools in burbs.

FYV - Dickson, Ozarks, U of A, Wal-Mart vendor community, Bikes Booze & BBQ, Buffalo River (1hr), Mulberry Mtn music park (40 mins), good public schools in town, The Razorbacks.

FYV wins, for me, for now.

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I would not brag too much on the finance sector in LR (or anywhere), specially when it is looking like Stevens may be interested in purchasing Metropolitan. If you hadn't heard, Metropolitan has been laying people off, at least up here. The rumor is Metropolitan is positioning itself to be purchased by Stevens. (BTW, Metropolitan had terrible timing on trying to create a presence in NWA)

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I actually think this would be good news. Stephens would provide the money to expand what used to be a very fast growing bank that has run into problems. Plus, it means that it likely wouldn't be sold to an out-of-state public company, like most of Arkansas' banks have been. At one time, Little Rock was on the verge of becoming a regional banking center before they all started getting acquired.

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Fayetteville definitely has a younger crowd but students do not dominate the scene in NWA, at least not any longer. Rogers/Bentonville has an older, more established/professional crowd and is more akin to LR, just a little smaller. This group has also become much more diverse with the influx of people to the area.

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Yeah, if you are from 18-29, Fayetteville is easily the best place in the state to be in my opinion.

I would agree that Rogers and Bentonville are more similar to Little Rock, but they just really don't do it for me. They are so spread out and lack a lot of the "coolness" that Little Rock has. Places like Hillcrest and the Heights, etc. Not to mention a downtown entertainment sector.

I much prefer Fayetteville over anyyhere else in NWA, even though it tends to be more of the college crowd.

I'm an LSU Tiger and have lived in FAyetteville for 18 years. I love Fayetteville and all of NWA. I much rather FAyetteville than what I know of LR. I hardly ever run into a college student except family friends or when we are at a Razorback function or the movie. The people of Fayetteville are very hospitable and accepting ( even of a die hard LSU TIGER Coonass like me). I love the smaller feel to NWA even though the population is no longer small.

If you like to Fly Fish, then Fayetteville wins out over LR. IMHO ofcourse.

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but NWA people always get it wrong.

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The converse can be said about central AR people I've known.

I've lived in Hot Springs very briefly, LR and NWA. I've also lived in OKC so I have a little knowledge of the areas.

NWA is the better of the two IMHO, but I certainly understand it is not for everyone. I guess it just depends on your needs.

Let's look at a common denominator, Household Income. This is usually a good measure of an area.

Per LR's website and Wiki LR's median HH income is approximately $37K to $38K. The MSA is about the same (this covers 6 counties as opposed to 2).

Wiki
American Towns

MSA

NWA's median HH income is listed a bit higher at approximatly $44K, at least according to one news source. I do not think this report is accurate b/c when I broke the towns down separately there was a totally different story.

In addition, it is comparing apples to oranges with the population difference. While LR proper is under 200K, the LR area is well over that of NWA (650K vs 450K).

NWA Homepage

Rogers alone is around $40K.
Wiki

Bentonville is also listed at around $40K.
Wiki

Fayetteville actually drops down to $31K.
Wiki

Springdale is listed as $36K. Before looking at this I would have bet that Springdale was the lowest of the 4.

Wiki

My next door neighbor in midtown Fayetteville is an LSU fan. If its you, please stop letting your dog shite in my yard. I realize my yard is much bigger than yours, but it doesn't make it any more pleasant running my John Deere over a steaming pile of dog shite while on mulch. Thanks!

I grew up in Hot Springs, went to UA for college, and now live in WLR/Maumelle.

I have missed Fayetteville since the first day I moved down here. There really is no comparison. It sucks that LSU fans never get to visit up there as War Memorial is an ugly stadium and in a bad part of LR (I found a shell casing that appears to have bounced off WM wall while out there this weekend.)

The atmosphere in NWA is different than any other part of the state, and I miss it, even though I go and visit friends up there about once a month.

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War Memorial is an ugly stadium and in a bad part of LR (I found a shell casing that appears to have bounced off WM wall while out there this weekend.)

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This is dumb.