Little Rock, Arkansas

If you like rural living you will be miserable. If you like a real urban experience there are only a few blocks of downtown that almost provide that but just don’t. If you don’t want to live in the city but you don’t want to live in the country and you’re not a big fan of suburban sprawl, you might like Little Rock. The state capital status provides some amenities that one wouldn’t otherwise find in a small town but without the hassle while still providing that small-town feeling.
There’s plenty of lovely scenery to be had, there’s biking and hiking and a river (with a bridge, of course) and short trips to the Ozarks and very special wilderness sites (Horseshoe Canyon, Lost Valley, and the Buffalo River.) The Rivermarket pretty much is Downtown. It caters to local vendors, artists, and crafters -- It's a food hall that hosts local events and farmer’s markets. If you like minor league baseball, you can get a cheap seat to a Travs game.
That cute little yellow trolley is probably not going to get you anywhere, you definitely need a car (or a bike).

It punches above its low cost of living weight if you know where to look and you like that small-town feeling.

On the downside, the education system is just fair, and there are poverty and opioid problems, as in any city or region these days. The state lacks diversity, and May-October, by all accounts, is rough in the muggy department.

For many, their lifestyle consists of living in a single-family home on a tree-lined, rolling hills street. West Little Rock is where the Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s are, and it consists of three zip codes -- one filled with suburban tract-style housing in a wooded setting (trail adjacent), a second that's most affordable -- Point West (fewer gated communities and smaller, single-family homes) and the third, Pleasant Valley, consists of larger homes around golf courses and The Pleasant Valley Country Club.

SoMa stands for Southside Main Street and it’s a Historic Urban Neighborhood that is undergoing a revitalization. This is where the hip brunch spots are popping up.

If you're curious what locals get up to in Little Rock check out the calendar of events.

We highly recommend visiting Little Rock and staying in the community in a VRBO rather than a hotel to get a feel for what it's like to live among the locals. You can receive discounted fares on travel via our partnership with Expedia as well.

You like small town life with benefits, catfish and homemade ice cream