110 replies to this topic

[Aporkalypse]

mcheiss, on Jan 12 2007, 11:29 PM, said:

Yeah it's suppose to have the largest water slide complex in the state.

What that really meant is that it will pass up Wild River Country after this $5 million is spent since right now these are the only two large water parks in Arkansas.

I'm curious to see what the new thrill ride will be.  Magic Springs needs an indoor "dark" roller coaster.

[tim2462]

Actually, the $10 million will be spent in 2007.  Half of that going to the water park, the other half going toward other park improvements.   The new thrill ride isn't coming until 2008, and is not part of this $10 million dollar expansion.

[hogwash]

I'm glad to see continual investment in Magic Springs.  Hopefully someday it can become something BIG!  Its always great to see tons of out of staters in the parking lot.

[safetyobc]

Hello,

My family and I (wife and 3 kids, all under 10 years old) are hoping to move within the next 2 years or so.  Hot Springs is high on our list of places we would like to go. We are starting our research on the area, like schools, crime rates, etc.  Can any one recommend good locations (streets, communities, neighborhoods, etc.) to live in the Hot Springs area?

Thanks,

Matt

[Mith242]

safetyobc, on Mar 6 2007, 01:06 PM, said:

Hello,

My family and I (wife and 3 kids, all under 10 years old) are hoping to move within the next 2 years or so.  Hot Springs is high on our list of places we would like to go. We are starting our research on the area, like schools, crime rates, etc.  Can any one recommend good locations (streets, communities, neighborhoods, etc.) to live in the Hot Springs area?

Thanks,

Matt

Well the bad thing is that I don't think there are any regulars on here that are from Hot Springs.  We used to have one guy but he's away at college and isn't on much.  But maybe Johnny will notice your post next time he's on and be able to give you some info.

[Aporkalypse]

safetyobc, on Mar 6 2007, 01:06 PM, said:

Hello,

My family and I (wife and 3 kids, all under 10 years old) are hoping to move within the next 2 years or so.  Hot Springs is high on our list of places we would like to go. We are starting our research on the area, like schools, crime rates, etc.  Can any one recommend good locations (streets, communities, neighborhoods, etc.) to live in the Hot Springs area?

Thanks,

Matt

I'm from Little Rock but have spent a lot of time there.  Seriously, it's one of the most interesting and fun smaller cities in the country to live in.  In terms of restaurants, shopping, culture and entertainment it has the amenities of a city several times its size.  At the same time, the natural beauty is astounding.

Neighborhoods are hard to recommend, it all depends on what you like and your price range.  There are lots of different types of neighborhoods- some in the hills, some on the lakefront, and some historic neighborhoods near Central Ave.  They pretty much run the gamut from urban to suburban to rural and secluded.  There are a lot of reasonable neighborhoods but many are pricy, especially on the lake.  A lot of wealthy people in the region keep second homes there.

Regarding schools, I would try to stay out of Hot Springs High's boundaries which is mostly in the older parts of town.  They're fairly difficult to describe but I bet you can find them on their website.  Hot Springs Lakeside is one of the top handful of public schools in the state and its affiliated elementaries are very good as well.  They have excellent ACT/SAT scores and send kids regularly to the Ivy League and top colleges.   The schools in the Lake Hamilton School District aren't quite as good but still are probably in the top decile in the state and I would have no problem sending a kid there.  Also, for high school the Ark School for Math and Science is there and it's a very good school if your kids are interested and qualify down the road.

In terms of crime, Hot Springs doesn't have high crime rates but does have some issues, it's a tourist town.  The most obvious problem areas are the run-down older areas of town - near Grand Ave in particular.  That said, there are numerous nicer older areas as well.  Pretty much anything in the Lake Hamilton or Lakeside schools' draw area is going to be very safe.

[johnnydr87]

safetyobc, on Mar 6 2007, 01:06 PM, said:

Hello,

My family and I (wife and 3 kids, all under 10 years old) are hoping to move within the next 2 years or so.  Hot Springs is high on our list of places we would like to go. We are starting our research on the area, like schools, crime rates, etc.  Can any one recommend good locations (streets, communities, neighborhoods, etc.) to live in the Hot Springs area?

Thanks,

Matt

Hi, I'm from Hot Springs, AR.  

I think Aporkalypse pretty much nailed it.  

I went to a Lakeside for a bit.  Although I disagree with the part about Lakeside "sending kids to Ivies regularly," he's mostly right.  The school is good by Arkansas standards, and it usually sends a few kids to top 25 universities every year (a few in my class of '06 got into Northwestern and University of Michigan).  And, if you and your children are interested, the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts is an amazing high school by national standards, and it's luckily located in town (applicants come from all over the state, though).  I went there and I can't say enough about it; one of my classmates was Jeopardy! teen champion, another was a Google top programmer (and personally flown in by Google), etc etc... ASMSA does send students to top universities regularly, and most still prefer to go in state for full rides (you're guaranteed a full ride to UALR, Henderson, and UA-Fort Smith just for attending).  The classes are incredible too.

About Lake Hamilton: the students who go there mostly come from the countryside and the areas around Lake Hamilton.  Honestly, from the friends I knew who went there, it seemed better than Lakeside--but that could be a false impression.  I know, for example, the math classes there were separated on skill level, whereas at Lakeside, they weren't.  For example, in 10th grade, when I was in Algebra II, I was in the same class as juniors and seniors (and of course other sophomores).  The sophomores were the most talented, followed by the juniors, then seniors.  We went excruciatingly slow to accommodate for the stragglers.  

To tell you the truth, I think people get the false impression that Lakeside is a better school because a lot of upper-class students go there.  Their parents tend to be professionals, and so the students generally have high abilities to perform well on standardized tests, etc.  (Lakeside has a reputation for being preppy and snobby because of this.) However, curriculum-wise, Lake Hamilton seems to have the edge.  Take that as you will.

Feel free to ask any more questions.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Aporkalypse, on Mar 6 2007, 06:01 PM, said:

I'm from Little Rock but have spent a lot of time there.  Seriously, it's one of the most interesting and fun smaller cities in the country to live in.  In terms of restaurants, shopping, culture and entertainment it has the amenities of a city several times its size.  At the same time, the natural beauty is astounding.

Neighborhoods are hard to recommend, it all depends on what you like and your price range.  There are lots of different types of neighborhoods- some in the hills, some on the lakefront, and some historic neighborhoods near Central Ave.  They pretty much run the gamut from urban to suburban to rural and secluded.  There are a lot of reasonable neighborhoods but many are pricy, especially on the lake.  A lot of wealthy people in the region keep second homes there.

Regarding schools, I would try to stay out of Hot Springs High's boundaries which is mostly in the older parts of town.  They're fairly difficult to describe but I bet you can find them on their website.  Hot Springs Lakeside is one of the top handful of public schools in the state and its affiliated elementaries are very good as well.  They have excellent ACT/SAT scores and send kids regularly to the Ivy League and top colleges.   The schools in the Lake Hamilton School District aren't quite as good but still are probably in the top decile in the state and I would have no problem sending a kid there.  Also, for high school the Ark School for Math and Science is there and it's a very good school if your kids are interested and qualify down the road.

In terms of crime, Hot Springs doesn't have high crime rates but does have some issues, it's a tourist town.  The most obvious problem areas are the run-down older areas of town - near Grand Ave in particular.  That said, there are numerous nicer older areas as well.  Pretty much anything in the Lake Hamilton or Lakeside schools' draw area is going to be very safe.

I'm a graduate of the Hot Springs school district, and I attended K-12 there.  I think which district you choose in Garland County depends on what you are looking for.  The Hot Springs district has a lot of resources for a district its size, and when I was there, more opportunities for advanced placement courses, and an overall better honors program than either Lakeside or Lake Hamilton.  Hot Springs also has some of the poorest parts of the county within its district boundaries and a lot of students from backgrounds where education is not a priority.  If your children are high achievers and on an honors track, I think the hot springs schools would be your best option.  They are seriously incorporating the IB program into their entire district, with an IB degree offered at the High School level and an IB elementary magnet school (Park Elementary) as well.  If I ever move back to Hot Springs, I would definately live in the Hot Springs district.  I graduated in the HSHS class of 1995, and some of the colleges my classmates went off to were the U of Chicago, Columbia, and Emory University.  When I was there, there was a core of about 20-30 very high achieving students in each class, who got an excellent education.  There were some really good  teachers who really loved to teach and get involved with the AP classes.  There is a large population of apathetic students though, and outside of the honors classes, I saw a lot of students who were not doing well.  

I have a number of friends who attended Little Rock schools, and it has always seemed to me that the Hot Springs district has a lot of the same issues as Little Rock schools, there is a significant population of minority and low-income students compared with the surrounding Lakeside and Lake Hamilton districts.  

Lakeside I have little experience with.  My wife attended Lakeside for two years, and had a bad experience, but I can't judge the district on that very limited experience.  Lake Hamilton is to Hot Springs what Cabot and Bryant are to the Pulaski County schools.  Lake Hamilton is basically a "white flight" district.  It's had enormous growth, but at least back when I was attending high school, was not well regarded for its academic programs (at the honors level).  This may have changed in the 12 years since.  Race was very much a reason for a lot of the growth in the Lake Hamilton district, though few would admit it.  Take a look at the district demographics sometime and you will see what I mean.

[Aporkalypse]

Spaceman Spiff, on Mar 29 2007, 08:38 AM, said:

I'm a graduate of the Hot Springs school district, and I attended K-12 there.  I think which district you choose in Garland County depends on what you are looking for.  The Hot Springs district has a lot of resources for a district its size, and when I was there, more opportunities for advanced placement courses, and an overall better honors program than either Lakeside or Lake Hamilton.  Hot Springs also has some of the poorest parts of the county within its district boundaries and a lot of students from backgrounds where education is not a priority.  If your children are high achievers and on an honors track, I think the hot springs schools would be your best option.  They are seriously incorporating the IB program into their entire district, with an IB degree offered at the High School level and an IB elementary magnet school (Park Elementary) as well.  If I ever move back to Hot Springs, I would definately live in the Hot Springs district.  I graduated in the HSHS class of 1995, and some of the colleges my classmates went off to were the U of Chicago, Columbia, and Emory University.  When I was there, there was a core of about 20-30 very high achieving students in each class, who got an excellent education.  There were some really good  teachers who really loved to teach and get involved with the AP classes.  There is a large population of apathetic students though, and outside of the honors classes, I saw a lot of students who were not doing well.  

I have a number of friends who attended Little Rock schools, and it has always seemed to me that the Hot Springs district has a lot of the same issues as Little Rock schools, there is a significant population of minority and low-income students compared with the surrounding Lakeside and Lake Hamilton districts.  

Lakeside I have little experience with.  My wife attended Lakeside for two years, and had a bad experience, but I can't judge the district on that very limited experience.  Lake Hamilton is to Hot Springs what Cabot and Bryant are to the Pulaski County schools.  Lake Hamilton is basically a "white flight" district.  It's had enormous growth, but at least back when I was attending high school, was not well regarded for its academic programs (at the honors level).  This may have changed in the 12 years since.  Race was very much a reason for a lot of the growth in the Lake Hamilton district, though few would admit it.  Take a look at the district demographics sometime and you will see what I mean.

I understand what you're saying but the HS district is one of the poorest performing in the state. I haven't really met any graduate or medical school students that went to Hot Springs, there are a large number from Lakeside.  Sure, maybe that's demographics.  Still, that's not the case in LR.

[theman]

I recently read in the Democrat Gazette that downtown HS was getting a new protype Holiday Inn on the site of the of Dept. of Human Services building.  I'm glad to see that dowtown HS is getting another new hotel.  When I go there and stay downtown, the only place I will stay is the Embassy Suites.  I know people like the Arlington, Majestic and some of the other hotels downtown, but they need serious updating.  Downtown HS has so much to offer, but hotel options are limited in my eyes.

[Aporkalypse]

theman, on Dec 27 2007, 11:08 PM, said:

I recently read in the Democrat Gazette that downtown HS was getting a new protype Holiday Inn on the site of the of Dept. of Human Services building.  I'm glad to see that dowtown HS is getting another new hotel.  When I go there and stay downtown, the only place I will stay is the Embassy Suites.  I know people like the Arlington, Majestic and some of the other hotels downtown, but they need serious updating.  Downtown HS has so much to offer, but hotel options are limited in my eyes.

I was glad as well.  I'm hoping the arena and convention center are bringing the focus away from the lake and more towards downtown again.