It is amusing that Business Week magazine chose Springdale, home of the Traveling Cowbirds, as the Best Place to Raise Your Kids in Arkansas, then used photoshopped artwork of a young girl on Dickson Street to illustrate the article. That is the kind of embarrassing thing that happens when you rank places by some arbitrary criteria without ever visiting the location or talking with people who know.
More telling about the core values of Business Week is that Fayetteville is ranked Number Two and Rogers is ranked Number Three. It was not disclosed, but I imagine Siloam Springs, Centerton, Bentonville, Johnson, Lowell, Farmington, and Greenland round out the Top Ten. Northwest Arkansas is the home of Rich White Republicans, the kind who read Business Week and put stock in whatever it declares to be good. I mean, did you really think they would choose Pine Bluff or Little Rock, more colorful places that voted for Barack Obama?
I could see Little Rock being included, it's makes these admittedly bogus sorts of lists on occasion.
ReplyDeleteBut Pine Bluff is unpleasant and hardly anybody's idea of a great place to raise kids. Ask most any of its colorful or uncolorful residents.
I suspect that Fayetteville was edged out due to the reputation of Dickson Street's darker side. If only Business Week had known that the photo they used was Dickson Street, which clearly has no darker side. And why did they have to fake in the kid? Surely there are photos of Dickson Street that include people of diversity with their children-- and no motorcycles.
ReplyDeleteWhy not include motorcycles? I'm getting my t-shirt ready now: RoadHogs love Fayetteville-The Sturgis of the South.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the new one-size-fits-all NWA newspaper(s) account for Business Week's phony award. We're all one set of eyeballs now, for the media ad guys.
ReplyDeleteChristian Schools. It's that simple. We have more Christian Schools and ours are better than yours.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the BW reporter didn't take shots of high school honeys doing bjs in Murphy park at discount rates. Their mom(s) said it was happening because the honeys couldn't make enough working burger/taco places to keep them in phones and fashion.
But, still Razorback Fans, there's more Christian schools and our principal makes more $ than yours.
Our chamber of kawmerce has the most expensive 12 foot long garden in the entire state at $1000 per foot. So take that you snobby Square elites with your gaydom flower gardens.
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If we "Keep Fayeteville Funky," how do we define funky? Springdale and Banson MO can be the "best places for kidz" -- no problem. I'd rather see Fayetteville along the lines of New Orleans.
ReplyDeleteThere is room in the world for "adult-riendly" environments. God forbid that the world became one giant Chuck E Cheese.