Sheridan

[bchris02]

Everybody lately is saying Sheridan is the place to live if you work in Little Rock. More and more people I know are moving there. People are saying it is the new Cabot. My impression was that Sheridan was a small country town with nothing but a Walmart and a 1.5 hour commute to Little Rock. Why has it become so popular and what is the point of commuting that far? I hear people say they like getting away from the hustle and bustle of Little Rock and Saline county but if they really think Little Rock is too fast, they need to get out of Arkansas. Sorry but I would like to see Little Rock and it's core suburbs grow and become more dense. For too long most of the growth has occurred in fringe country towns barely within commutable distance. I think that is a big reason Little Rock's metro feels so much smaller than it is.

[hogwash]

Are you sure they aren't just moving to the Sheridan district? It covers a good deal of eastern Saline County. Sheridan itself has not appeared to grow that much.

[cozmosis]

Everybody lately is saying Sheridan is the place to live if you work in Little Rock. More and more people I know are moving there. People are saying it is the new Cabot. My impression was that Sheridan was a small country town with nothing but a Walmart and a 1.5 hour commute to Little Rock. Why has it become so popular and what is the point of commuting that far? I hear people say they like getting away from the hustle and bustle of Little Rock and Saline county but if they really think Little Rock is too fast, they need to get out of Arkansas. Sorry but I would like to see Little Rock and it's core suburbs grow and become more dense. For too long most of the growth has occurred in fringe country towns barely within commutable distance. I think that is a big reason Little Rock's metro feels so much smaller than it is.

[bchris02]

Are you sure they aren't just moving to the Sheridan district? It covers a good deal of eastern Saline County. Sheridan itself has not appeared to grow that much.

[Architect]

Everybody lately is saying Sheridan is the place to live if you work in Little Rock. More and more people I know are moving there. People are saying it is the new Cabot. My impression was that Sheridan was a small country town with nothing but a Walmart and a 1.5 hour commute to Little Rock. Why has it become so popular and what is the point of commuting that far? I hear people say they like getting away from the hustle and bustle of Little Rock and Saline county but if they really think Little Rock is too fast, they need to get out of Arkansas. Sorry but I would like to see Little Rock and it's core suburbs grow and become more dense. For too long most of the growth has occurred in fringe country towns barely within commutable distance. I think that is a big reason Little Rock's metro feels so much smaller than it is.

[bchris02]

You can't be serious.

[Architect]

No I am. Half of the people I work with live in Sheridan. Talking to my friends, many people they work with also live in Sheridan. I hear of more and more people moving down there all the time.

[Hyacinth]

Thats a possibility. Most people identify with their school district more than their physical address, so it could be Sheridan schools are becoming the new preferred district considering the overcrowding in Bryant, Cabot, and Conway.

[turboturtle]

I checked a few maps and Sheridan is approximately 40 miles from Little Rock. For perspective, Conway is approximately 30 miles from Little Rock.

I agree that perhaps Sheridan is becoming the new preferred district. I don't know enough about Sheridan to have a strong opinion one way or the other in regards to the educational quality within the district. Anyone know anything?

[Spaceman Spiff]

I've lived in the East End community in Saline County for the past 7 years, which is in the Sheridan School District. I thought I'd respond to this post and clear up some misconceptions about the area.

1) The Sheridan School District is huge. It covers one of the largest geographic areas of any district in Arkansas. The District encompasses almost all of Grant county, and the eastern 1/5 or so of Saline County. According to the Ark. Dept. of Education statistics, the Sheridan District had 4,244 students for the 2008-2009 school year, which puts it in the upper-end of all districts in Arkansas. According to the latest Arkansas Activities Association classification numbers, Sheridan High School is the 23rd largest in the state, with a higher enrollment than schools in much larger cities such as Texarkana and Jacksonville.

2) Sheridan proper is only 32 miles from Little Rock. US-167 is in the last phase of being 4-laned from Sheridan to I-530, and once this is complete, it will be only a 30 minute commute from Sheridan to downtown LR, not 40 miles or a 1.5 hour commute as some have stated above.

3) The East End area of Saline County, where I live (which is in the Sheridan School District), is only 15-20 minutes from downtown Little Rock. My wife works downtown, and from our driveway to her office is only 14 miles, and takes her 15-17 minutes most days. Most of East End is closer to downtown both in distance and commute time than West Little Rock, Maumelle, Bryant, or Cabot. Traffic into LR on I-530 is not nearly as heavy as on US-67 or I-30.

4) Both East End and Sheridan are growing, but at a much slower pace than other growth hotspots in the LR metro, such as Bryant, Cabot, or Maumelle. In the 2000 census, the East End CDP had a population of just over 5,600. I'd guess that in the 2010 census, this value will probably be somewhere in the 6,500-7,500 range. East End flies under the radar population-wise, because it is not an incorporated city or town, and thus is not included in the periodic population estimates issued by the census bureau. There was a big push for incorporation back in 2002/2003 which ultimately failed.

Both East End and Sheridan have a very rural/South Arkansas vibe. Home values range from under $100,000 to $500,000+ (There are a few high-end developments out here in East End). Lot sizes tend to be larger, and 1 acre+ lots are very common in my area. I live in a more traditional subdivision, but the lots range from 0.25-1 acre each. Population density is very low. To me, the big thing East End has going for it is that its only 15 minutes away from the River Market District, where I can go enjoy the most urban environment in Arkansas, but when I go home, the stars are bright and all I can hear are crickets chirping and frogs croaking.

I don't see either East End or Sheridan becoming the "it" place to be anytime soon, but I would expect the steady growth to continue, and possibly accelerate a bit with the completion of the US-167 construction later this year. It's particularly attractive to people who relocate to Central Arkansas from South and Eastern Arkansas, as it feels more like "home" than most any other area of the LR Metro.

All that being said, we're looking to move later this year into Little Rock proper, because most of our friends live in town, and we're both tired of commuting to work/activities. My biggest problem with the area is the lack of cultural diversity.

[hogwash]

Growing up in Benton I always had a very bad opinion of Sardis and East End. It scared me actually. I had this perception that a bunch of satan worshippers lived out there and conducted rituals in the woods everywhere. I guess it was the woods that scared me really. I think it was because I heard stories about bad things at the China Grove cemetery which reallly isn't in East End or Sardis, but whatever. Anyways, I felt compelled to share that small bit.

[lowarkhog]

Having grown up in East End I can comment.

The problem with East End is the lack of convenience. You have one over-priced grocery, a couple of hardware stores and two dollar stores. It is a trip to Little Rock for most necessities.

On the school district, average at best. (Yes, I am a product.)

My family (parents and sister's family) still live there, but when it came time to find a place for my family, East End never entered the equation.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Having grown up in East End I can comment.

The problem with East End is the lack of convenience. You have one over-priced grocery, a couple of hardware stores and two dollar stores. It is a trip to Little Rock for most necessities.

On the school district, average at best. (Yes, I am a product.)

My family (parents and sister's family) still live there, but when it came time to find a place for my family, East End never entered the equation.

[lowarkhog]

I agree with the lack of shopping convenience, though it's slowly improving. The Harvest Foods is fine for a quick stop for a gallon of milk or other staples, but we do 95% of our shopping in Little Rock.

I can't speak to the quality of the school district from personal experience. A lot of my neighbors seem pretty high on it, but when it came time for our son to start kindergarten, we elected to put him in a private school in Little Rock over the local public school.

Another problem (for me) is the lack of any good broadband internet option. I knew broadband was unavailable when we moved out here in 2002, but I expected it to arrive within a year or two. I'm still waiting. I get by with about 1/2 of DSL speeds over Alltel's 3G service. It costs about 3x as much as DSL and isn't as fast or reliable. The only other option is sat. broadband, which has it's own issues. I think the low population density must be what is keeping anyone from upgrading the infrastructure to support DSL. I believe broadband is available to those who live within or near the Sheridan city limits.