Choosing Arkansas
When I lived in the Atlanta area, I often met people from my home state of Arkansas. Frequently, they were people I had grown up with in church or at school. I was also pleased to meet new people and discover our shared Arkansas heritage. Either way, they’d know to expect an invitation to my annual Juneteenth Party in Piedmont Park. As part of our conversations about home, I’d ask if they ever thought about moving back and while people didn’t have animosity toward the state, they were usually not enthusiastic about the idea of moving back. One grad school colleague from the Delta said, “What would I do?” Thankfully, I knew then as now that our state’s old motto, “Land of Opportunity” is very much still true.
Those conversations inspired the recently released Choosing Arkansas interview series. Created in partnership with Blackbelt Voices Media, Choosing Arkansas highlights the stories of people who actively chose to make Arkansas home. Starting with my own story of returning home, I talk with a native who returned home after many years away. The spouse of an Arkansan who became an Arkansan herself, and an international student who has now settled in Arkansas.
- Karama Neal (audio)
- Samantha Evans (audio, video)
- Jean Block (audio, video)
- Shamim Okolloh (audio, video)
Our hope is that these stories will show others what professional and personal life is like in the state and inspire them to choose Arkansas. We want listeners to share the podcast and viewers to share the videos with other who might be contemplating a move (or should be!). And we want to tell more stories since we know there a men, LGBTQ people, Arkansans outside of Central Arkansas, and others who want to share their pleasure at having made Arkansas home. Ultimately, we hope more people will choose Arkansas for their home, invest in the the businesses, nonprofits, and communities of the state, and be an ambassador and advocate for Arkansas.
If you want to recommend someone be interviewed on Choosing Arkansas or if you are interested in sponsoring the series, please reach out to me at karama@nealfirm.co.
Thanks so much to the team at Blackbelt Voices, the interviewees, and the sponsors. See you in the Natural State!
- Relocate to Arkansas
- Relocation incentives (Little Rock, Northwest Arkansas, West Memphis, Texarkana, Fort Smith)
- Visit Arkansas
