[Newfies]

From California, found a posting for a job with the Army Corp of Engineers that I'm thinking of apply for and after reading posts about Pine Bluff it definitely sounds like it's not the place to live. Is it safe enough to work there? Any information would be appreciated. Thank you.

[ArkansasSlim]

Yes it is safe to work in P.B., but as with any community large or small, there are areas which you should not go into. Your supervisors/co-workers can make you aware of them. Personally, if it was a job I wanted, I would not hesitate to move to P.B.

[hootietoot]

^^^I agree with that. I'd consider most areas of P.B. fine to work in during the day, particularly for the type of work I'm assuming you're talking about. Would this be a land surveying job?

If you get the job, just make sure you visit, if possible, and do your research on which areas are safe to live in before making your move, as you would with any town. Good luck with it!

[Newfies]

Thank you both for your replies and confirming my thoughts on the matter. In my line of work I get to see all areas and I have yet to see any communities that are all good or all bad, doesn't mean you want to live in all of them but if you watch yourself and pick your times it usually works out.

Hootietoot....yes, it would be a land survey job. Have to express surprise that you jumped right on that. Are you in the business? Out here when we mention land surveying you get a funny look with, "oh, your the person in the street taking pictures!" and don't even mention hydrographic....that just confuses them. lol

[ArkansasSlim]

Land survey! Wow! The memories! A "thousand years" ago another guy and I were trouble shooters for a civil engineer company and we worked from northern Wyoming to central Texas and all points in between. We would start a new job and hire local help, then move on to another, or go back and tie up loose ends of one that was being finished. It was fun for a couple years but I decided to marry my long time sweetheart and didn't think that was the life I wanted to bring her into, even though most of the men were married and some had kids. Thanks for digging out those memories.

[kdb05f]

A lot of people on CD make it like Pine Bluff is like living in Baghdad at the height of the bombings and fighting. Like a lot of places Pine Bluff has a high crime rate, but like most places the bulk of it is criminal on criminal. There are parts of town to avoid and also some neighborhoods that are quite nice. You could also do like a lot of people and commute to Pine Bluff from Little Rock. If you like small town life you could work in Pine Bluff and live in White Hall, Sheridan, or another of the small towns near by. Plenty of people on here agree that Whitehall and Sheridan are nice.
Keep in mine though that Pine Bluff is in a part of Arkansas that is largely dependent on agriculture and there are not a lot of high paying jobs, the educational level is low, and the population is in decline. On the other hand though, it is not a bad commute from some places (see above) that are rather nice or have good things going on.

[ArkansasSlim]

I don't know about today, but in the past Sheridan has had a very good school system.

[hootietoot]

Originally Posted by Newfies

Hootietoot....yes, it would be a land survey job. Have to express surprise that you jumped right on that. Are you in the business? Out here when we mention land surveying you get a funny look with, "oh, your the person in the street taking pictures!" and don't even mention hydrographic....that just confuses them. lol

No, I'm not in the business. That's just the first thing that comes to mind for me when I hear Corps of Engineers, since the surveyors are the guys you usually see out and about. I imagine there's plenty of work to be done along the Arkansas River through here.

I live in White Hall, myself, and I can vouch for it being a great place to live. Butted right up against P.B. (Pine Bluff Arsenal is here), so not really a commute, but also quite safe with a pleasant small town feel.

As was said, there are also lots of other little communities in the area to choose from, and the commute from Little Rock wouldn't be bad at all, either, if you prefer to live in a larger city. The majority of traffic in the morning is heading from P.B./Redfield into L.R., so if you're coming the opposite way, you've got it made.

[Paige1979]

Yes it is safe tro work there, and I am sure even safe to live there depending on the area. Pine Bluff is not Beirut. It has nicer areas along with the high crime areas. Just stay away from the bad areas of town and you should be fine.

[hootietoot]

There are some good neighborhoods in Pine Bluff. Most areas are fine on the opposite side of I-530 from central P.B. (parts of Watson Chapel) and just south and west of the hospital (the Sherwood Forest neighborhood and right around the country club) and further south on Hazel St. (off Ridgeway Rd., the Rosswood neighborhood, and the neighborhoods around Seabrook YMCA).

Mind you, with the nicer areas north/east of 530 near JRMC, you don't have to travel more than a few blocks to start getting into the worse parts of town, and it bleeds over more and more all the time. There's also the issue of schools, if you have or intend to have kids. Anywhere in Pine Bluff, you'll either have to send them to one of the private schools or take your chances in the P.B. school system.