[Bravo35223]

I don't know if you would consider Alabama or not....but.

Here's a map of Alabama's Correctional Facilities...the ones in the counties surrounding Birmingham would be a good choice for you. Birmingham has one of the leading medical centers in the U.S.

Facility Map

And a recruiting video from the State Department of Corrections.

http://www.doc.state.al.us/video/recruitment.wmv

Also - would your husband consider working for a Sheriff's Office? IF he would, the pay could be considerably higher. The Shelby County AL Sheriff's Office is a great place to work and pays quite well...

Here is an opening for a Corrections Officer right now.... http://www.shelbyso.com/jpdf/1187381615.pdf (broken link)

Same with Madison County too....

[grandma2gj]

The East End, Sheridan, and Sardis areas are very pretty. They have nearby country feel stores and restaurants. Sardis has a country store. Sardis and East End are probably two of the prettiest places in the area. East End has a lake named Mary Lake but it is a monastary. It also has 2 other lakes Spring Lake and Ferguson Lake near Woodson. If you have any medical problems you can get to Little Rock in about 20 minutes. For hunting Sardis is an area with a lot of trees and forests and is a real country area. From the ideals of what you want about animals and the other things the perfect area for you is the East End and Sardis area.

[melissarose8585]

If you're looking for landscape, go to western Arkansas. Eastern Arkansas is considered to be in the Mississippi Delta; lots of flat farmland (which can be pretty, but there is not much variety). The Hope, Texarkana, etc. area is very pretty, and you are very close to Shreveport, LA. That can be a plus if you like to drive into the city on the weekends. Fayetteville is also surrounded by beautiful landscape, and it is a growing area.

Also, anywhere along I-40 between Little Rock and the Fayetteville area couldbe nice. The scenery is beautiful, there are small towns and larger cities, and the crime rate isn't as bad as Little Rock, Pine Bluff, or Jonesboro.
If crime is a big issue, stay away from the capitol. It is in the top 20 U.S. cities on the crime index, and has been for years. I try to avoid Little Rock as much as possible, and I'm a native to the state. Pine Bluff is the same, as well as anything near Memphis. West Memphis, Marion, Osceola, Earl, Blytheville: all of them are cities I prefer to not even stop in.

[melissarose8585]

Something I forgot to mention; there are quite a few jails/prisons in the Northeast area. I have a brother-in-law that worked at the women's correctional facility at Newport and the pay is not too great compared to some of the other facilities in Arkansas. Police officers are always in high demand here, but most of them only work for 3-4 years until they find somewhere else to go. The gang violence is high in many areas of the state.

[northbound74]

Arkansas: low paying jobs...not necessarily reflected in the housing costs, oddly enough.
high crime... even in some of the small towns.
bad schools in a lot of places...
not openly friendly, unless you're one of them...but if you're super out-going, you'll eventually be welcomed.

Don't get me wrong, it's not horrible, but I would not recommended to just anyone. It definately takes a special breed to tolerate it. I was born there, lived 24 of my 33 years there, very glad to be away from there.

[Jake92839]

How is the crime and housing in the Osceola area?
I am thinking of trying for a job at American Greetings.
Thanks.

[luvarkansas]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

As far as friendliness, I think it highly depends on what area you're talking about. Arkansans are somewhat standoffish for southerners, particularly in the Ozarks. I think it's a function of being the butt of jokes nationwide, people want to see what your intentions are and how uppity you're going to be. If you're well grounded and don't think the locals aren't as good as you are, then they'll be very friendly and you'll fit in as much as anyone. I think Arkansans are very much live and let live these days unless you fall in with the church crowd. They'll leave you alone and let you do your thing unless you have a death in the family or your barn burns down and then all your neighbors will come around and bring you dinner and help you out. That's what Arkansans, especially Ozarkers, are all about, leave you be during the good times, come together and help during the bad.

True, I have found the locals to be very friendly and helpful, but we've been very friendly first. There are some real characters out in those Ozarks, very interesting and resourceful people.

I'm not sure what you meant by "unless you fall in with the church crowd". I "fell in" with the church crowd deliberately....no one has harmed me.

[luvarkansas]

Originally Posted by EnisledLady

would prefer to be in a more varied lanscape rather then just flat.

Then you definitely want to stay in the eastern part of the state, and the NW corner is the most beautiful (IMO). I read one post from someone who prefers the Ouachitas to the Ozarks and I never understood why anyone would, but they said they preferred the way there are larger valleys between the mountains. And that is a pretty landscape. We drove once from Hot Springs to Petit Jean, I believe it was....anyway, we went west out of Hot Springs, through Mount Ida, and then we went north eventually on some scenic highway, I think it was probably 27....that was an absolutely beautiful drive....beautiful rural valleys with mountains in the background....it was nice. Sounds like what you're looking for. Get you one of those big maps called "Arkansas Atlas & Gazetteer" (got mine at Wal-Mart, though you may have to order one if you're in Montana or wherever you said you are)...it shows detailed stuff, backroads, topography....very helpful.

[luvarkansas]

Here is one of those Arkansas Atlases on eBay .NEW Arkansas Atlas & Gazetteer - eBay (item 180219033822 end time Mar-26-08 20:59:40 PDT) (broken link) ...they're easy to find all over the internet...this seems to be a decent price....mine was $17 years ago. It's a 2004 edition, and I'm not sure if there is a more recent edition or not....probably not, I would think it takes a long time to update those things. We have used ours to get around on the backroads and have found it to be fairly, though not completely, accurate. Probably need to get an updated one. But we used it to find Falling Water Falls, and are very, very glad we did....beautiful place! You really need to get one if you're seriously planning on moving to Arkansas and trying to find a rural place.

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by luvarkansas

Then you definitely want to stay in the eastern part of the state, and the NW corner is the most beautiful (IMO). I read one post from someone who prefers the Ouachitas to the Ozarks and I never understood why anyone would, but they said they preferred the way there are larger valleys between the mountains. And that is a pretty landscape. We drove once from Hot Springs to Petit Jean, I believe it was....anyway, we went west out of Hot Springs, through Mount Ida, and then we went north eventually on some scenic highway, I think it was probably 27....that was an absolutely beautiful drive....beautiful rural valleys with mountains in the background....it was nice. Sounds like what you're looking for. Get you one of those big maps called "Arkansas Atlas & Gazetteer" (got mine at Wal-Mart, though you may have to order one if you're in Montana or wherever you said you are)...it shows detailed stuff, backroads, topography....very helpful.

I don't know of any men's correctional facilities along the Fayetteville-Bella Vista corridor. Correct me if I am wrong. If there is, the OP might want to live in between Ft. Smith and Fayetteville based on what they are looking for in a place. North of Fayetteville the Ozarks give way to flatter, rolling hills and farmland.