[Crosstimbers Okie]

Absolutely. You don't need to be there.

Originally Posted by linicx

I watched the story on "BIG MAC on tv. I don't remember if it was on 60 Minutes or another show. It was labeled just as I said. MOST DANGEROIS was the phrase most often used to describe the inmates. In fact the story among other items mentioned the gruesome killing of the prison adminstrrator and some the employees which is what broguth about the 23 hour lock down. .

This is not a place I would like to raise children of any age. I would not want to come home a find dead child due to a prsion break.

And by the way at one time I sat in meetings with one of the inmates who was sentenced to Big Mac and yearrs later was moved to the medium security building. He is, if he is still iving, a convicted kiiller. We had many a conversation about life inside the main prison. It is worse than how it was portrayed on television.

[debbie at bouontiful]

I live 20 miles out of McAlester and my husband is at DAC (Defense Ammunition Center) which is a tenant on the Base south of McAlester. We bought a ranch and I haven't lived in such a pretty place before. We have lived in many States due to his job. NOW, McAlester has Zero entertaiinment. Our entertainment is riding horses and taking care of cows. If that doesn't interest you go to Grove. My parents moved here from Southern California and they HATE IT. I am probably going to help them relocate to BELLA VISTA, AR if their over priced house ever sells. Not sure what kind of work you do that your able to make a decision on many different locations but consider if you want land move to McAlester area. We do have the big Lake Efaula for water sports but if you want entertainment like a decent restaurant go elsewhere. Hope I can help. It takes me 1/2 hour to get into McAlester and then I have to shop at the Super Walmart which sometiimes I feel postal!!!!!!!!!!!! when I am forced to long lines or self checkout!!!!!!!!!

[gnight]

Alright. Now I have visited Muskogee in my quest for the "perfect" town. Really, I'm not looking for perfect but a nice combination of amenities and surroundings with the beauty of eastern Oklahoma. That may be the knock against Bartlesville. From what I can tell, it resembles more of north/northwestern Oklahoma and southern Kansas than the beauty of Eastern Oklahoma. But, I have heard great things about Bartlesville as far as the town goes.

O.K., back to Muskogee. I thought it was a good size town and closer to what I'm looking for as far as the landscape (the Tahlequah area is outstanding). It seemed to be a rather marginal city though. Maybe the areas I drove through were not representative, but many of the areas seemed a bit neglected and not as modern as I would have hoped. It really wasn't quite as bad as some had told me though. It seems I could live in the Ft. Gibson area and work in Muskogee.

Well, I'm going to keep looking and visiting. I'm actually taking a trip to Siloam Springs, AR in 2 weeks so we'll see how that area is.

[gnight]

Another update:

This time I took a look at Siloam Springs, AR. Seems to be a growing area and not to far from the Mecca of NWA. That place is really growing and everything is brand new. Siloam seemed to be a little separated from it all which was actually nice. It didn't really have a "town" feel. More like a drive-thru kind of place between Tulsa and Fayetteville. I did like the area but I would like to be within a couple of hours to Norman to watch some OU football/basketball.

I've still got Bartlesville to visit.

[Megafoxy]

Don't go to McAlester, you would be right by the state prison, you have the Ammuntion plant and when they test there bombs the whole house vibrates, the kids at McAlester high school are snoobs, and the Hospital sucks!

[StillwaterTownie]

Originally Posted by gnight

Alright. Now I have visited Muskogee in my quest for the "perfect" town. Really, I'm not looking for perfect but a nice combination of amenities and surroundings with the beauty of eastern Oklahoma. That may be the knock against Bartlesville. From what I can tell, it resembles more of north/northwestern Oklahoma and southern Kansas than the beauty of Eastern Oklahoma. But, I have heard great things about Bartlesville as far as the town goes.

O.K., back to Muskogee. I thought it was a good size town and closer to what I'm looking for as far as the landscape (the Tahlequah area is outstanding). It seemed to be a rather marginal city though. Maybe the areas I drove through were not representative, but many of the areas seemed a bit neglected and not as modern as I would have hoped. It really wasn't quite as bad as some had told me though. It seems I could live in the Ft. Gibson area and work in Muskogee.

Well, I'm going to keep looking and visiting. I'm actually taking a trip to Siloam Springs, AR in 2 weeks so we'll see how that area is.

Yeah, a lot of Oklahoma towns don't look all that attractive and well kept up. I'm glad Stillwater in recent years has been looking up in appearance somewhat rather than going down with so many Oklahoma towns.

Be sure to give the schools of these towns a good look. For instance, Cushing's downtown looks rather run down and abandoned, but go to their high school and you'll be surprised by how nice the buildings and the grounds look.

[Mattie Jo]

It is interesting listening to you gnight as you go thorugh these towns. I imagine that Grove will begin to have all of these restaurants that you like. Out of all the cities that I have been to, I believe I would rather shop in Fayetteville than Tulsa or Ft. Smith. I am not sure how far Fayetteville is from Grove, and I don't know what is in Joplin. If you really like Muskogee I would pick Ft. Gibson as a place to live or even Tahlequah. We have some nice restaurants here.

[gnight]

Wow, I didn't realize McAlester had such a bad reputation. I guess Big Mac will do that to your town. I hate to just cross a town off the list when I really haven't ever been there but so far this board has been pretty accurate.

I went back through Muskogee and drove up to Ft. Gibson as well. It seems the north side of Muskogee is growing with new restaurants, strip mall, etc. All, of course, around the Wal-Mart. Ft. Gibson lake is outstanding and the schools are apparently top notch. One of my friends is from Locust Grove and says Muskogee is too "ghetto" for him. I'm not exactly sure what that means. It seems to have everything we need as well as being pretty close to Broken Arrow.

I'm pretty concerned with the hospital also as I work in healthcare. Although a lot of it is brand new, I noticed they are building a new hospital on the north side of town. That seems like overkill for a town of 40,000 if the current hospital is functioning properly.

A new option, which isn't in NE Oklahoma like I originally wanted, is Chickasha, OK if anyone has opinions on that.

Still searching...

[Crosstimbers Okie]

McAlester is a great area. Don't let people who know nothing about the area or about prisons influence your views. The majority of thugs housed in OSP don't come from McAlester. They tend to come from OKC, Tulsa, Lawton and Muskogee. No one seems to be denigrating those towns for sending their criminals to McAlester.

[allendmaxey]

Grove has too many tornadoes to my liking. I've lived in Mcalester for 6yrs and never had any trouble, and I've never feared walking around town at night. Has a home-like feel to it and I'm from Tampa,FL. Well hope your choice turns/ed out well.