Peggy DeCelle Newman's appreciation for her home state of Oklahoma is as vast as the state itself.

"I love to travel but as I get older, especially now that I am a mom, I love to come home to the friendliest place on earth," she said. "I have been involved in the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association since I was a PT student and have practiced in various settings in central Oklahoma so I've grown to know many fabulous people that are my colleagues, but also many whom I think of as family."

The West South Central Region of the United States offers both professional and personal enrichment, according to the physical therapy professionals who live and work there.

The region's four states-Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas-are home to diverse practice settings, natural beauty and cultural offerings.

In addition to the various ways colleagues can find one another to connect and collaborate through the APTA, says Newman, PT, MHR, assistant professor and director of clinical education at the University of Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Sciences Physical Therapy Program, Oklahoma has a non-OPTA related list serv that is moderated by a therapist so that only Oklahoma licensed PTs, PTAs and students from accredited Oklahoma schools can sign-on and/or post. With more than 700 users, the list serv is a widely used tool to seek opinions, debate and share information across the state.

"While Oklahoma is vast geographically, we tend to be a rather tight knit group of therapists," said Newman, who also works in the clinic as senior staff physical therapist at Select Physical Therapy.

As president of the Oklahoma Physical Therapy Association, Jeff Jankowski, PT, ATC, director of clinical operations for Redbud Physical Therapy in Tulsa, would have to agree.

"Oklahoma does offer great opportunities for professional networking such as the OPTA hosting receptions for our Young Professionals and offer quality CEUs at both our mid-year and annual conferences," he said. "We are offering a Kinesiotaping and evidence-based practice courses at our spring meeting."

The Oklahoma Practice Act requires each licensed PT to obtain 40 contact hours, and 30 hours for PTAs, of approved continuing education over each two-year compliance period to be re-licensed. In addition to evidence-based continuing education programs offered by OPTA, the University of Oklahoma offers regularly scheduled CEU programming, as do various other physical therapy educational programs, Newman said. Additionally, many employers provide courses as a benefit to their therapy staff by bringing in nationally known speakers at little or no cost to the employees.

When Newman isn't working, she likes to pursue some of the many outdoor activities available in Oklahoma. We have wonderful lakes throughout the state, most of which are associated with state parks, including hiking trails, cabins and rustic camping sites. Fishing and water activities are very popular activities from end of May well into September.

Both Oklahoma City and Tulsa feature state-of-the-art stadium/convention center areas for hosting concerts, ballets and sporting events. Downtown Oklahoma City, where Newman lives, boasts "Bricktown," which is similar to San Antonio with a canal/river, many restaurants, live entertainment, theater and festivals of various kinds nearly every weekend.

"The weather can be absolutely fabulous, is regularly quite mild in temperature. I roller blade regularly on New Year's Day, for example. But it has violent outbursts quite frequently with tornados, hail, ice," Newman said. "The National Severe Storms Laboratory is located in Norman. We have the most sophisticated weather forecasting in the world so, although we obviously cannot control the weather, we are forewarned and have ample time to take appropriate shelter and gather items."

Newman spends a lot of time participating in her children's activities, which includes attending soccer and dance competitions across the state.

"I enjoy that our state has a relatively low cost of living so that allows my family to travel some in that we have some discretionary income after living expenses," she said. "We have awesome college sports so I thoroughly enjoy following OU and OSU football, as well as men's and women's basketball."

Oklahoma City was named one of the top 10 recession-proof cities in the United States by both the Brookings Institution and Forbes magazine. Tulsa was ranked ninth on the Brookings Institution list.

Like Newman, L. Vince Lepak, PT, DPT, MPH, CWS, assistant professor at Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center, likes to explore Oklahoma's many opportunities for families and individuals to explore the outdoors from camping to hiking to canoeing to bicycling. He also takes advantage of such cultural events as the Tulsa Ballet, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, the Mozart festival in Bartlesville, the Philbrook Museum of Art and OKC Museum of Art.

"I am fortunate to live in a state that seeks to cultivate families," said Lepak, who lives in Jenks, OK, and works part time for International Educational Resources (TherapyEd.com) and the Cancer Treatment Centers of America. "I enjoy triathlons, playing soccer, and spending time with my family at one of our beautiful lakes."

Oklahoma is known for great barbecue, Jankowski said, and his two favorites are Elmers in Tulsa and Leo's in Oklahoma City. "I also enjoy playing a lot of golf and we are able to comfortably play around 10 months out of the year," he said. 

Texas is also know for its barbecue, even boasting a Barbecue Trail through the central part of the state. To experience the trail properly, visitors begin the trek in Round Rock, just north of Austin, and eat their way to Luling with hearty portions of brisket, sausage, beans and potato salad. Texans will barbecue anything from ribs to brisket and from sausage to chicken. The International Barbecue Cook-off, held in Taylor annually (mid-August each year), brings in cooks from all over the world.

 Debbie Christian, PT, DPT, manager of physical rehabilitation in Norman, sees similar benefits as her colleagues. "Oklahoma has exceptionally friendly people, a modest cost of living and four distinct seasons, without particularly harsh winters or summers," she said. "It offers the opportunity for rural living within close proximity to busy cities with plenty of cultural and entertainment opportunities."

A Little History

For history buffs, Arkansas' varied geography and its location in the U.S. heartland have contributed to make the state's history an intriguing slice of America's story. Arkansas history museums, Civil War battlefields, National Park Service sites and special exhibits across the state relate the history of Arkansas' diverse cultures and history.

Allison Roux, PT, director of rehab at Delta Home Health in Hammond, LA, is originally from Metairie, LA, but moved to the northshore about 12 years ago. She now lives in Mandeville, LA, which is about 45 miles north of New Orleans.

"The area is very family focused and many professionals choose to move over to the northshore from the New Orleans area to raise children or to retire," Roux said. "There is much to do for kids and adults alike in St. Tammany Parish. We have an awesome bike trail, the Tammany Trace, which spans 28 miles and connects to great parks and crosses over 31 railroad bridges near beautiful rivers and bayous."

Many art festivals and charity-sponsored events are held outside, bringing a small town feel to the city life, Roux said.

"Personally, I love to play tennis and so the weather is usually close to perfect, albeit in the summer months it gets pretty hot and humid," she said.

As in Oklahoma, there are multiple opportunities for professional networking with district meetings of local LPTA groups on a quarterly basis, or PTs can attend one of two state LPTA meetings a year that offer CEUs as well as networking. 

When you think of Louisiana, Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, great food and bayous often come to mind, Roux said.

"I think some of the most fun you will ever have is if you have a chance to go to a crawfish or crab boil with family and friends," she said. "It is really a tradition that sticks with you for life, which leads me to another favorite pastime, especially most recently: football. The New Orleans Saints are 9-0 and the games have been so much fun to go to."

Just about every weekend for the past several months, Roux has kept busy going to her sons' soccer games and watching football, either the Saints or the Tigers, or both.

"I am truly blessed to live close to most of my family, be in a profession that I love and in an area that has a lot of opportunity for physical therapists," Roux said. "It has been ideal as a working mom to be a PT in Louisiana."

Sarah Long is a frequent contributor to ADVANCE.