There are some folks on here that work down that way... I'm not sure of their work schedules right now, so if we don't hear from them on here in the next day or so I'll send an email to see if they have any suggestions about living in the area.
Not sure how long of a drive it is, but Natchez is a pretty nice town... Not a big city or anything, but a really neat town. If you're looking to rent, take a look at Zachary. I think it's about half the travel time that Natchez would be.
Don't be afraid about contacting the people you were talking to while you were down there either... You did get email addresses, right?
Congrats, and good luck!