Information on Rapid City and surrounding area (Spearfish, Box Elder: apartment, rentals)

[shawnnam]

Hi my husband and I our planning to move to the area with our daughter here soon and was wondering if I could get some information.

I had noticed that Craigslist is really not used very much there and was wondering is there another place that people use online to advertise rentals and also services. My husband is self employed and does handyman services his field of expertise is flooring installations. Was wondering were would he advertise his services in the area? Also were looking for a place to rent and was wondering were is there another online resource for rentals in the area.

Was also wondering what are the typical costs to set up utilities like deposits for electric and so on. Any other information would be greatly appreciated. My husband is in his 40's and myself in my 30's and our daughter is 5. Is there other towns we should look at other then Rapid City that are close by? Were easy going laid back people & like a quiet lifestyle. So appreciate any and all responses as SD will become our new home very soon. Thanks

[BrianGuy1979]

Well first off I must tell you that moving to Rapid City will be great for you and your family. If you browse the threads on this site, you will read all about the good things SD has for your family. My wife and I lived there for six weeks last year before we had to return to Omaha NE to aid my father. We cannot wait to get back. It is wonderful there! Read about our experience that I posted a while back here:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/south...spitality.html



We were just up there in August. We took a ton of photos....here is what it looks like there during August:


http://www.city-data.com/forum/south...ity-black.html


Now, you are having a hard time locating a place to live huh? Guess what? You are not the only one! When my wife and I were trying to find a place it was very hard to do...especially with only a month to get it figured out! I know from experience driving around just looking is the best way. For whatever reason it seems that Rapid is behind the internet times we live in. At any given time you can open up Omaha Craigslist and find pages of rentals posted in ONE day versus weeks worth on one page in Rapid. It goes with everything up there. No one really uses Craigslist. It seems that the local paper (Rapid City Journal) is still the main source. Anyway, there was someone else on here that was looking for rentals too. I did some digging and found a whole list of places and posted it here for her to view. Here is that thread if you want to see all of them:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/south...aces-live.html


I think you will love Rapid City. My 1st choice would be Spearfish however. Unfortunately it costs more to live there and there isn't as many employment opportunities in that town. It is about a 45 minute drive from Rapid to there.

I hope this helps!! I wish you and your family the best with your move once it comes! And remember, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask here. Everyone on this site that communicates regularly are super nice and full of knowledge. There was someone the other day that wanted a certain brand of Hostess Cake and she couldn't find it. Believe it or not, there were people on this site that went looking at stores to help her! Welcome to Rapid City SD hospitality!!

[SD4020]

Rapid city journal is a good source for Rental information. There area couple of larger property managment companies.

The Rapid City Journal has a "business card" page for advertising trades that would be a decent way of getting your name out.

[shawnnam]

Thanks Brian for the information. Yeah I used CL in WA, NV, TX & also here in WI and quite utilized. I actually had consider SD last year when we were moving but what held us back was the fact that CL is not really used and that is how my husband pretty much gets all of his jobs. But after reading more and more about SD especially Rapid City I am just convinced that we would love it there. Around here everyone is always in such a rush & be quite rude at times. My family and I were walking through a parking lot & instead of the person waiting for us to walk by they sped up and swerved around us needless to say I was very happy especially since we had our 5 year old with us. So we would love to be in an easy going environment with friendly people not sure when were moving yet but hopefully very, very soon.

We are looking for an place to rent around the 500 mark to start with would it be better to look in Rapid City or smaller towns that are nearby. I have lived all around the US and it usually seems if you live a little farther out of the bigger population that rent cost seems to go down is this true for this area & if so if you could let me know towns that have lower rent we don't want a whole lot of commuting as I am sure my husband will be working in Rapid City the most. Thanks all.

[BrianGuy1979]

Originally Posted by shawnnam

Thanks Brian for the information. Yeah I used CL in WA, NV, TX & also here in WI and quite utilized. I actually had consider SD last year when we were moving but what held us back was the fact that CL is not really used and that is how my husband pretty much gets all of his jobs. But after reading more and more about SD especially Rapid City I am just convinced that we would love it there. Around here everyone is always in such a rush & be quite rude at times. My family and I were walking through a parking lot & instead of the person waiting for us to walk by they sped up and swerved around us needless to say I was very happy especially since we had our 5 year old with us. So we would love to be in an easy going environment with friendly people not sure when were moving yet but hopefully very, very soon.

We are looking for an place to rent around the 500 mark to start with would it be better to look in Rapid City or smaller towns that are nearby. I have lived all around the US and it usually seems if you live a little farther out of the bigger population that rent cost seems to go down is this true for this area & if so if you could let me know towns that have lower rent we don't want a whole lot of commuting as I am sure my husband will be working in Rapid City the most. Thanks all.

No problem on the info I provided you! I'm more than happy to help out if I can! As for being under $500, it can be done....but you will have to settle for less. Less as in no more than two bedrooms, not the nicest side of town (in Rapid) living on the out skirts of town, perhaps an apartment and the possibility of a trailer home. Here in Omaha if you live in a trailer, you are TRASH. People look down on you for living in them. However, up in Rapid, it is a way of life. That is one of the things I loved about living there. People don't judge you on what you drive, where you live, where you work or what clothes you wear. They are all American people that are just trying to make it through life. Simple as that. In Rapid the thought is, "You live in a trailer? SO WHAT! WHO CARES?!?!" There are a couple towns on the outskirts of Rapid City called Box Elder and Piedmont. There are a lot of trailer home communities in there. For example, here are some I just located:

Smaller 1.5 Bdrm Mobile Home (http://rapidcity.craigslist.org/apa/2005184876.html - broken link) $400 2 bed

2 Bd 1 Bath mobile home in Box Elder (http://rapidcity.craigslist.org/apa/2003286406.html - broken link) $475 2 bed

http://rapidcity.craigslist.org/apa/2003229325.html (http://rapidcity.craigslist.org/apa/2003239445.html - broken link) $450 2 bed

1 bath, Mobile Home Special! Pets OK (http://rapidcity.craigslist.org/apa/2003226936.html - broken link) $550 3 bed

Ellsworth Mobile Home (http://rapidcity.craigslist.org/apa/2000115135.html - broken link) $495 2 bed

1, 2, AND 3 BEDROOMS AVAILABLE NOW (http://rapidcity.craigslist.org/apa/2000070692.html - broken link) $435 1 bed (HAS MORE rooms in different locations) This guy's name is Albie. He is a foreign guy that moved to Rapid City to start a new life for his family. He didn't want to be near violence anymore. He wanted to be able to help people also. So, he moved here, saved some money, got his credit built up and then partnered up with someone and bought a mobile home park in Rapid. Since then as people move their trailers out he puts BRAND NEW ones in their place and rents them out. He is not concerned so much about a credit score like everyone seems to be. He like to sit down with you and learn about your life story and what got you to where you are now. That is how he bases his decisions on letting people move in. VERY nice guy! If you see him, tell him Brian from Midcontinent says hello! However, he probably won't remember me. lol We didn't rent from him because we wanted to be on the west side of town and could afford it, so we got a rental house instead.

[shawnnam]

Thanks Brian we actually right now don't care what we move into to start with even it was the worse side of town which I can't imagine being really all that bad..just when we move we want to keep our overhead very low just so we can get back up and running faster my husband already has a very good job lead for once we arrive the manager said when ever we move there to come on in & if they like what they see they will create a new job for him & that was the only place he has contacted so far which just gives me such great hope Thanks for the links I am going to check into those also along with the other towns mentioned. We currently live in a nice house but if we have to downgrade to even a studio apartment for the time being I don't care.

[BrianGuy1979]

Originally Posted by shawnnam

Thanks Brian we actually right now don't care what we move into to start with even it was the worse side of town which I can't imagine being really all that bad..just when we move we want to keep our overhead very low just so we can get back up and running faster my husband already has a very good job lead for once we arrive the manager said when ever we move there to come on in & if they like what they see they will create a new job for him & that was the only place he has contacted so far which just gives me such great hope Thanks for the links I am going to check into those also along with the other towns mentioned. We currently live in a nice house but if we have to downgrade to even a studio apartment for the time being I don't care.

I love your enthusiasm and desire to "do what you gotta do" attitude! That's what it takes to make a better life for your family. That is the way my wife and I are right now. We don't dine out, we cut our cable off, trimmed everything we could so by the time July comes we will have enough saved to get out of here. I am almost 100% I will have a job lined up so I we will need to worry about is finding a place to live and having enough money put away for the move, first months rent and deposit and another month of living expenses while we wait for the pay checks to start rolling in. You know how it is when you start a new job. Depending on what day you started, you may get paid for one day of work on the first check and then have to wait two weeks to get another check. We gotta be prepared!!