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So I've just landed a job in Rapid City that I've been trying to land for a bit now. So now the fun part begins... the logistics of moving. I'll be starting in just over a month from now.
I remember seeing on here some information in the numerous relocation threads about where to avoid living. The "bad sides" of town if you will. I can't remember, nor can I find the breakdown. I see West vs East thrown around. But North & South? What do I aim for/what to avoid. My partner and I do not do the apartment or multi-family housing. We like space and quiet--- so we've been thinking outside of the city or outside skirt kind of thing may be best. The only concern would be commuting in the winter. I just got back to Northern California, where I live now, last night--- was supposed to fly back on Tuesday but of course got stranded in that snow storm. Welcome to South Dakota? So do the locals have any ideas? We'll be renting for sure and we're bringing along are little kids, aka the pets: 1 border collie and 2 cats.
I've been following craigslist for rentals, but there really hasn't been too much lately. There somewhere else you recommend looking? I've started looking on the online RC Journal for listings too, but not much luck. Renting from a distance doesn't seem to be very productive either. I'm wondering if I should not concern myself too much until I get out there. I'll be arriving about 2 weeks before my partner does. That gives me a little... and I should stress little time... to snag a rental. Oy! What fun.
So I guess I'm just looking for a little advice from locals. Does anyone know about seasonality of rentals? In our area majority of rentals become available in later spring. So is the lack of a lot of rental choices in Rapid City seasonal? Then advice on looking for rentals outside of craigslist/newspaper? I'm sure there must be property management companies then... are there better companies to deal with in the area?
I would avoid the north side. No it's not terrible, but I wouldn't want to live there. Not knowing your budget, East, South, or West would all be fine. You could also look at the Rapid Valley, Summerset, Black Hawk areas. Commuting will be a breeze.
I'd say avoid box elder at all costs. I have nothing good to say about that pathetic excuse of a town. Their antics are great fun to watch, from the outside.
I'd say avoid box elder at all costs. I have nothing good to say about that pathetic excuse of a town. Their antics are great fun to watch, from the outside.
Definitely! I'd rather live in North Rapid than Box Elder
Definitely! I'd rather live in North Rapid than Box Elder
I have to agree! LOL When I first moved to Rapid, I lived in an apartment on the north side. It wasn't too bad living there, except for the police shooting two blocks away.
Overall, I don't think North Rapid is a terrible place. It's the least desirable area and generally has the cheapest housing but compared to a bigger city it's nothing. Generally speaking, Rapid is a pretty safe place to live. I got the North Rapid warnings when I moved here, but I moved from Omaha. The "bad" part of Rapid is nothing like the bad parts of Omaha. It's all relative, really.
Thanks for the replies. I've seen a lot of rentals around Box Elder--- so I now know to avoid them like the plague!
I basically figured I'm not going to worry about finding a rental until I'm out there. I can do hotel living for a bit. It's much easier trying to find a house when you're in town versus from 1300 miles away!
North Rapid sounds do-able if that's all I can find for a rental when I'm there. Black Hawk, Summerset or Piedmont seem to be where I'm leaning right now.
I did the same thing, except I did it in July during the height of tourist season. It was *NOT* fun paying $200/night to stay at a hotel! For us, the two best sources seemed to be management companies and Craigslist. You're right... depending on the month, sometimes it is hard to find a rental. Much, much harder with pets. I agree with the comments above. The only other comment I'd add is that if you're looking for newer homes to rent, you're probably going to have to look outside the city limits. Summerset, Blackhawk, Box Elder, etc, have "newer" tract-style homes.
Motels are very expensive during the tourist season. Just had friends in town and they stayed at the Best Western Town and country next to the Colonial Inn Restaurant on Mt. Rushmore Rd. If you stay 7 nights you get the room for 29 dollars a night and get a 5 dollar coupon for each person to the restaurant for breakfast each day. They saved their coupons for every other day and so had a free breakfast. The room is very nice, large if you get the rooms with the balcony and very clean. They did say the room goes way up starting in May (around a hundred a night) and then up from there later. If you're arriving in the summer expect 200 a night for a room.
Rent for a single family home in a good area (West or South East) will run you around 1300 a month and up. It's cheaper to buy in my opinion. Very tough to find one like that will allow pets. Sounds like the North side would work better for you. Living in Black Hawk etc. you will find yourself doing a lot of driving back and forth to Rapid and you will wish you would have found a place in the city. Not all of Box Elder is bad, you can find some good clean safe rentals there. It's near the AFB so the turnover is greater.
Good luck with your move!
Depending on when you are coming in, a cheaper alternative to hotels that is livable for the short term are the KOA cabins, or something similar. If they know you are coming into the area to live and need an interim place to stay, they may cut you a deal. We did that when we moved here in 2009. It wasn't a bad situation for the two weeks that we did it.
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So do the locals have any ideas? We'll be renting for sure and we're bringing along are little kids, aka the pets: 1 border collie and 2 cats. 
It's all relative, really.
