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Howdy..
I am curious as to other con's for seniors to move there outside of the weather, got that.
We are active, on Medicare and husband is a cancer survivor. A friend of ours decided to move from San Diego to Prescott AZ and found it very difficult to find a primary care group which will take her insurance.
I currently live in upper Tucson area, however our state after the last election is starting to get a bit too liberal for us, it is just beginning. I fear for the future and we do not have much left. In the end, we have a hugh costly home which we no longer need. We both still drive and do get out frequently.
We would consider going back to Virginia however I think it too will eventually go back to government control.
As for purchasing a home, might consider however a rental to begin with is not out of the question. Would love to have a small 3/2, garage, basement, wood burning FP, one acre fenced lot, single level home for around 325K or so.
Utube has several interesting videos showing area..I liked it, does remind me of the east.
I just need a gym, Trader Joe's possibly, local nice dining and haft way decent grocery. Most of my stuff I order on line.
As a retiree also looking to relocate (from Sioux Falls), I think the cost of housing is comparable vs AZ, but I would take a close look at the healthcare you need. It doesn't have the Black Hills, but the healthcare will be a lot better over in Sioux Falls. I would also look at the location of Rapid City vs what you might want to do. If you ever want to do something that's not in the Rapid City area, it's a pretty good drive to say Sioux Falls or Fort Collins. That being said, if I currently lived there, I'd probably stay there in retirement. But since it has about the same weather as SF, and is kind of isolated, I'm looking elsewhere.
No Trader Joes, or anything like it, in the Rapid City area. Denver metro might be the closest. Health food/organic food does not have a strong footprint in Rapid City. Yes, Safeway and Family Fare markets will have an organic produce section, and likely a bit of meat too. None of the unique food options associated with Trader Joe's (Whole Foods or Natural Grocers). Decent dining is another sore spot for me. Not much other than diners (greasy food type) and national chains. Olive Garden is great Italian :-). Seafood is virtually non-existent.
The hospital in Rapid City is quite nice since it is the main regional healthcare facility. It was expanded quite a bit just a few year ago. The in-laws were on Medicare and were able to get access to specialty care right up to the end. I don't think medical care would be a reason Not to pick Rapid City.
Finally, your housing price is a bit low. The link is to the only house on 1 acre in your price range within 25 miles of Rapid City. I'm guessing it doesn't have all the amenities you would want either.
hello Rudydog1& ejisme our wants and desires are pretty close to yours, living in Prescott area closest neighbors are a couple acres away and that is close enough, dont mind people just like some space. this place has grown so much in the last 4-5 years . anyway starting to think we should have stayed in S.D. when were there 3yrs ago. looking at maybe spring next year. maybe outside RC sounds alright. we understand the weather, would like to have couple grocery stores, farmers mkt in spring and summer, wild life & trees, reasonable fishing, and neighbors we can see. Thank you for the info on the hospital. any info is appreciated.
People in the area are generally nice, and pretty neighborly in the small towns near Rapid City. There are homes/lots in the trees, but most newer homes/developments are on old hay fields. As my in-laws aged the neighbors really helped them out by plowing out the drifts in their driveway with their tractor, stop by to talk occasionally, offer to pick something up in town if needed, etc. There is some fishing in the area. I've seen a few people fishing along Rapid Creek in Rapid City. Lake Angostura is south of Hot Springs, and a bit over an hour south of Rapid City. That's the only big lake in the area for boating and fishing. Fall River runs through Hot Springs and has some good trout fishing.
Piedmont, Black Hawk, Sturgis, Deadwood, Lead, Spearfish, Hill City, Hermosa, and Hot Springs would all be nice small towns near enough to Rapid City. Piedmont, Black Hawk, and Hermosa are close in and don't really have their own shopping and groceries, except expanded convenience stores that make a good choice for an item or two. The other towns are far enough out that they have their own full-line groceries and usually a furniture/farm/ranch/hardware store(s). Sturgis is really a quiet little town, except for two+ weeks at the end of July, beginning of August for the motorcycle rally. Spearfish is the biggest and has a very nice Super Walmart and some other chain mid-sized box stores. Deadwood gets you the casinos and related entertainment and dining. Restaurants of some size and quality are in all the towns. You'll either love or hate them. Not much variety in any of them. Maybe a Chinese and/or Mexican restaurant mixed in with the diners and pizza places. This is NOT an area to relocate to if you consider yourself a "foodie."
Anyway, you know the weather. It's cold and windy in the winter. Hot and windy in the summer. Not much humidity at all. More like the front range in Colorado vs. the Midwest. Sioux Falls on the eastern side of the state gets that Midwest humidity. No tornados to speak of. The Black Hills keep the thunderstorms from becoming severe, but there are some impressive spring/summer thunderstorms that bring lots of rain and hail, and sometimes spark big wildfires.
thank you for the information. will look to rent first, last time there stayed in Custer for a few days liked the town alright loved the park the grocery store was a bit of a surprise $$. will keep looking on internet and such but can make no decision till we see it. hope you all are ready for the holidays and you have a good time, stay warm.
CON. No luxury car dealerships. Well, there is a Lincoln dealer but I mean Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, etc. For any of those you have to drive to Billings, Denver or Sioux Falls. CON. If you have family living out of state the summer is the time for them to visit you. Come fall the Black Hills tend to "roll up the side walks" with a lot of tourist stuff shutting down or going to a very limited schedule. CON. While the US Forest Service takes fires seriously Pennington County does not. There are a lot of homes in the forest that do not have the required two routes out so if you end up on one of them you could get trapped in a fire. If you plan to buy in the Hills, check out the road maps closely. PRO. Pretty nice summers with lots to do. Tons of trails in the forest and a lot of nice lakes. CON. With the current inflation home prices have gone up and so have property taxes. They might do something about tax relief this year but I am not holding my breath. PRO. Friendliest group of people I have ever met and I have lived in 11 different states.
Health Care . My wife has VA care. They referred her to a doctor in Rapid City. He referred her to the Mayo. So yes, there are things in the way of health care that you can not get in Rapid City. Sioux Falls I would expect is better.
Distance. The nearest big city to Rapid City is Denver, about 380 miles away. Billings, MT is about 310 miles away. Sioux Falls is 346 miles away. So if you need something and it is not available in Rapid City, expect a four hour drive.
Weather. I know you said besides weather but when the weather is bad they close down the interstate. If they close that it also means the secondary roads are probably just as bad. So you could be locked in for days while they clear the roads.
Forest Fires. If you live in the Black Hills with trees, there is a very definite risk of forest fires. Expect your insurance rates to reflect how close you are to the forest. I have lived here ten years and so far there have been three fires within 5 miles of my home, one was right behind my house in the National Forest. One had me trapped as the only road out was closed.
Seasonal activities. This is a tourist area and once fall hits things start closing down. So if you are going to have out of town guests, have them come during the summer when things are open. There are LOTs of things to do in the summer.
Howdy..
I am curious as to other con's for seniors to move there outside of the weather, got that.
We are active, on Medicare and husband is a cancer survivor. A friend of ours decided to move from San Diego to Prescott AZ and found it very difficult to find a primary care group which will take her insurance.
I currently live in upper Tucson area, however our state after the last election is starting to get a bit too liberal for us, it is just beginning. I fear for the future and we do not have much left. In the end, we have a hugh costly home which we no longer need. We both still drive and do get out frequently.
We would consider going back to Virginia however I think it too will eventually go back to government control.
As for purchasing a home, might consider however a rental to begin with is not out of the question. Would love to have a small 3/2, garage, basement, wood burning FP, one acre fenced lot, single level home for around 325K or so.
Utube has several interesting videos showing area..I liked it, does remind me of the east.
I just need a gym, Trader Joe's possibly, local nice dining and haft way decent grocery. Most of my stuff I order on line.
Anyway..would appreciate any feedback.
Jin
You can check with the locals but there is no Trader Joes in Rapid City. I don't think there is a Costco either. I know there are a couple Safeway grocery stores in Rapid. Lots of good places to eat in fact the last time were in Rapid we ate at a really good Japanese restaurant.
I suspect medical care is lacking especially if you are used to seeing specialists.
We were thinking about moving to Arizona and we did like Tuscon. I am an Arizona native who married a South Dakotan. Like you we probably won't move to Arizona as it's becoming to Californiaized :-)
House prices are skyrocketing in Rapid. Expect to start paying around $350k to get a nice house. I can remember when you could buy a fixer upper on West Boulevard for under a $100k.
We will be heading to South Dakota sometime between late April and early May I've bought my snow boots for just in case. I'm doing a South Dakota packing job as South Dakota's weather varies by the hour or day :-)
We were thinking about moving to Arizona and we did like Tuscon. I am an Arizona native who married a South Dakotan. Like you we probably won't move to Arizona as it's becoming to Californiaized :-)
House prices are skyrocketing in Rapid. Expect to start paying around $350k to get a nice house. I can remember when you could buy a fixer upper on West Boulevard for under a $100k.
As of Feb 2024, 350k is probably on the low side for a single family home in Rapid. Per the listing site I use for my retirement relocation range finding, the median listing price for a "home" was 363k in January. That also includes condos and townhouses, so I'd expect someone has to pay 400k+ just to get a "median" house in Rapid City.
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Jin
need pros & cons
