A Few Questions Concerning Rapid City (Rapid Valley: sales, apartment complexes, homes)

[alexyz2618]

Hello

We've been considering moving from Omaha, Nebraska for quite a while now. While talking about relocating with a co-worker, he suggested South Dakota based on his experience living there, and I just have a few questions about Rapid City specifically:

- What are wages like? So many people seem to complain that SD has a lower cost of living, but wages are terrible. Minimum wage is the same as NE, so I'm just curious what general retail/sales/clerical jobs tend to pay.

- How are the storms? One of the reasons we want out of Omaha is the storms we get over the summer. I can't handle tornado season. I understand there are some severe storms in RC, I was just wondering the general frequency of severe/dangerous weather over the summer months.

[Jammie]

The thunderstorms are actually wonderful out in the Hills. I like them anyway. They're just different from the ones we have over in the eastern part of the state. The Hills area has a very low frequency of tornadoes. Tornado alley includes eastern So. Dak., but the Hills are more immuned to them.

We are a pretty low wage state. I'll just take a guess that starting wage for most retail positions are in the 8 per hour range.

One thing to keep in mind though is that we have no state income tax. It actually is a huge plus when you figure your take-home pay.

Ashnat, one of our members used to live in Omaha and she may be able to give you some comparisons and some suggestions, too.

[DannyBanany]

I'm sure Ashnat will be able to suggest how the switch is from Omaha to Rapid City. She's the Rapid City member that's from Omaha.

Wages here seem to stay low unlike in Nebraska where once you start you periodically get a raise. The job I started over 5 years ago has only given me a $5 raise since I began and I also became a manager a year and a half ago. However, the COL in South Dakota is very low and there is no income tax. We do have a food tax unlike Nebraska.

Tornadoes around Rapid City are VERY rare. I have never seen one and I've been here all my life. Storms here happen probably once or twice a week during the summer and they're usually quick. The snow this last spring was AWFUL and it's the most snow we've had on record. Now it's just been rainy but it's supposed to be really nice the rest of this week. Storms here are really neat! I love them!

[airboat5]

I love omaha Ive had a lot of fun there and made some mad money there this past spring.

[alexyz2618]

Originally Posted by airboatbill

I love omaha Ive had a lot of fun there and made some mad money there this past spring.

I can see why some people would like Omaha, but it's really just not the place for us. We're looking for a fresh start and there's a little too much associated with Omaha for us to be really comfortable here. Although I really don't like it, I won't go as far as to say it's a terrible place to live and should be avoided at all costs.

[ashnat]

I'm short on time, and my mind is all over the place right now.
I lived in Omaha for 5 years, I'm not "from" there. But I'm from close enough, Lincoln, 45 minutes away.

Anyways, my hubby and I are big city people. We HATE the outdoors (altho I'm embracing it living here). We hate small towns, the boredom in the winter, the fact that we are so far away from civilization. We hate that to purchase what we want, we have to buy it online. And I've got so many issues with RC public schools. IMO, RC schools is WORSE than OPS. Seriously.

But, if you love the small town feel, the outdoors, the slow paced calm feel, this is the place for you. If you can get over the fact that in Omaha trailer parks are hidden from society, but in RC they're ALL OVER, you won't mind living here.

Wages here SUCK compared to the big city, any city, not just Omaha. Homes cost 1 1/2 to 2 times what they would cost in Omaha, BUT property taxes are dirt cheap here. Many parts of town you'll have a beautiful view, which you can't get in Omaha. There's no state income tax, so you get to keep more of your paycheck. To license your car, you pay approx $50 per car (it went up this year I see, damn it, mine's due in July) instead of $300 to $500 per car in Omaha. Sales tax on buying a new car is only 4% compared to 7 or 8% in Omaha (I can't remember, I've lived here 5 years now).

I've always chuckled when I think that Omaha's metro population was 750,000, and that's the population of the ENTIRE state of SD!

When I'm on later, I'll list some more positives. Those negatives are things that have drove me nuts for 5 years, and everyone that knows me on here has heard it all from me

In the 5 years, we've had 1 tornado that didn't reach RC anyway, it was 15 miles south. I think that 1 time was the only time we were in a tornado warning, too. It's just not something to worry about here. Snow is USUALLY mild, melts the next day. This spring was wacko! When we do get dumped with snow, you'll be in shock with snow removal here. Much slower/less urgent than the big O. The town can shut down because of the weather.

Also, your hair will love RC, very little to no humidity. But your nose will hate it! My furnace is in my crawl space and I can't get any contractor/heater guy to come install a humidifier because of its' location!

I LOVE the month of June here. 60/70 degree weather with 20% humidity so it really FEELS like it's 60/70. It's just the most beautiful month here. If you love Spring, you won't like it here. We've had about 3-4 weeks of spring this year, THIS month, and next month is summer. You can't plant your garden til May/June because we still have cold nights here in May. It does reach 100 degrees in July/Aug, but it cools down after dinner and with no humidity you won't feel it as bad.

[alexyz2618]

Thanks for the replies everyone! RC is looking more and more like our destination everyday!

I almost forgot, though, does anyone have any experience with any apartment complexes in RC? Which to avoid or which to look into? What about areas of town to avoid? I'm used to associating "Northeast" with "bad" since that's the rough area of Omaha; I need to get my RC goggles on before we start looking at places!

[afdude2018]

Originally Posted by alexyz2618

Thanks for the replies everyone! RC is looking more and more like our destination everyday!

I almost forgot, though, does anyone have any experience with any apartment complexes in RC? Which to avoid or which to look into? What about areas of town to avoid? I'm used to associating "Northeast" with "bad" since that's the rough area of Omaha; I need to get my RC goggles on before we start looking at places!

North Rapid.

[DannyBanany]

I always tell people that are new to Rapid City to avoid anything north of Omaha Street. The Westside (especially SW) is the nicest part of town, followed by the Southside, NW side (Pinedale, Berry Pines), and then out east to Rapid Valley. Keep that "Northeast mindset"!

[ashnat]

North Rapid is the place to avoid, as everyone has said. BUT it is in NO COMPARISON to 30th and Ames in Omaha!!!!!!! (I lived at 80th and Sorensen, near Wenninghoff farm.)