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Old 04-22-2010, 02:54 PM
 
4 posts, read 11,368 times
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Hi - We've vacationed in the beautiful Black Hills numerous times over the years, but weren't viewing it through the eyes of "living there". But now it's a possibility. We have a job prospect in Rapid City, but would prefer to live in a small town and have our children enrolled in small schools. After doing some research, Hill City sounds like a very nice town that would suit our desires.

Question #1 - Is it reasonable to think of living in Hill City and commuting to Rapid City for work? (during the winter???)

Question #2 (actually several questions along the same theme) - Are there places for teens to hang out with friends and not get into trouble? Bowling alley? Pizza joint? I guess they go to Rapid for the movie theater/mall? How about a city pool in the summer - does one exist? If not, where do kids go swimming? Having only been on the main street as a tourist, I don't really know how the town is laid out, so are kids able to ride bikes around safely, walk to friends houses, walk to school if they live close enough, etc???

Question #3 - We are just looking for that small town feel. I know it's a super busy place in the summer, but does it generally quiet down the rest of the year and feel like any other small town?

Any info. would be appreciated! Thanks!
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Old 04-22-2010, 04:38 PM
 
Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota
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The commute from Hill City to Rapid City in the winter is iffy. Even though that area of the Black Hills doesn't get as much snow as the Northern Hills, it still sees its share of bad weather. That commute would be very long and tiresome. Not to mention expensive. If you want the feel of Hill City with Rapid City close by I suggest looking at places along Sheridan Lake Road, Countryside, and Colonial Pines.
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Old 04-23-2010, 08:24 AM
 
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Hmmm...interesting. I googled Colonial Pines and those places you mentioned do look and sound appealing. I assume the kids go to Rapid City schools, though, right? Pretty large high schools in Rapid City unless attending a smaller private school.

Yes, I guess commuting from HC to RC would not be such a great idea. The distance that something appears on a map can end up being much further when you actually drive it! Especially in the hills.
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Old 04-23-2010, 08:34 AM
 
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If you want out of the Rapid City Schools Hill City isn't that bad. However wintertime travel can be difficult. Summertime you have to contend with tourist. Even with 4 lane roads part of the way its not so bad. I think I would pick a different location. Perhaps Black Hawk or Hermosa.
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Old 04-23-2010, 09:27 AM
 
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Something to keep in mind about Hermosa is that the kids go all the way to Custer for high school... They have younger kids go right there in Hermosa.. just something to think about if you consider going that way Same issues with Black Hawk - they have the younger kids going to school right there in Black Hawk if you choose, but for high school they would go Sturgis or Rapid.
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Old 04-23-2010, 11:54 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BusySocialWorker View Post
Something to keep in mind about Hermosa is that the kids go all the way to Custer for high school... They have younger kids go right there in Hermosa.. just something to think about if you consider going that way Same issues with Black Hawk - they have the younger kids going to school right there in Black Hawk if you choose, but for high school they would go Sturgis or Rapid.
Open enrollment will give a choice between Custer and Rapid City. Hermosa has K-8 in town.
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Old 04-23-2010, 03:05 PM
 
955 posts, read 3,638,153 times
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a word of warning about open enrollment - Rapid plans to really limit open enrollment along with possibly re-drawing some of the current boundaries as many of the schools are over-crowded... sounds like they will try to work around needs, but if a kiddo transfers in and lives in that district, they could bump an open enrollment kiddo out even mid year to fill the spot... a chance you may have to take if you go that route..

So yes, they could have a choice between Custer and Rapid, but I thought the point of moving out of Rapid was to avoid the Rapid School district - hence my post about where they would go living in those areas

Here's some of the concern:

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news...cc4c03286.html

Last edited by BusySocialWorker; 04-23-2010 at 03:07 PM.. Reason: added story link
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Old 04-24-2010, 06:30 AM
 
Location: rapid city sd
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I love hill city but the drive to RC would be to much for me every day.
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Old 04-27-2010, 01:24 AM
 
Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota
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Yes, Colonial Pines kids go to Rapid City schools. Central High School has about 4,000 kids and Stevens High School has about 3,000 (guesstimating here). Saint Thomas More has about 250 kids. Also check out Black Gap. It's a subdivision south of Rapid City. It's a little more prairie than Hill City though.
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Old 04-27-2010, 08:50 AM
 
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Rockerville would be better than Black Gap if you are wanting a hills experience.
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