Best Area around Sioux Falls (Brandon, Harrisburg: sales, vehicle registration, insurance)

[lmoore715]

Greetings,

My wife and I are considering moving to Minnesota or South Dakota and wanted to get some information. We are a young couple looking to start a family and our careers. Things that are deciding factors are as follows:

1) Job Market (Bachelors in Business Adminastration and Bachelors in Nursing also RN with a background in Nutrition and Kinesiology).

2) Cost of living (We are coming from Georgia...Atlanta area)

3) School System (although dont have any kids yet this is important, also for graduate school)

4) Fitness Gyms ( Amateur bodybuilder and aspiring fitness center owner so this is important)

Any information would be great and greatly appreciated.

[Grizzly One]

1) Sioux Falls unemployment rate is lower than the national average. It has gone up a little due to some businesses closing. However, things seem to be on the rebound as I've seen new stores and restaurants opening as well as developers talking about starting up projects they put on the back burner due to the economy.

2) Cost of living should be lower but wages are lower as well. Should even out.

3) I don't know much about the school system due to not having any children. Check out this link: http://www.sf.k12.sd.us/SFSchoolDistrict/default.aspx

4) Sioux Falls has numerous fitness gyms all over the city.

[MJ1986]

Originally Posted by lmoore715

Greetings,

My wife and I are considering moving to Minnesota or South Dakota and wanted to get some information. We are a young couple looking to start a family and our careers. Things that are deciding factors are as follows:

1) Job Market (Bachelors in Business Adminastration and Bachelors in Nursing also RN with a background in Nutrition and Kinesiology).

2) Cost of living (We are coming from Georgia...Atlanta area)

3) School System (although dont have any kids yet this is important, also for graduate school)

4) Fitness Gyms ( Amateur bodybuilder and aspiring fitness center owner so this is important)

Any information would be great and greatly appreciated.

You'll love Sioux Falls! The area has Sanford Health/Avera Health systems... Sioux Falls has top notch healthcare.

Cost of living should be lower than Atlanta... but probably lower salaries... SD doesn't have a personal income tax, btw.

Sioux Falls Public has great schools... The private schools.. I really don't know.

Fitness... Tryon Gym is the big one here in SF.

[Chris19]

Originally Posted by lmoore715

Greetings,

My wife and I are considering moving to Minnesota or South Dakota and wanted to get some information. We are a young couple looking to start a family and our careers. Things that are deciding factors are as follows:

1) Job Market (Bachelors in Business Adminastration and Bachelors in Nursing also RN with a background in Nutrition and Kinesiology).

2) Cost of living (We are coming from Georgia...Atlanta area)

3) School System (although dont have any kids yet this is important, also for graduate school)

4) Fitness Gyms ( Amateur bodybuilder and aspiring fitness center owner so this is important)

Any information would be great and greatly appreciated.

1. Both should allow some flexbility in the Sioux Falls job market. Sanford and Avera McKennan are good for nursing along with a handful of specialty hospitals and the VA hospital. The business degree would be handy with sales and management jobs. The unemployment rate is low compared to national average and is decent but a job search will require more effort and patience than a couple years ago.

2. Cost of living is reasonable compared to most other parts of the country. The property taxes are somewhat high, but the sales tax rate is average and no state income tax. Auto insurance will definitely be lower than Georgia and annual vehicle registration will be $45-$60 a year (depending on the vehicle and county).

3. There are graudate classes at the University Center in SF (a coopeation of several state universities geared towards non-traditional students) and the private colleges such as Univesity of Sioux Falls offer graudate courses. For K-12, Sioux Falls has a decent school system, but neighboring towns have good school systems also. I would recommend Brandon and Harrisburg if one opts for a neighboring community, but the others are good.

4. Sioux Falls has plenty of fitness places. Tryon, as noted in the prior post, is a well-known one. Sanford and Avera McKennan hosptials each have their wellness centers that have the bells and whistles when it comes to fitness centers (pools, etc.). The YMCA downtown is another option along with Family Wellness (on the west end of SF) and both are well-optioned fitness places. There are a handful of other ones to note.