Living outside of Sioux Falls? (Pierre, Selby: real estate market, apartment, house)

[Garo]

Hey guys,

Well, we made it! After logging in just under 3300 miles in 4.5 days, I have now seen the Dakota's. Exhausting, but well worth it. We totally loved it. The scenary was awe-inspiring at times the people were very nice. We went in this order with a little review:

Sioux Falls to Fargo, ND...Fargo, ND to Bismarck, ND....Bismarck to Rapid City, SD through Dickinson, ND & Hwy 85. Rapid City to Pierre then back to Souix Falls before heading home.

We took in Falls Park in Sioux Falls and really enjoyed the city. It was excellent for a "big" city. We thought it was a very clean and just overall "nice" city. We traveled up through Brookings and Watertown on our way to Fargo. We liked the scenary noth of SF better than south of SF, which led us to believe we had potential to prefer central/western Dakota vs eastern side. We didnt dislike eastern side though.

Fargo was also a very nice city but didnt really grab us. The people seemed very friendly, giving us undeserving discounts on our hotel, etc. ND is very, very green state. Was surprised to see Fargo and that part of ND be as flat as it was.

Bismarck, ND was impressive to us. The city itself had a nice charm to it and we loved the bigger hills. It was neat to just see nothing but open land then come over a big hill and there's the city. We took in the Dakota Zoo and left feeling very good about Bismarck.

Traveling west across ND was a very nice site to see. The hills and buttes with the mountain ranges in the background was great.

Didnt really care for Sturgis on initial impression as we drove through and stopped for gas. Rapid City was nice. Felt it was a little bigger and more crowded that Sioux Falls but not bad at all. Loved the Black Hills. Spent the most time stopped in RC to take in the Black Hills and the scenic drive, getting to see buffalo walk by us, etc. Saw Rushmore and the night time presentation. Saw Crazy Horse quickly. Took in Bear Country on our way back to RC.

While in RC, we experience 3 pretty heavy storms, all with a good amount of small hail. Drove through one, slept through another and then at Bear Country watched the hail pile up at the base of the gutters. Being a person who likes to watch storms, it was a site to see. Are these storms common? Are they usually worst or calmer?

We left RC in pursuit of the Badlands scenic drive off interstate. I completly under-estimated the Badlands. I was thinking a quick 30 minute drive, take a few pics and be on our way to Pizza Ranch in SF. After almost 4 hours of taking pics, quick hiking and just being amazed, we tore ourselves away. The camera was full and the battery was dying. This was a major highlite of the trip and something I will tell everyone to go see before there time is done. Wished we could've spent alot more time here.

Realizing the we had chewed up alot of our driving time at the Badlands, we wouldnt be able to make the much anticipated Pizza Ranch before it closed. We used the GPS finder and made some calls and found that Pierre had one. With zero intentions of going into Pierre before the trip, we felt it would be worth the small detour to see the city and eat at Pizza Ranch. This truly was a gift from God as we believe we found home. Until this point, we were debating back and forth between SF, RC and Bismarck as our future home. The debate ended in Pierre. It is the perfect blend of hills, small mountains, prairie, etc. The city is big enough but not too big, etc. Loved it. Will be doing alot more research on Pierre now and would love any thoughts on it. I'm not sure if the size of the city will be enough to completly support my job...I may have to work at Pizza Ranch part time. Speaking of which, it was as good as advertised. The pizza was great and the chicken was excellent. I almost shedded a tear when I saw the buffet had pizza, chicken and mash potato's...my 3 favorite foods.

We hurried back to Sioux Falls late that night after driving around Pierre for a bit. Slept a few hours then made a 14 hour straight drive back home.

This was one of the coolest trips we've been on and we both agree the Badlands was one of the single most coolest places we've ever been. We really didnt dislike anything. We loved the open country, the little "big" cities, the nice people, etc. Some little things...loved how the speed limits are upped a bit on both interstates and highways. Zero traffic was nice. Did not hit major traffic or stop for bumper to bumper the entire time except on the way home in St. Louis. I felt people there drive a whole lot better than here. People tend to actually use blinkers...and in advance...even when they dont have to. The weather was exceptional despite the storms, which didnt bother us. I was surprised to see RC had 90% humidity one day. That's a very high number and felt nothing like it does here in TN. The humidity is completly different. It was nice to not sweat like a pig from simple walking. We had to throw on a extra shirt on Fargo in the morning and then again at night at Rushmore when the wind picked up, but nothing bad. Loved the nice breeze and how it cools down at night/morning unlike here.

It is heart breaking to come back to TN. We fully intended on researching Pierre as much as can and hope to come back to visit in the winter to get a feel for the winter. But I dont think it really matters. We are expecting to have the moving truck ready to pull out next summer and head to the Dakota's.

I ranked the cities as followed as places we want to live:

1. Pierre, SD
2. Bismarck, ND
3a. Rapid City, SD (tie)
3b. Sioux Falls, SD (tie)
5. Fargo, ND

My wife felt:

1. Pierre, SD
2. Rapid City, SD
3a. Bismarck, ND (tie)
3b. Sioux Falls, SD (tie)


Thanks again guys for all the help before the trip. Were going to recharge our batteries then start to thoroughly search into Pierre. You guys truly have an amazing state. And to prove we dont have a "grass is greener on the other side" mentality...TN looked great when we compared it to Missouri and Western Iowa...but it doesnt hold a candle to the Dakota's.

[DannyBanany]

Garo that sounds like an amazing trip! Did you get to see Mount Rushmore and any other sights in the Black Hills too?
Lately Rapid City has been getting pounded with storms and heavy rain. This is very rare, it's usually dry this time of year and in fact forest fires start popping up!

[cancan]

Sounds like a great trip. Could you elaborate on the "North of Sioux falls Vs South of Sioux Falls" thoughts.

[Garo]

Hey guys,

I love the fact that I can actually talk on here now about specifics as oppose to pure speculation!

DannyBanany,

It was great. It's weird but I actually feel like a changed person from doing this trip. Truly awe-inspiring country there and we are motivated to make the move.

We did visit Mount Rushmore and thoroughly enjoyed it. We got into RC in the late afternoon and found a hotel. We ate wings and a steak at Shooters which was good, steaks were but overcooked but still good and no worries. We headed up to Rushmore to take in what we thought was the light show. We later found out it was more of a presentation and a spot light show which was still nice but the light show we were expecting was at Crazy Horse apparently? Rookie mistake. We couldnt help but feel patriotic and proud being there. Very cool place and something I'm proud to say I've seen.

We also went on the Wildlife Loop scenic drive through Custer State Park which was lovely. It's not everyday you see buffalo walk by your vehicle in TN. We went to Bear Country on our way out which was fun but a little over priced for what we got. We had different expectations and after seeing the wildlife in Custer Park...kind of lost its luster. This where we experienced our 3rd hail storm in 12 hours. We ran for cover before it hit hard as did everyone else there. I love storms so this was a free show for me.

As I said, we spent the most time sitting still in RC but still didn't have enough time to see everything. Would love to go back to the Black Hills and Badlands and do some backcountry hiking. The one thing we do love about TN is the Smokey Mountains. It was interesting comparing the Black Hills to the Smokey's as they are really different. I personally preferred the Hills. My wife loved both.


cancan,

What I was referring to concerning "north of SF vs south of SF" was the terrain just below and above the city within about 30 miles. We came up from Sioux City where the land was a little more flat than we prefer. It appeared to us that every inch we went north of SF the nice prairie hills started to gently roll more. From Dell Rapids to Brookings up to Watertown had the gentle grassy hills that were looking for. I was surprised when the land flattened out again as we approached the ND border and into Fargo. Let me know of anything specific I can elaborate more on.

I was a fan of eastern Iowa and it's open farm land before I made this trip. After seeing central and western parts of the Dakota's...Iowa does nothing for me now! There is alot more space, plenty of farmland and truly impressive hills/mountains.

We literally left Sioux Falls and determinded we'd much rather live there than here. (West TN) Then we felt Sioux Falls was better than Fargo. I really liked Bismarck and felt it slightly edged out SF due to the bigger hills. We liked Rapid City for the mountains and things to do in the Black Hills, Badlands, etc. It really started coming down to splitting hairs though as we didnt dislike any of them.

[cancan]

Thanks, I wonder does that apply right across the eastern part? Is mitchell more rolling than 40/60 miles south of it?

[Jammie]

Garo, that was such a fantastic trip report and we thank you for taking the time to share it with us. I'm glad that you and your wife like our state and we welcome you. So are you now counting the months?

[Garo]

cancan,

To be honest with you I couldn't say about Mitchell because it was dark when I drove through it. I think Jammie or someone else from Mitchell could help you more but I'm wanting to say it had the nice gentle hills from what I could tell. The southern part of SF just looked more like Iowa than SD imo. But like I said, I was in SF for about hour and half...I'm not exactly a expert yet.

Jammie,

We are counting the days, not just months! You would not believe how hot and muggy it is here in TN. We kind of have a "home sick" feeling and really are missing that sky and cool (to us) temps.

To give you an idea of how different the humidity is; this morning I had to switch my satelite radio from wife's truck (road trip truck) back to my work truck. It took 3 minutes. This was at 7:30am. I sweated more in 3 minutes in the morning here than I did in the 3 hours of hiking around the Badlands in the middle of the afternoon. Our low's are you guy's highs. People literally are not going outside until late evening due to the heat.

But amazingly enough, I keep getting told by people around here that SD gets alot of snow and that I shouldnt go.

[Jammie]

Garo, we do get a lot of snow some years and for me, winter isn't pleasant. But a lot of people like it. You'll just have to do what you and your wife want to do and ignore the others. Let 'em sweat. The Pierre area can actually get pretty toasty in the summertime, too, but no place in our state has the humidity of the South. There may be a couple of days that are close, but very few.

Cancan, the Mitchell area does have a bit of the rolling hills. It's just hills~nothing like the Black Hills or anything. The James River runs just east of town and it is very pretty and lush hills around it. Right now it's very lush because it's been pouring rain off and on throughout the day.

[Garo]

Jammie,

I'm more than willing to trade the southern summer for the Dakota winter. We hope to make a second trip back up there this winter to get a better feel for the winter...but being quite honest, the winters could be twice as bad and it probably still wouldn't matter to us. The pro's vs con's is heavily favored on SD's side. Plus, we actually like winter and love the snow...something we hardly get here. Southerners are afraid of the snow for some reason and dread the cold...so there over reaction to SD's winters are understandable. I had one person warn me to check my anti-freeze before I went on our trip because he believes the Dakota's to be below freezing 10 months of the year...and he was being serious. Like I said, unique people here.

I can handle a few days or even a few weeks of high heat but what we have here in the south is just miserable. It's sad but several eldery people along with high school and college football players will die this year due to heat related health problems during summer practices. It's a problem here that is getting worst.

As I tell some of the locals here, I can put on clothes and get warm...but I can only take off so many to stay cool.

(The irony of this conversation is thick...because my central AC unit went out and we've been without AC during all of this. I'm currently putting in a window unit until the cental unit can be replaced. I'm sweating from typing...)

364 more days to go...

[smitter]

I can put on clothes and get warm...but I can only take off so many to stay cool.

lol isn't that a SD anthem lol