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After doing research, I'm checking out several cities for a future place to live... I made a post earlier today describing what I am looking for and want to live in a special place:
Quote:
I'm graduating college in a few years and would like to start getting ideas on where to visit in preparation for finding my dream city.
A few things that are important to me:
Low crime
Cheap to live in (can get a decent place in the 'burbs or rural area within commuting distance for $150-200k) OR with a walkable, reasonably priced downtown area
Mid sized (100-500,000k people)
Good food!
4 seasons, I don't mind a very cold winter, in fact I kind of prefer it. I'm not a big fan of the heat!
A good economy
Not necessary but preferred:
A population of German/Russian speaking people (I am from Germany, my hopefully soon to be wife, Russian)
Good sports scene... I love watching basketball, hockey, and soccer
Near a small body of water at least, a city with a lot of lakes or maybe near the great lakes
Recommendations on cities/states?
So... I ask you... Why is your area the place for me, if it is at all?
After doing research, I'm checking out several cities for a future place to live... I made a post earlier today describing what I am looking for and want to live in a special place:
So... I ask you... Why is your area the place for me, if it is at all?
You're not going to find anyone around here speaking German or Russian fluently except for a few immigrants from the former Soviet Union states that have moved to Sioux Falls of recent and primarily work at the packing house. You will find some German speaking people on the colonies.
That said, this area was heavily populated by German people 3 generations ago. An extremely large percentage of the populace in South Dakota is of German lineage (me too since one of my grandfathers was 100% German).
Everything else mentioned on your list of "desires" matches well with this area. You'll have a hard time finding anything closer to your wish list than SE South Dakota.
What are the general people like? Is there a case of the usual upper midwest "nice"? Will a hard working southerner garner any respect by the locals? What's the cuisine like?
You'll find low crime and four seasons in Sioux Falls. You can find a very nice home in the 150-200K range...easily. Sioux Falls has a lot of chains, but plenty of hometown restaurants. There's plenty of bike trails, sidewalks, and bike lanes along select streets. You'll find the typical "midwestern friendliness". You'll fit in just fine!
The Multi-Cultural Center in Sioux Falls is a great resource regarding info on different cultures living in the Sioux Falls area. Multi-Cultural Center of Sioux Falls
People here for the most part are friendly. I think most people are open to meeting others that move in from out of state, respect is gained by being a friendly neighbor yourself, for the most part. There aren't a ton of lakes right close by, but they aren't all far away either. This seems to be a very big camping and state park kind of state, most people I know head to the lake almost every weekend.
What are the general people like? Is there a case of the usual upper midwest "nice"? Will a hard working southerner garner any respect by the locals? What's the cuisine like?
Respect is a 2 way street, no matter WHERE one chooses to live.
What are the general people like? Is there a case of the usual upper midwest "nice"? Will a hard working southerner garner any respect by the locals? What's the cuisine like?
You can come up here an ya'll us to death and we won't put you down. Maybe some occasional good natured ribbing might happen though.
Cuisine wise, no grits up here. Our corn is eaten on the cob or scraped off the cob and warmed up. The rest ends up in the local elevators for shipment.
I don't even think I have an accent, "y'all" isn't in my vocabulary, but a lot of people hear of a kid from the south, Kentucky especially, and automatically think we're all barefoot hillbillies :S
There are 2 small public use lakes in Sioux Falls as well as a small river and creek. There are a lot of lakes within short driving distance.
Sioux Falls almost seems like the restaurant capitol of the nation. There are so many different places to eat. Both chain and local. There's a decent amount of ethnic offerings. You should be able to find plenty of places that you would enjoy dining at.
I don't even think I have an accent, "y'all" isn't in my vocabulary, but a lot of people hear of a kid from the south, Kentucky especially, and automatically think we're all barefoot hillbillies :S
At least that was my experience in the northeast!
There are no similarities between SD and the northeast. A large % from the NE don't know that SD and ND are separate states and the next state west of Chicago has Denver in it.
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Maybe some occasional good natured ribbing might happen though.
