New to the forum (Sioux Falls, Rapid City: rentals, house, find a job)

[Michelle67]

Hello to everyone. I am happy to find a message board such as this one.
My husband and I are looking to relocate to S.D and we were emailed a letter to look into caretaking a ranch in Timber Lake, S.D. I was wondering if you guys can give me some input and such. my husband says it get really cold and being a california girl cold me to me 30 degrees... were I live... my husband is a electrician by trade and also a outdoors man (hunter) I am a housewife with housekeeping behind me. we have four children who age runs from 16, 13,12,10
anyways thank you for your time.
Michelle

[Jammie]

http://www.city-data.com/city/Timber...th-Dakota.html

Hi Michelle and welcome to the forum. I don't remember ever going through Timber Lake so the best I can help you with is the link above. It has a lot of info including the weather since that was a concern of yours. It gets MUCH colder then 30 degrees Keep in mind that the chart only shows the temps~the windchills are not included.

On the flip side, it'd be a very peaceful, secluded life and that sounds really good some days. Hopefully someone nearer to there can come along and give more info.

[Michelle67]

Hi Jammie thank you for the info... If you can give me any info for South Dakota. with my husbands trade being an electrician and four kids we would love to get out of California and find a nice spot the cold i don't care about like i told my husband if he wants to go i will pack and go. I would deal with whatever I have to. my kids are not to happy but they will get over it. we are hunters and love the outdoors. but we rent and so a rental would be what we have to get into right now. any info is helpful.
thanks

[Jammie]

Well, I'm not sure what the employment situation is for electricians in that area. But I can tell you that in southeastern So. Dak, they're always in demand and they're paid fairly well, too compared to a lot of trades.

I've read a lot about the things that are happening in Calif. and I totally understand why you want to leave there. We've got plenty of room for you and your family and I honestly believe that after you've adjusted, you'll love it here.

There's not much I can tell you about your specific area, but one of the things you may be interested in is the fact that we don't have a state income tax. We no longer have a personal property tax either. Renting or buying here is just a fraction of the cost that it'd be in Cali, but of course, our wages are lower, too.

Is there anything specific you'd like to know about the state? Maybe I could help you with that and I'm sorry I'm just not really familiar with that specific area.

[uncleharley]

Welcome to the forum. I hope to see many posts from you.

I am not famaliar with Timber Lake either, but I did find it on a South Dakota road map. I can share some info from the map a link from Jammie's link with you. The map indicates that Timber Lake is in a very sparsely populated area of the state. A link to Dewey county indicates that the population of the entire county is 6,161 people, 75% of the population is American Indian. A closer look at the map indicates that Timber Lake is located on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation and just south of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. I hope I'm not being nosey by asking if you or your husband is a native american? Would living on a reservation pose any cultural problems for you or your children?

Since Timber Lake and the Cheyenne River Reservation are located in the middle of the infamous wind belt of the Dakotas, I would expect the winter weather to be life threatening. This may not be a big deal to someone who is accustomed to it, but it can be rough on someone who is not prepared for it.
Because I have lived in sparsely populated, rural area's before, I would expect that your husbands employment would be as a contractor for whatever construction is going on in the area and whatever being caretaker of a ranch brings in.
Without knowing your background, it is difficult to come up with any advice. My thought is that it would take some pretty special people to make a go of the move. The county is sparsely populated because most people would not like it, not because it's an Indian Reservation.

Hope this helps.

[Michelle67]

You guys are awesome in sending posts to me. So okay lets go down this road.
what area would you recommend in moving to in South Dakota? Just to let you know if I can find a job for my husband he said we would pack and go! I was like okay I will find a job for you and you will come home one night and find the entire house packed. laughing.....
To move with four kids in the age range of 16,13,12,10 it will be a big deal. I am wanting to give my kids a better area to live and better people to be around.
We moved in the mountains 13 years ago and this town is surely turning into a busy populated area and I don't want that. My kids are very into sports football , baseball and basketball. right now we are in football and my older son is the quarterback and just has a deep love for the sport along with baseball also. my daughter she made all stars in her baseball league and is the second girl in our league history to be a girl who made allstars. she is awesome. my youngest son he is little but a big old heart for any sport.
Our true love is outdoors and hunting. I want to live in a place that still sees hunting is a positive thing not just a killing. I respect people who don't care nor like it but sadly enough in california there are more dislikers then hunters.
my husband being a electrician for 20 + years and also a guide he can be the all around worker.
For me I have bookkeeping, housekeeping and computer work behind me and will and want to look into an at home job to build.
south dakota from the pictures I find online and such is a beautiful place to live. the cold is cold from what my husband has told me and thinks I might not adjust well. but as I told him I would rather try and make the best of it then living here unhappy.
funny thing is there are other states that do not have such the welcome mat out for California people. and getting that in here is a great thing and keeps me on the road of South Dakota. sounds funny but I am very happy to find this message board.
So if you guys find the time just post your input for south dakota any place. like which area do you think would be a good move to with job opportunities
for an electrician. and rentals and such. all input is welcome.
thanks
michelle
PS if you like more about me I can talk on yahoo or msn or aol. let me know i will send ya a pm.

[Jammie]

You have a lot of options for the things you're looking for. I am personally vegetarian and don't like the hunting thing, but I am in the minority here. Your husband will find exactly what he's looking for in any part of the state. I'll let someone else answer about the game areas.

Sioux Falls is our largest city with approx 140,000 people. It is in southeastern So. Dak. and has the most employment opportunities. It has a lot of beauty to it and there's always something to do there.

I live in Mitchell and have always thought it's a good town. My thoughts may be skewed since I've always lived in this area. It's probably one of the biggest "sports" towns you'll find in the state. If you've ever heard of Mike Miller who went to college in Gainesville and then joined the Orlando Magic and now another team, he hails from Mitchell. Again, I'm not a sports fan, but I understand some of the importance of it and this is the perfect town for that. Our population is just under 15,000 and we have an unemployment rate around 3%. You can take a pic at the "Pictures" sticky at the top of the page and get an idea of what both towns look like. If you decide you're interested in Mitchell, I'd be happy to give you specific info in a PM concerning employment and phone numbers.

The newspaper for Sx. Falls is the Sioux Falls Argus Leader and the paper in Mitchell is the Daily Republic. Both are online. The area over here was originally the prairie and if you've ever read Laura Ingalls Wilder's book, "Little Town on the Prairie",~this is the area she lived in. (DeSmet to be exact)

There is a huge selection of towns and I hope someone will give you input on their choices.

THEN we get to the Hills area. It's breathtaking out there. Rapid City is the largest town there and they should be having a lot of good employment for your husband. Ellsworth Air Force Base just added 750 civilian and non-civilian jobs. We just got the Science Lab that will be built where the old Homestake Mine is located. (Lead/Deadwood area) If you've ever heard of Black Hills gold jewelry~that's where it was mined at. The area will be booming in the near future because they will have MANY scientists coming to the area who will need housing, etc. They'll have to add many new stores, convenience stores, etc to the area very soon. There are more towns in the area and if you find one you're in, don't be afraid to ask about it and one of us will try to help you. A few of our members live in that area so we won't have a problem getting info to you. If you've ever heard of Mt. Rushmore or Crazy Horse~this is the area it's in. You're only a couple hours from the Badlands and they are a "Must see", too. They are so different that you'd think you're in another world.

We always welcome any legal American citizen to our state. We don't care where you're from. I've read a lot of the things that have been happening across the country and I have the feeling that leaving Cali may be a good choice for you.

[Michelle67]

Jammie
That would be great with info. If I can find work for hubby I think everything else will fall into place. I love the pictures and can't believe the one with the snow. that is crazy. but I love snow just no driving for me..LOL
anyways do you have yahoo or anything we can chat on there.
thanks so much for all your help.
Michelle

[Jammie]

Originally Posted by Michelle67

Jammie
That would be great with info. If I can find work for hubby I think everything else will fall into place. I love the pictures and can't believe the one with the snow. that is crazy. but I love snow just no driving for me..LOL
anyways do you have yahoo or anything we can chat on there.
thanks so much for all your help.
Michelle

Michelle, I don't have yahoo chat and actually I chat very little, believe it or not. Well, on the puter anyway.

We have a PM feature on this site and I'll send you one. Not sure if you're aware of it or not, but just click on a name and a window will drop down. You can send PMs that way. I'll send you one~check the upper right hand corner for it.