Beautiful State, but where do you Live? (Sioux Falls, Rapid City: relocation, home)

[WLeonardAthas]

Thinking of relocation to South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana. I have recently and for the first time in my life, planned a trip to South Dakota in November to go pheasant hunting. I spoke with a number of people from South Dakota while arranging the trip and I have never in my life run across such a wonderfully refreshing mannerly and kind group of people. I felt like I had known each and every person for some time. This overhwelming kindness and genuine good manners is what has started me thinking and researching. I live near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and have been in Florida for 18 years. My wife is from Mississippi and I from Maryland. I am ready to retire from 26 years as a federal agent and I am really burned out on the South Florida dtype of people. I love the fishing and weather in Florida, but there is more to life than living in a county (Broward County Florida) where the county is only 1,205 square miles and the population is 1,755,000. We had three bank robberies in this relatively small county last week. Bad manners and disrespect are the rule not the exception. I love to hunt and my wife and I like some rolling hills (where the hunting is good especially pheasant hunting). Thank you all in advance for your kind attention to this help in finding a new home. I am going pheasant hunting in the Willow Lake area of Clark County, SD (I believe). /s/ Wanna be newcomer

[Jammie]

Hi W, come on up. Have you thought about visiting the Black Hills while you're here? They're in the western part of the state and it's probably the prettiest area of our state. The state is divided by the Missouri River and the eastern half (where I live) is fairly flat, but it is green and has a lot of trees. The western half has the Badlands and the Black Hills. If you just do a search and type in Black Hills of So. Dak, it will bring up some pics and you can decide if that's what you're looking for. A few of the towns out that way are Rapid City, Spearfish, Hot Springs, Deadwood, etc. If you do a detailed profile of them and find a city you like and have anymore questions, just ask and I'll try to help a bit. You'll be in for two big surprises though. The cost of living here is a LOT cheaper then it appears to be in Fla. And the other surprise is that we do have hot summers, not terribly humid though AND some of our winters are very cold and snowy. I hope that you can pinpoint an area and that you'll post again. Someone will come along and be able to help you with it. And yes, the people in So. Dak. are generally very friendly. Your experience wasn't isolated. Oh yes, and not to worry about overcrowding. When I went to school our state had a population of 600,000 and now I believe it's grown to about 750,000.

[uncleharley]

The Black Hills are great for Turkey and Mule Deer hunting. If you are interested in challenges, South Dakota also has a limited number of Mountain Lion permits each year. Most of the Lions are in the Black Hills or the Badlands of west river. South Dakota is famous for it's Pheasant hunting & it tends to be the best in the farmland of east river. The best White tail Deer hunting will also be east river, but White Tails can show up almost anywhere.

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[kbender]

I recently archery antelope hunted out of rapid city in new underwood. I would like information or help on some good places to white tail or mule deer hunt for next year. The place I hunted, I treated like it was my own ranch.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[uncleharley]

Try this website. It has more information than I could relate.

http://www.sdgfp.info/Index.htm


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[afdude2018]

I live on Ellsworth AFB which is just East of Rapid City and the Black Hills. So if you need some info on this part of the state I could help you out a little. There will probably be others who can help you more since I've only been living here for 3 years. I'm originally from Mechanicsburg, PA(just outside of Harrisburg). I love this part of the state!

[Jammie]

Alright AF, welcome. We don't have many members from West River, so I'm glad you're here.

[afdude2018]

Thanks!!! I'll help out wherever I can!

[lcb]

WLeonardAthas, Welcome!! We'd love to have you for a visit or a transplant! I am confident you will find us to be generally friendly, kind and polite folks.

The upland gamebird hunting is great, particularly in central and south central South Dakota. We've also got great turkey and mule deer hunting. Also on the increase in this part of the state are the sightings of mountain lions. Yes, there is a legal season to harvest mountain lions here. You'll probably need to be in the hills for elk hunting. The fishing is awesome along the Missouri River in the areas of the Fort Randall Dam (Pickstown) and Oahe Dam (Pierre).

Pierre is close to the center of our state. Sioux Falls is extreme eastern/southeastern and Rapid City is far west central. We are a geographically large state (2/3 of our area is west of the Missouri river).

We truly are the land of infinite variety! You'll find such diversity that you and your wife will need to visit for more than just a weekend to get to taste a variety of the many wonderful places we have to offer. The northwest corner of the state is quite sparsely populated. You'll find the most densely populated area to be around Sioux Falls. In between you'll find open arms, warm hearts and hearty handshakes saying "Come on in, my friend!"!

[WLeonardAthas]

Thanks to each of you who responded. I am continuing to conduct virtual tours of the state on line and I will be physically there in two weeks. I feel like a kid waiting for the trip. I will be in your fine state for one week and I will post when I return with additional questions I am certain. /s/ wla