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Old 11-09-2013, 02:02 PM
 
63 posts, read 106,266 times
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What is life like in Watertown SD?

Is it really a strange little cliquish community like some say?

How is the selection of medical doctors and dentists in the area? Good, bad, or best head to another town if you need to see a doc?
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Old 11-16-2013, 02:34 PM
 
Location: Calera, AL
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OKC123 View Post
What is life like in Watertown SD?

Is it really a strange little cliquish community like some say?

How is the selection of medical doctors and dentists in the area? Good, bad, or best head to another town if you need to see a doc?
For a town of about 25,000, it does offer above-average retail and dining, at least in terms of quantity. If you want decent dining, your best bet is to hit up the chains sparingly and stick with the local joints (even that's hit or miss).

In terms of people, you can have it. Like I said, it's a town of 25K, but the mindset is of that of a much, much smaller town. It's extremely conservative (no real surprise there) and there is a distinct line that can be drawn between the haves and the have-nots. Truth be told, the haves really aren't as well off as they would like you to believe, they like to buy expensive cars and houses to keep up with the Joneses.

They're usually not straight-up jerks (but there are some), but "just" very passive-aggressive. Unless you are from there originally, or have family there, they probably won't warm up to you and would love to see you leave at your earliest convenience. Most will make at least some effort to hide their opinions, but like I said there are some that are openly opinionated like that, so please keep that in mind.

As far as health care, well, it's passable. Obviously the quality isn't as good as in say, Sioux Falls or possibly even Brookings, but unless you want to drive 45-90 minutes away or if they're unwilling to work with your insurance provider (which is a bit of an issue from what I recall) then you may as well stay close to home.
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Old 11-18-2013, 10:55 AM
 
Location: Sector 001
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Passive aggressive is a term I would use to describe people in Brookings as well.. gossip is popular everywhere but where I came from people are more 'in your face' about it... people out here are polite to others to their face, even downright friendly, but then will talk about them behind their backs. There's a certain amount of that everywhere though.

I'm not perfect myself though so overall I think socially a place is what a person makes of it... you can brush off negative comments and let your personality and character speak for itself, even if you are not interested in just fishing, shooting pool, and drinking, which is about all there is to do out here. With women all you have to do is sit there and listen and they'll have stories to tell.... I don't really care about talking to other guys from around this area because as I mentioned, pool night seems to define their lives... I'd rather hear kid or familiy stories myself.

I haven't been to very many places as a basis for comparison so my opinion can be taken with a grain of salt. Watertown has superior shopping and more natural beauty compared to Brookings but Marshall, MN as a small city beats them both (but there is state income tax there) .. and none of them really compare to towns in areas with more natural beauty such as Baraboo, WI or Spearfish, SD. Outside of a few select employers that pay well eastern South Dakota particularly outside of Sioux Falls does not offer much. Most of the people who work around here grew up here. Not many came here from other areas except to go to college.

One nice thing about living out here... 2 mile work commute, and none of the traffic nightmare that you'd get living in a suburb and commuting to a large city.

Last edited by sholomar; 11-18-2013 at 11:26 AM..
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Old 11-18-2013, 11:37 AM
 
Location: Calera, AL
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Brookings beats Watertown only in the employment (a somewhat better selection of decent jobs) and education (it's a college town first and foremost, and the Brookings public school system is better than Watertown's IMHO). The shopping and dining there is an absolute joke, though. Watertown's dining & retail is nothing to write home about, but it's by far and away the best in a 100 mile radius.

If you're talking about natural beauty, jobs, and/or education, I will concede that Marshall is better than Watertown, but Watertown is hands-down better than Marshall for the shopping and dining experience. Marshall is about neck-and-neck, perhaps slightly ahead of Brookings, but Watertown still has far more options. Mostly because it's more isolated than either Brookings or Marshall, which is probably a big reason as to why it seems so insular in the first place.
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Old 11-21-2013, 12:42 PM
 
Location: Sector 001
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Watertown has more natural beauty in very close proximity(lake right there, river running through town (Bramble Park) .. Marshall is situated on very flat terrain east of the buffalo ridge with flat terrain miles in all directions except west. Brookings is situated on a swampy floodplain of the Big Sioux River with fairly flat terrain several miles in either direction. Brookings is close to Oakwood Lakes and Lake Campbell, while Marshall is close to Camden State Park and Lake Shetek State park.

Brookings lacks commercial but has added some places to eat the last few years... also this just in the paper...

Brookings Register New 'big box' retailer coming to Brookings?

I have no town pride or attachment to any of these communities... my 'heart' still lies in eastern Wisconsin, for what it's worth. I do see the improvements Brookings is making and wants to make and look forward with some enthusiasm though. The new nature park is nice. I'd like to see a Kohls dept store here myself (I have been sending them store requests to come to this community) .. and I want to see them add an interstate exit (folded diamond, south side) to 20th street south in town, and then pave that road straight east to Aurora.

In the end Brookings residents can more easily drive to Sioux Falls than someone in Marshall or Watertown so that also has advantages. Someone in Brookings can drive to all the above mentioned state parks too... kind of centrally located which is why it lacks the stores like you said, Watertown is more isolated. The swiftel center has been known to bring some decent bands (like disturbed) here as well.

Brookings is growing faster and will continue to grow faster than either Watertown or Marshall going forward for the foreseeable future. Marshall's off interstate location gives it a particular disadvantage.

Last edited by sholomar; 11-21-2013 at 01:11 PM..
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Old 11-22-2013, 01:39 PM
 
Location: Calera, AL
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Yep, Marshall's fatal flaw is the lack of interstate access, which is probably why it's been stagnating for so long. I still think its location is slightly better than Watertown because it is marginally closer to Sioux Falls, and about an hour closer to Mankato and the Twin Cities apiece (you can't reach either via interstate from Watertown, either).

Brookings still has a little bit of that "in crowd" vibe, but not nearly as much as Marshall or (especially) Watertown. SDSU isn't just some little rinky-dink ag school anymore, it's a Division 1 sports school and its prestige is only looking to increase, so it now has more appeal than just to the locals nowadays. Brookings is also a fair bit cleaner and more progressive than M or W as well.

I can say with a fair amount of confidence that in the next 25 years, SDSU will have an enrollment of probably somewhere near 20K and quite possibly be an FCS school (not like Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, more like Wyoming, Colorado State, Utah State). It was an afterthought just a decade ago, but it's going places now.
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Old 11-23-2013, 01:17 PM
 
Location: Sector 001
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The point about being closer to the twin cities is very true. However if I wanted to live close to the twin cities and pay MN state income tax I'd just move to Mankato, Rochester, St. Cloud, Hutchinson, Stillwater (pretty, nice location) , or Winona (pretty town) .... somewhere even closer to the cities and closer to scenic, forested areas.

Winona:


Last edited by sholomar; 11-23-2013 at 01:27 PM..
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Old 11-23-2013, 04:42 PM
 
Location: Calera, AL
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Jordan is a really cool little town, too. It's roughly halfway between Mankato and MSP.
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Old 11-24-2013, 02:36 PM
 
Location: Sector 001
15,932 posts, read 12,179,960 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fezzador View Post
Jordan is a really cool little town, too. It's roughly halfway between Mankato and MSP.

Looks nice, and not far from Mystic Lake Casino (just 12 miles) and Valleyfair (16 miles) . A lot of the towns built along the Minnesota/River Warren River Valley are nice actually because it's such a large, carved out valley from the glacial outflow.

Perfect spot to live actually... not right in the middle of the twin cities so you still have less traffic and more countryside, but not far away from some of the best stuff.
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