Tell me about Spearfish (Rapid City, Lead: low income, sales, real estate)

[snowlandcook]

I am thinking about applying for a job at the university in Spearfish. The job sounds written for me, but I know nothing about Spearfish (except for what I've read at city-data).

Here are my main questions, but I'd like to hear anything you have to say about the area!

My spouse designs homes--would he be able to find work?

Are people friendly? Welcoming to newcomers from out of state (MN)?

How bad are taxes and the cost of living?

Is the area considered liberal or conservative?

Where do people go to shop? I love Macy's--where is the closest one?

I can't tell how much snow you folks get there---I love snow. Is there enough to play in?

Thanks!

[Jammie]

Hi Snow, Aw~~~Spearfish has always been my fave city in SD. The population is just under 10,000 and it's the cutest town nestled in a valley. From the university, you have a beautiful view of the Hills. Spearfish Canyon is a very beautiful place just outside of Spearfish. And yes, the people are very friendly there. One of their main businesses is tourism so they are very open to outsiders.

I honestly couldn't tell you about employment for your husband, but there always is a lot of building going on out there.

Oh yes, they get PLENTY of snow. I believe their average is something like 90 inches of snow a year. Late last spring they got a final snowfall of 72 inches at one time. WAY too much snow for me.

I'm just going to venture the guess that Spearfish is somewhat conservative. I think the whole state pretty much more conservatives then liberals.

As far as shopping, I'm not really sure. You'd maybe need to venture into Rapid City for shopping. They do have several cute stores in Spearfish, but they seem to lean more toward tourist trade.

[snowlandcook]

Thanks Jammie. You make it sound like a great place to live.

I noticed that the unemployment rate is extremely high there. Any ideas why that might be?

[Jammie]

Yes, it is a beautiful place, but here are the bad things about it. It is cold and snowy during the winter and the employment situation there isn't good. They hire a lot of foreign exchange students out there for the summer tourist season. The whole area out there hires either the students or retired people who live in campers and travel up here for the summer season and work a few months and then go back to warmer areas. So many places don't employ people year round and this way they don't have to pay any benefits. They have very little manufacturing out there and since those two groups of people take all the restaurant/hotel/convenience store, etc jobs, it definitely minimizes many jobs. They do some timbering out that way, but I'm not sure if that's steady work or not either since the winters can be brutal. My guess is that the University would probably be the main full time employer out there. Are you planning on subsidizing your income with summer employment? If so, it should be easy to pick up a summer job out there, but you'll definitely need the university job for your main income and benefits.

[Gillette]

Spearfish is my favorite town in the Black Hills and you can not go wrong there An option could be living in Wyoming to the west with low taxes compared to SD and if you were both willing to commute. Gillette is about a hour or so to the west which is in a housing boom. Looking between 500-700 new dwellings to be built next year in the Gillette area.


Good Luck.

[Jammie]

Hey Gillette, it's nice to know you like Spearfish, too. Isn't it the cutest town? I read on the Wyo. and neighboring boards on occasion and it's just unreal how long Gillette has held their booming years. They started on a roll way back in the early 80s already. It sounds like their housing will finally catch up with all the jobs they have to offer.

[pejuta]

i did live in rapid city,now in spearfish. it is an easy commute to a lot of places,due to interstate. spearfish,has wal mart and kmart no major stores that i know of. there is always the internet for shopping. there are homes being built in the black hills. weather doesnt stay bad. a lot of bad weather goes around spearfish. i think sales tax is about 7 percent. something like that. there is low income housing,which i live in. employment may be low because of the large senior population????lot of us.

[cerelean blue]

Hi I don't live in the state for now but I did purchase a home there that needs alot of work until it is livable in Spearfish.
Of all the black hill towns I think spearfish is the nicest. It is actively growing so I don't know how long that will last being of it's good location to Wyo, Co. and Montana off of the expressways.

There is a fair amount of new building. Larger homes in the mtns. and more midsize in town. The people are very nice, the largest dept type stores like Kolhs etcs. are in Rapid city about a 45 min drive from Spearfish.

Lead and Deadwood are about 20 mins away. Deadwood is mainly gambling halls. I don't care for it much. It is very touristy and the main business of casinos and the noise that goes with them, even though it's orig. population is rather small.

Belle Fouche is about 10 mins north of spearfish and still has the small town feel and very reasonable housing. Most groc stores are small except for a safeway in spearfish. There is a super walmart there now too. Acceptance of that store there is mixed.

If you want more of a city feel rapid city would be the place to go but it's size is much smaller than say Denver. But it does have a fair amount of the basic chain stores and many places to eat. The black hills area is very pretty. Mainly large hills ( I would call them mtns since I live in the east and they are taller than the easter mtns ), about a mile high. pine trees and aspen are the main vegetation.

I believe they call the area the banana belt because the area has a medium temp that I believe is in the low 50s. It can be bitterly cold in the lead/deadwood area as in 25 degrees below 0 in the winter for a few days and last year they got 5 ft of snow in one day, I kid you not !It has been known to be in the 90s in summer but it's dry heat.

But I live in Wisc. now and we have had colder temps and more snow than there this winter. We don't usually have a first snow til nov and it ends by april.

It is not uncommon for them to have 50 degree temps in jan or feb in the blk hills, for a few days BUT they usually have their first snow, end of Sept. and spring doesn't really come until May or later.At least 2 very nice ski hills in the lead/deadwood area and snow mobiles.When the summer comes though even though breif it is drop dead gorgeous!

I would say politically they are mixed. I believe they have some of the "old west" spirit of not liking gov. or any one else "over there head" personally and in business.

There are many churches there and followers also. They have a nice small organic type food/ vit store in Spearfish that has expanded. A couple good coffee shops and also some in rapid city. Lead is also a small town that has cheaper homes.They are built very close together because of the hills and most of them you have to climb alot of steps to your front door. Roads are slippery in the winter. It is more run down that the others but the gov is trying to usher in a special science lab( undeground) using the old open cut as they call it from mining. It is to study neutrinos. so they are hoping to get it and have it build up the town. Lead was a main place of mining for gold in the past and when they closed the mines the town kind of went downhill.

Jobs are scarce so I am told, Rapid city would have more.Most jobs in deadwood are built around the casinos or vac. motels etc. The cost of living is lower than alot of towns though.

. I hope this helps feel free to ask me more specifics if you would like. Take care

[kbarjae]

we visited spearfish last month,what a great town thank you

[bethmarywhite]

I was in Spearfish in 1993. I so fell in love with it that I went to the nearest real estate office and rode aroun all day looking for places to buy. I was THIS " " close to buying some land in the hills in a new area they were selling land in. In the end I didn't buy and now regret it. The lot was cheap, (I'm from the east - RI) about $13,000. Who knows how much that land would cost now. I wish I had my little lot in beautiful Spearfish.

One thing, though - the real estate guy did take me across the border into Wyoming for just the reason one of the above posters mentioned - the taxes are much cheaper!