Thinking about moving to Vermillion, SD (college student) (Sioux Falls, Yankton: apartments, foreclosures)

[cpatino]

Hi! My husband and are both college students living in Michigan. The economy is so terrible here and we are thinking about moving to a state with a better economy, and a city that is near a university that offers both Anthropology and Elementary Education degrees. We found both of these in Vermillion, but we don't know anything about the area. We are a Catholic, Interracial couple, with a newborn daughter. Is there an issue with hiring Hispanics in Vermillion? Are there many jobs there for people with only a High School diploma? Are there many good places to rent an apartment? Also, just wondering what types of things there are to do in Vermillion (cultural & religious activities). Any help or advice would be great! Thanks!

[bellapria]

I am living in Vermillion at the moment and I love it. I don't think it is too hard to find jobs here. With just a high school diploma you still have options including all of the local restaurants, wal mart and the local mom and pop stores. The city is very accepting and it has a very small town feel (it is a small town after all)

Oops, i submitted that last post to fast. As for apartments here, it is really easy to find them. They are constantly building new ones, and there is a plethora around campus. As for activities, there is almost always some sporting event going on at the Dome and what seems like the entire town comes. There is also quite a few churches and there always seems to be some kind of activity going on around town somewhere

[Chris19]

Vermillion is a nice community and there are jobs around for people with just a high school diploma. The university employs a number of support staff and there are openings to check out at Welcome to The University of South Dakota, which is a great resource for university employment. Also, there is a call center, Polaris, and a number of service industries. Yankton (a little larger than Vermillion's pop. of 10,000 with a larger employment base) is 25 miles away and Sioux City metro is 30 or so miles away for additional employment opportunities. Vermillion has jobs, but one cannot be too picky and may pay lower than nearby cities of Sioux City, Yankton, and Sioux Falls due to having a big pool of college students to draw from.

The economy is not as red hot as it was a couple years ago, but in South Dakota and in Vermillion, the economy is faring better than many other areas of the country and the unemployment rate is low. The area has not been hit hard by massive layoffs and foreclosures, fortunately.

Most larger towns, such as Vermillion, have Catholic churches. Vermillion has the Newman Center, which is a Catholic campus ministry that is geared towards college students. In the general area, there are a lot of Lutheran and Catholic churches, especially Lutheran.

The city is weak with the shopping but is within an hour of decent shopping in Sioux City (1/2 hour drive) or Sioux Falls (50 minutes). The drive is not bad most times of the year and is a good opportunity to get out of town every now and then. But it has a nice Hy-Vee grocery store, a Wal-Mart SuperCenter, and Jones Food Center along with your basic fast food restaurants and there is an excellent Mexican restaurant across from campus and a Chinese restaurant downtown.

The people in Vermillion are nice. I have many fond memories there as a college student, some quite festive. The student body and professors are good people and the locals. When you get outside of the university, there are many nice locals but some of the locals may seem cliquish (similar to small towns) and I have noticed it working or going to establishments where there are locals. No place is perfect.

The town is near the Missouri River and is pretty in spots and has its dumpy areas (about with any city). Some of the dumpy houses are party houses and others are due to lack of upkeep.

I no longer live in Vermillion but like to drive down and visit. I would not mind moving down there if there is a good opportunity.

I hope this helps and feel free to ask me more specific questions about Vermillion. I lived there for five years during my college years.