Living outside of Sioux Falls? (Canton, Lennox: tax, legal, bars)

[Garo]

My gut is telling me that we will end up in SF after everything I've read but were trying to keep an open mind and just see what we like the most. I would be proud to be a East Riverer! Actually, any "riverer" would be better than the options here in the deep south.

The wife and I love the mountains but were not sure we would want to live in them due to the weather extremes and what not. We visit them often here in TN. I'm confident that one of the places/areas is really going to jump out at us more than the others.

I liked Iowa for alot of reasons but would prefer more hills and more outdoor activities that the Dakota's seem to offer alot more of. Iowa is still on my potential list...but its at the bottom.

I'll look into that route tpabes. Our main goal in the begining is to get to SD as soon as humanly possible but we'll definatly consider it. We are going to come home through Waterloo and Cedar Rapids. I've got a feeling that Iowa wont seem as nice as it once did after traveling all over the Dakota's.

We really cant wait for the 31st to get here so we can begin the trip.

[blackpointyboots]

I think it depends on what of the Dakota's your after? If you like lots of rural land with minimal people or pheasant hunting you will probably like South Dakota. Are you aware of our weather? Really aware of our weather? It gets into the 90's quite a bit in the summer. Well below zero for long stretches in Jan & Feb. We get snow from October into May some years. It also blows considerably quite a bit of the time. The weather is something to think about if your considering living 30 miles out and driving in daily. There are many days in the winter getting in to Sioux Falls is not happening even with a 4wd truck and plenty where it is interesting without said truck.
I honestly don't know what the people are like in TN, but I would try to spend some time with the locals. Go to Walmart on a Saturday afternoon, drive 41st and Lousie on a Saturday. Go find some tiny town and go have a beer in the town bar. If all of that sits well with you, you will probably like South Dakota.

I don't find it to be the friendliest place but Sioux Falls is getting more out of staters every year and most of them do improve the place.

[Jammie]

Garo, that is something that is kind of strange here. Rapid is right by the Hills and they have the best climate in the state. It's odd, but it can be zero in Sioux Falls and 50 degrees in Rapid City. Of course, they do have days that are cooler then East River, but the climate is more temperate in the Hills area.

Naturally, one would think that it's the opposite, but here it isn't.

[AT9]

I think you will really like Sioux Falls if it's the small town/country feeling your going for. Not that Sioux Falls is "small town", it's growing like crazy. But you can certainly be in the middle of nowhere, yet within 30 minutes of the city. Sioux Falls is a really nice city (except for the winters...I'm not a cold person), and if you're looking for open space, you've come to the right place!

[DannyBanany]

It sounds like a fun trip. If you like Iowa's scenery then Sioux Falls will fill the bill and you will love the area. Like Jammie said, Rapid City actually has a much better climate and it is usually warmer over here. Sioux Falls is much more humid too and gets more snow.

[Garo]

blackpointyboots,

LOL, yeah I'm as aware of the weather as one can be without living through one. I followed the daily forecasts in Bismarck, ND all winter to get a feel for it. It is definatly weird to see a negative number as a high! But I figure if they can make clothes so people can survive on Everest, I think I can survive in SD. We actually love winter and the snow but are robbed of it here. It rarely snows enough to even make a snowman. I'm sure everyone on this board would enjoy knowing that schools get out here for even a inch of accumulation. But more so its a trade worth while to us. As harsh as the winters can be in the Dakota's, the same can be said here in the summers. Temps in the upper 90's and 100+ are the normal from June to October. But the wet, sticky and thick humidity is the thing that seperates the south from everywhere else. Scary to think more people are dying each year due to heat related issues here. Plus, the heat has taken over Spring and Fall seasons as it really is more of Early, mid and late summer/winter here.

Concerning the people here vs there...I have to be very carefull of my wording when I describe Southerners. Despite being born here and living here all but 5 years of my life, I've never understood how southerners think or do the things they do. My family came from the North and I'm very thankfull. Not all but most southerners fit the stereotypes perfectly. I'm probably one of less than 1% of people from the south who holds northerners very highly. My father and I made more conversation and enjoyed being around people more in the 24 hours we spent in Iowa than in 15 years of living here. My wife has joked that I've had more conversation and more "friends" just on this board than I have my enitre time in the south.

Concerning driving 30 miles...I do that now just to get to a Walmart or to get a pizza in a town that has 7500 people. I think it'll be a good trade off but we'll see in a few weeks.

Jammie,

I was shocked about the weather in the western part of the state. Very weird indeed. I was actually leaning towards RC before I started looking into the weather. There's a chance I may still end up there but the drastic change from day to day, hour to hour would probably drive me insane. Our winters are like that as it changes every two days and it can grow to be aggervating to me even with a mild winter. I'd rather have a constant...even if its constantly cold. I love the mountains and will spend a good portion of our trip checking out the sites there. I'm just not sure if I want to live there or just visit often.

AT9,

The small country feel is definatly one of the many, many reasons why I'm looking so intently at getting up there. I was surprised to see how "clustered and crowded" TN has become after I got back from Iowa last year. I understand about SF and RC growing...but considering the main area of Nashville alone has as many people as your entire state, double if you count metro areas, I would think I will welcome SF's growth.

On a side note, I got my South Dakota travel guide package in the mail today. Perfect timing before the road trip coming up and just makes me that more anxious and hopefull.

[MJ1986]

The South Dakota Travel Guide is a helpful tool... I live here and I usually send for a new one each year, just to see any updates in it

[blackpointyboots]

Garo,
As far as people at least in the eastern side of the state There seems to be about 3-4 types of people. By and large most people up here are pretty laid back and either friendly or will mind their own business. Part of the undesirable quotient (at least for me) may actually be some of the transplants from the deep south. In the last maybe 5-10 years we have gotten a contingent of rather aggressive religious conservatives.

I spent much of my growing up years in Minnesota. Most people around there are really introverted and non confrontational. So running into people who go out of their way to get in your face was more of a shock than any culture shock or random people I have encountered in California or Chicago. I would say it is about a one in ten kind of thing. I have heard a number of people ascribe it to cultural differences between deep south and more of the upper midwest MN/WI culture that used to be more like what SD was.

Most people are pretty nice, your going to run into a few trailer park rednecks, a few bible thumping testifiers and a few uneducated immigrants. For the most part it depends on where in town your going much like other cities.

The positives are shorter commutes and less gridlock than a big city. Housing and taxes are far less than big cities like Chicago. There is a small arts scene but it isn't huge and it is highly censored. We can usually find something to do if we look hard enough. They have some fun things like Jazzfest in the summer and they are building tons of new shopping on the east side of town.

Having country solitude is fairly attainable and prices 30 miles out are still fairly low if you can afford the gas.

[Garo]

Thanks for the info. We are definatly in the "friendly & mind our own business" group so we hope we will fit in quite well but I know what you mean. I have basically became a hermit here not by choice but to save some of my sanity.

mjgustafson,

The travel guide is pretty impressive. I learned alot just flipping through everything doing a once over. It's kind of cruel though as I have found a ton of things I would like to do and see but simply wont have the time on our trip in two weeks. Hopefully, I can do/see those things later on after the move.

Let me ask you or anyone else who has the insight: what is the story on snow mobiles? Obviously, its a pretty popular hobby but are they treated like motorcycles and are street legal? Do people drive them to work and what not? License, tags, insurance and everything else?

Also, how popular is fly fishing in the Dakota's?

Thanks again guys.

[cancan]

Someone can correct me if im wrong but SoDak Eastriver doest get a ton of snow it seems....think I read average 41 inches....thats not a ton although I imagine it sticks around awhile....when I lived in the foothills in maryland our average was 120 inches.