Living outside of Sioux Falls? (Rapid City, Pierre: apartments, new home, layoffs)

[DannyBanany]

Originally Posted by prairierose

Danny,

I think you meant Selby which is the county seat of Walworth County, and is about 100 miles north of Pierre. The real estate market there would be quite different than in Pierre.

Yes, Selby is what I meant. My family is friends with the new sheriff up there. He just transferred from Wall.

This earlier post has conversations about squatter's rights in certain areas of SD like Spencer and Plankinton. I've also heard about this near Pickstown at Fort Randall Dam.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/south...-relocate.html

[LuckyDuck63]

GARO - hi there! What a coincidence - my husband and I are currently living just outside Nashville. Like you, we have never fit in with the southern culture (happily) and we're eyeballing the Sioux Falls area. I've been looking at real estate in Canton and really like it. We'd like just a couple of acres (maybe a few?) and even a fixer upper would do. I'm originally from Alaska and hubby is from Florida, so this is a happy medium. We will probably go up and check things out in September. If you get there before me, keep me posted!! Thanks & good luck!

[LuckyDuck63]

Oops! Please ignore my previous post - I got excited and then read further to see that you'd been there & gave a full report. Great info - looking forward to OUR move now!! TN can kiss my bootie goodbye!

[Garo]

LuckyDuck63,

Nice to meet you and good to know that I'm not the only Tennessean looking to get out of dodge! Where at outside of Nashville? Also, where at outside of Florida? I lived in Plant City outside of Tampa for a few years as a child before settling here in Benton and Decatur counties in West TN.

Ironic enough, a gentleman from Nashville emailed me awhile back saying he too was looking at moving up there, except he was looking at North Dakota.

If there's anything I can help you with please dont hesitate to ask. Have you been to SD? My wife and I came back feeling home sick and were already making arrangements now to make the move next summer. Taking that trip really confirmed what we thought before and even exceeded expectations.

We are planning on going back this winter to get a feel for the cold (which shouldnt be a problem for you obviously being from Alaska) and to narrow down our city search, as were having a tough time choosing which city due to liking them all. SF may have been our favorite "big" city though. Very nice and clean and not crowded at all. Were being tempted by the big hills and mountains.

Race ya to the Dakota borders!

[Jammie]

You guys are funny!

Lucky, welcome to the forum and you just come up and join us here. If anyone moving here can tolerate our winters, you'll have very few worries. We have plenty of employment in any of our major cities, wide open spaces some pretty awesome scenery, a low cost of living, most of us are friendly, etc.

Garo, have you decided on a place yet?

[Garo]

Jammie,

Stop laughing at us!

Not quite, we've narrowd it down to the Top 3. Pierre is our #1 but in the event it isnt quite big enough to provide enough work for us we are looking at backup plans which is between Rapid City and Bismarck, ND. SF is close behind as we really like the city but we like the landscape better in central and western Dakotas. After Pierre, my wife leans towards RC over Bismarck and I'm 50/50 and change my mind every other day between those two. Love the mountains but love the real estate prices of ND. When we come back up this winter we will get a more thorough look at the Top 3.

Just curious, what are your thoughts of Bismarck and ND in general?

[ElkHunter]

I don't know if I can answer any questions that you don't already have answers to between Rapid City and Bismark. I've been to both and will take Rapid City, hands down. But here's some points to ponder.

How do the two stack up as far as Progress? How about unemployment, or better yet, employment? I say that because unemployment only measures those that are drawing unemployment or are registered actively seeking employment. It doesn't count on the folks who have run out of benefits and are seeking work on their own.

Progress. How much progress has the city had, say, over the last 10 years? Or 20 years? Has it been good growth? In other words, is that city just slapping up housing or are they planning it out so that they won't have hundreds of homes setting empty? Has the city moved aggresively to get business to move into that area so it will keep people employed and new folks an opportunity to be employed?

What can you do, say on a weekend? What activities are there available. Does the city have schools that put on concerts? City softball, baseball league's?

As the city's sprawl, are they keeping in mind how traffic patterns are going to be? Are they upgrading current streets to handle the sprawl before it becomes a problem?

I think that when you compare Bismark to Rapid City, you'll see that Rapid City, city council and the Chamber, are very active and aggressive on planning ahead so that Rapid City keeps their charm. They don't loose site of being Rapid City.

I'm not sure of Bismark. I don't know enough about it to give a good opinion.

It wouldn't do to select a city based on the current conditions that you like and then have that city be so different in 5 years that your looking for someplace new.

EH

[cancan]

For what its worth, One of my Best buddies is from Bismarck and he has recomended it highly, he has high praise for his home town. And your right its hard to pass up on those real estate prices.

Funny how two states nearly same size and population, both seem to have plenty of work (at least in my field) can have such different real estate climates.

[Garo]

Thanks for the response guys. Those are good points and is what I'm looking for with my questions, just trying to really get into the little details of both cities.

Please correct me if I'm wrong on any of the following but I felt Rapid City was the most "on the rise" city of all of the ones we visited. Which is both good and concerning in our opinion...good for work but concerning that it could get "too big" eventually. I'm also a bit concerned about it being a tourist attraction and what seems to be a place people are looking to retire. Were moving to the Dakota's for the open country, the nice Dakota people, less traffic, etc...and were looking for a city "big enough" but were small town people.

Now saying all that, I'm spliting hairs. Comparing Rapid City to Bismarck is one thing, comparing RC to Nashville is another. We drove through downtown RC at 4:00-5:00pm and felt the traffic was better than our smaller cities here...such as Jackson (50,000) and even Lexington (7500.) Both of those cities have outgrown themselves and are very clustered and cramped, which makes Elkhunter's points of RC seem very bright. I wont even get into what Nashville or Memphis is like.

At this point, I would say RC has the slight edge over Bismarck for the reasons Elkhunter said and the outdoor activities in the mountains.

Another question, whats the sporting world like in RC? I would assume most of the Dakota's would lean towards the Minnesota professional and college teams and what not but I was curious as to which way RC goes?

I'm a Titans fan but have no ties to any college football team and looking forward to gaining a new team to follow once we move up there.

[Jammie]

Well, my smilies won't work this morning so I'll just say what I'm supposed to say. I'm laughing with you guys and not AT you. (insert smiley here)

Sorry that I can't answer about the sports team. I don't follow any of them.
(Another smiley)

I would personally pick Rapid City over Bismarck, but keep in mind that I'm a native South Dakotan. I'd even pick Rapid over the town I live in just cause I love the beauty of the Hills area. And my town is neat and clean and pretty. (in the summertime) But it's just not quite a match for the Hills.

I also like Sx. Falls even though I don't like to drive in that town. Sounds silly, but there's a lot of traffic there compared to what I'm used to.

Pierre is ok and it's nice by the river, but it'd probably be my last choice. It's just so isolated around there and since I neither fish or hunt, it's just not for me.