South Carolina, to Rapid City (Sioux Falls, Pierre: real estate, car insurance, daycare)

[blvette]

We are thinking of relocating to Rapid City, SD. My wife will be getting out of the army in june and is a Operating room tech. I own a small construction company, I was wondering how hard is it to find jobs also I have a 3,000 sq ft house now which goes for about 200,00. How much for something comparable to our house. Thanks

[Jammie]

Hi. We were in SC about a year and a half ago. We enjoyed our time in the Myrtle Beach area.

Employment is fairly scarce out in the Hills, but since your wife is in the medical profession, she shouldn't have much of a problem getting a job there. Also, they are always building out there so you should be able to find employment, too.

Wish I could help you about your question concerning your house. I do know that real estate is quite high out there compared to East River. (Where I live) Sioux Falls is quite expensive, but otherwise the most expensive housing is in the Hills. You may want to do a search on realtor.com and include the option of surrounding towns. I'm wondering if the smaller towns right around Rapid may not be a bit cheaper.

We now have a few posters here from West River and hopefully they'll come along soon and offer you more info then I can.

[uncleharley]

For the past 1 & 1/2 yrs or so I have been rsearching the Black Hills as a place to retire to. I found that Spearfish and the area's just to the south of it [Spearfish Canyon] to be the priceyest. Custer is a little less expensive and Rapid City has probably the largest variety and the best chances for employment. I finally bought a lot in Hot Springs for a host of reasons which include value gained for a buck spent.
From the little info you have in your post, Rapid City or one of the towns near it will probably be your top choice. Not the least of which is the close proximity to Ellis Air Force Base and the benefits they provide to retired military personnel. Ellis is located a few miles east of Rapid City and one of the small towns near there will probaly offer the best values, although they might not have services that you want. You didn't mention what kind of construction work you do, but there didn't seem to be any shortage of projects going on from road construction to retail malls to housing. If you build houses, I will be needing someone to build my house in Hot Springs in a year or two.
Hope this helps,
uh

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by uncleharley

For the past 1 & 1/2 yrs or so I have been rsearching the Black Hills as a place to retire to. I found that Spearfish and the area's just to the south of it [Spearfish Canyon] to be the priceyest. Custer is a little less expensive and Rapid City has probably the largest variety and the best chances for employment. I finally bought a lot in Hot Springs for a host of reasons which include value gained for a buck spent.
From the little info you have in your post, Rapid City or one of the towns near it will probably be your top choice. Not the least of which is the close proximity to Ellis Air Force Base and the benefits they provide to retired military personnel. Ellis is located a few miles east of Rapid City and one of the small towns near there will probaly offer the best values, although they might not have services that you want. You didn't mention what kind of construction work you do, but there didn't seem to be any shortage of projects going on from road construction to retail malls to housing. If you build houses, I will be needing someone to build my house in Hot Springs in a year or two.
Hope this helps,
uh

You got close unclecharley. It's Elseworth Air Force Base. But yes, that's a viable option along with the VA center up in Sturgis. That's about a 30 mile commute.

Rapic City Regional Hospital is a very large complex. You might do a google and see if there is anything under Rapid City Regional Hospital or Rapid City Regional Medical Center.

[sdgoldpanner]

Blvette,
Check out:
http://www.rcrh.org/Employment/PositionsAvailable.asp (hospital jobs)
as well as:
http://236.careersite.com/candidate/processcandquicksearch (broken link) (Main job list)

This should give you a start at what you may be looking for.
Have a good day.

Bob M.

[BusySocialWorker]

I live and work in Rapid City - actually I work at the hospital

We have found housing to be much more expensive here then we had hoped... We came from Denver and the market is comperable - we had a 2700 finished square foot home plus basement (2 years old in Denver) for 232,000 - we are hard pressed to find anything in that price range here for that size - that being said we want a new or newer home (which are more expensive) and you will find here when looking for a home it will be listed at 3000 square feet, but that includes finished and unfinished - example 1500 finished square feet on the main level.

Our wages are lower, but many other areas of cost of living are also lower - daycare is much lower, car insurance / auto taxes are also much lower... it is just the housing that took us by surprise

By the way Rapid City Regional is a great place to work (In my opinion )

[ladynitenday]

You might check some of the other hospitals and areas too. The is a big VA hospital and state veterans home at Hot Springs which is 60 miles south of Rapid.(We usually leave city off the name) A lot of the smaller towns have hospitals and anyone in construction can usually get work too.
If you need to live in a larger town and want new construction for housing, the prices will be higher, but if you are willing to buy older homes or move a bit further out you can get better prices. The Black Hills have really turned into meccas for people with money and that has driven up costs. The central part of the state has the state capital of Pierre and many towns that would welcome people with both of your qualifications and would welcome you in their local American Legion posts too.

[BusySocialWorker]

Just FYI - Rapid City Regional Hosptial and Regional Health Systems own and opperate almost all of the smaller town hospitals previous poster is talking about - including sturgis, spearfish, lead, deadwood, phillip, belle fourche custer, lemmon and the web page given above has employment openings at all of the above locations

The VA has two campus locations - the main hospital is located in Hot Springs and a branch including long term care and clinic is in Sturgis

[ladynitenday]

Being in the central portion Avera runs most of the hospitals here that aren't locally owned by their communities. SO, you might check their website and see what job opportunities are available throughout their network.

Just a FYI, it's Ellsworth Air Force Base. You might even contact them and see if they have a laison who could help you get more info on what the services are that are available for retirees in this are. Just a thought as they might have some good ideas.