Moving to Rapid City (Ellsworth AFB, Box Elder: buying a home, buying, construction)

[Smylin]

Hello,
My family and I will be moving to Rapid City (Ellsworth AFB). We are currently at McChord AFB, WA. I was thinking about buying a smaller more economical vehicle and was wondering how well a smaller type vehicle (i.e., Honda Fit) would do in the South Dakota Snow? Being that we will be getting there early Oct this year; we will be purhasing a home, are there any essentials anyone recommends we buy when we get there in order to be ready for the winter (I heard your winters can be very brutal) (Im a Texan by nature) Thanks again for your time!

Lin

[Jammie]

Hi Smylin and welcome to the forum and to South Dakota! Our climate will be different then it is in Texas.

Four wheel drives always seem to be something good to drive in our area of the country, but there are people who drive the type of cars that you're talking about and they seem to do ok. I personally drive a car and there are maybe two days a year that I have to hitch a ride with DH because a 4 wheel drive is nearly necessary to get around.

You'll just want to be sure to have anti-freeze in your car and check the battery and spark plugs, etc. Also be sure that you have good tires on it. You'll need an ice scraper and it's always wise to put a couple of blankets in the car. If you go out of town, pack a survival kit~candy bars, bottled water, extra warm clothes, extra blankets a shovel, flashlight, etc.

Layering clothing generally keeps your warmer and dryer so you'll want to get sweaters or sweatshirts and definitely a heavy coat. Snowboots are useful, too even though I hate wearing them.

For your home, just be sure you have a snow shovel or two and you can either hire someone to do snow removal, shovel it, or get a snowblower. It's wise to keep some ice melt or just extra salt around your house, too. A snow scraper for your roof can come in handy, too. The guys can fill you in about being sure that your vents and your chimney stay open especially during the wintertime.

I'm sure I forgot some things, but I know that someone else will be able to fill in the gaps.

[DannyBanany]

A Honda Fit should do fine in Rapid City. They have 4WD right? I have a Honda Accord and a Mitsubishi SUV. I used the Honda all winter and it doesn't have 4WD. The only time I used 4WD on my Mitsubishi was right after a huge blizzard and I didn't think it helped any.

Also, Rapid City doesn't get hit with snow as much as you think and when it does it melts quickly because it gets sunny right away and temps raise quickly. It has to do with our altitude and arid climate.

Glad to have a new Rapid Citian!!!

[Ldryer1]

Hi Lin,

How funny, we moved here in May from McChord AFB too. After being in WA for over 10 years, this has been quite a shock. One thing I don't miss about being back in WA was all the traffic of I-5. Besides the occassional slow downs from construction on I-90 (which really is nothing) the roads here are wide open. I haven't experienced our first winter here yet, but summer is really nice and a pleasant change from overcast skies, cool weather, and rain. Since I live close to EAFB in Box Elder, there isn't anywhere to shop around here unless I drive into Rapid City. That can a bummer sometimes but it's only 15mins or so to get there. The commissary and BX on base were a major shock! OMG its soooo small! If you have any kids, the Youth Center on base is a great asset. My son loves to go there. And once school starts, the buses can drop him off there after school and my husband can easily swing by after work to pick him up. Depending where you live, you might want a vehicle that can navigate the roads in winter. We have a Prius and a Mazda 3 and will probably buy a used truck before winter...just in case. As far as buying a home here, it's definately cheaper than WA for what you get, but I wouldn't say that much cheaper. I think the prices of houses here is really out of whack considering the wages ( much lower than WA) and the economy. Also, I keep hearing that things "cost less here" but I have yet to see that is being true. Yes there isn't a state tax (WA doesn't either) but the property taxes here are thru the roof! Remember to find that out on the house you are considering buying. We bought a house in Box Elder on 10 acres (horses) and our taxes are almost $3200 a year. As far as essentials you should buy before you get here....hmmm I really can't think of anything but warm clothes for winter ;-) Good Luck on your move!

[haubrich29]

I have lived in Rapid City since 1990 and like others have stated maybe once or twice a year you will wish you had four-wheel drive. Usually the snow melts away the same day or the day after so to go out and spend the money on four-wheel drive and the additional gas expense for some models to me has never been worth it.
As for brutal winters, they aren't. It is much drier here so you don't notice it as much as you would in Minnesota or Wisconsin. I can say for the most part I don't need more than a heavy sweatshirt in the winter. The winds can get a little brutal where you want your coat and gloves ready but that usually is only about 1-2 months at most and not day after day.