questions about moving to Sioux Falls (houses, neighborhood, price)

[Dekell]

I still have yet to see the new section of Phillips Avenue, but I've seen pictures of it and it looks quite beautiful.

Right now the city is juggling between relocating some long railroad tracks through the city and Phillips itself.

If you've seen pictures of falls park, you've seen the dark industrial train tracks that run straight through the open green, well, they want to move those tracks into a half oval that would nestle around the park. And guess where the tracks would have to go next to? That beautiful stretch on Phillips.

But they do know, tracks or no tracks, they'll be finding demand first before they place all that development down, then slowly building it all over the next 8 years.

The architects responsible for designing the entire stretch want to put in one or two buildings that will add to the Sioux Falls skyline.

Until then, the architects put up a webcam so you can watch Phillips live, anywhere.

http://www.kochhazard.com/News/Webcam/index1.htm

[flwsoldier]

What could someone expect to pay for a small lot of land just large enough to support a 24x42 home?

I am considering buying a "Governor's House" and putting it down in Sioux Falls, is there anyone who is familiar with these houses? I found out about the program from this website, http://www.sdhda.org/Homebuyer/gh_home.htm

[Jammie]

Gee, I wish I could help you, but I'm not sure what the cost of a lot would be in Sx. Falls. If no one knows, you may want to try realtor.com. OR the newspaper over there is the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. It's a pretty large paper so they would more then likely list lots for sale.

I didn't go to the site you provided for the Governor's House, but I do know there are a few rules with it. I believe you can't have over 100,000 in assets and it does have income guidelines. I've seen some of them and they are very nice. You really can't tell the difference between them and a built from scratch house. A lot of people have a basement dug, add a garage, etc. and they appear to be nice.

[elbowgrease]

Originally Posted by golfgal

You won't be able to find a nice home for $75,000 in Sioux Falls proper. Some of the outlying towns will have homes for less then that but they are going to be towns of 200 people or similar.

Sioux Falls is a great town, the biggest small town you will ever live in, but it isn't cheep. The property taxes are high but there is no state income tax so it ends up being a wash for the most part.

We lived in Sioux Falls several years ago and a starter home then went for $80,000+.

Just had to comment on SF not being cheap! We will be selling our 1460 sq ft home on a 5000 sq ft lot for around $360,000 in a very small, (1200 people), town in CA. We are looking very seriously into SF, as it sounds great! I can't believe what we are paying here compared to other states- what a rip! it's not worth it, seriously! We love the beach, but, come on! We are dying here! I understand SF may be higher priced than some places in SD, but really, it looks awesome to me!!!

[ulsterscot]

Originally Posted by elbowgrease

Just had to comment on SF not being cheap! We will be selling our 1460 sq ft home on a 5000 sq ft lot for around $360,000 in a very small, (1200 people), town in CA. We are looking very seriously into SF, as it sounds great! I can't believe what we are paying here compared to other states- what a rip! it's not worth it, seriously! We love the beach, but, come on! We are dying here! I understand SF may be higher priced than some places in SD, but really, it looks awesome to me!!!

You have to remember that in some parts of SD, you can buy a nice house for $10,000. So, SF is expensive for SD.

[Jammie]

Elbow, it's like Ulterscot said~Sioux Falls and parts of the Black Hills area are some of the most expensive places to live in So. Dak. You'll probably laugh at how low expenses here are compared to California though.

Our wages are so much lower then in Cali, too so that's why houses are just much less here. But we all seem to survive quite well.

[elbowgrease]

Jammie & Ulterscot- Thanks for the info on that! I am a little worried now tho on how much the wages are there, we don't make much here,( my husband makes $15.00 an hour doing customer service ) but not sure how that compares to SF?? Glad to hear you all are surviving there- gives me hope

[Jammie]

Elbow, $15 an hour is a VERY good wage here. But keep in mind that our cost of living is also very low.

[elbowgrease]

Any idea what someone in customer service would make? Or do you know a good place to look? Where I am here, we spend a ton on propane, and with it so much colder there, how do you afford to heat your house? Some people here have a pellet stove, is that common for sd? How about A/C- is it necessary? We don't need it ice- cold, just comfortable for the most part, and if it's a little hotter on a few days, we can survive!

[Jammie]

The wages in Sioux Falls are a bit higher then they are in the town I live in. If by customer service you mean employment like service station attendant, etc~the wage here is about 7.50 to 8.00 an hour. In Sx. Falls it may be closer to 10. But keep in mind, that's starting wages. I guess most of us just stay at the same job for a long time and that's how we get our wages built up a bit. Also, a good share of us have health insurance, life insurance, disability, dental, etc through our employers. The amount you have to contribute toward your premium depends on your employer, but it's not normally a lot.

Sorry, I don't know what a pellet stove is, but maybe someone else does. We use natural gas and it's normally not a very high bill. During our coldest months, it can run about 200-250, but that includes electricity. (Natural gas bill and electricity are on one bill) During the springtime and autumn, we have about two months each season where our bill is under 100. (Two people) We have central air and you'll probably want AC in southeastern So. Dak. We have humidity over here and we can get some very hot days. It's not uncommon to have temps in the 90s or even the low 100s during July and Aug. We have our AC on right now~It was 88 degrees here today and it's a bit humid, too. And tomorrow it's only supposed to be in the low 70s.

The Western part of the state has practically no humidity.