Spearfish VS Rapid City (Sioux Falls, Rapid Valley: car insurance, employment, neighborhoods)

[lizbethsayers]

Well I posted a blog about wanting to move to Spearfish (this is enterily off of what I have researched) but the more I read the more I hear good things about Rapid City.

Being from Los Angeles I am trying to avoid the big citiers, which made me want to avoid Rapid City, however I am thinking that it might be quite different then what I have envisioned.

Can some people please do some comparisions of the two cities for me? I am interested in all the pros and cons of each city. Weather, housing, emoployment, schools, hospitals, ect.

Thanks so much! You are all so helpful!!

[traveler73]

Rapid City is about the size of a neighborhood in LA. In fact the entire population of the Black Hills area is about 100,000 according to last census. It's probably a bit more now.

Anything you have in LA will be less in Rapid. And that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Climate in Rapid and Spearfish are similar to Denver. Summer is typically in the 80s and it can hit 100 for a couple days in July and August. Spring and Fall are nice and mild. It gets cold in the dead of winter, but when it snows it usually doesn't stick around long. There are many days in the winter where temps reach the 60s thanks to what they call Shinook winds...Google that one.

Housing is no comparison to LA. You could buy a large 5 bedroom estate in Rapid or Spearfish for the price of a 3 bedroom fixer-upper in LA. Average rents are around $550 for a nice 2 bedroom, maybe a little cheaper in Spearfish.

From what I hear schools are good, but I don't have kids.

There is a hospital in Spearfish and a bigger one in Rapid along with several clinics in both towns. Again, from what I hear they are good, but I have yet to need them...knock on wood.

I should bring up traffic...I've heard Rapid described as a "10 minute town" meaning you can get to one end of town to the other in 10 minutes. It may take longer during "rush hour" but it certainly beats driving in LA.

Car insurance and overall car ownership is cheaper too. In fact, S Dakota has some of the lowest auto insurance rates in the country, if you have a clean record.

Crime, they say there is a "gang" element in Rapid. I think they are wannabes compared to LA and other bigger cities. The biggest problems here are meth and DUI. We don't have choppers in the sky every day looking for a murderer or following the bank robber on a televised high speed chase.

For shopping, if you want to be a 5 minute drive from big box stores like Best Buy and Lowes and other local shops then Rapid is your place. Spearfish pretty much has a Super Walmart and a Safeway. But Spearfish is very scenic and is only 40 miles down the interstate from Rapid or about 45 minutes away.

Spearfish or Rapid? Rapid doesn't have a big city feel like LA so don't worry about that (I'm from NY myself). Rapid is more of a big town and Spearfish is a sleepy little town. Someone else may have different labels, but you get the idea. Hope this helps.

[DannyBanany]

Great post Traveler!
Like Traveler said, Rapid City is about the size of a large suburb but it's not connected to any large city. Think of Pasadena or Burbank. Rapid City is even smaller than those cities and is in the middle of prairie and forest. The only place you will get a 'big city vibe' is downtown in the summer during rush hour.

Spearfish is worlds smaller than Rapid City (about 1/8 the population) and is much prettier. Not that Rapid City is ugly by any means, but Spearfish is a real gem compared to any other midwestern city. You would have an extreme small town feel in Spearfish. I think Spearfish would be too small for me even. Spearfish tends to get much colder than Rapid City though because it is in the Northern Hills and it snows a lot more up there and snow can fall all the way up to late May. The thing is, snow melts quickly around here because temps change quickly.

If you want beauty, convenience, and some sense of city life go with Rapid City. If you want a real small town feel and beauty go with Spearfish. Both cities are great!

[Chris19]

Rapid City may be better for employment opportunities and conveniences and there are still some very nice neighborhoods in Rapid City and in nearby areas such as Rapid Valley, Black Hawk, and Summerset. The southern and western parts of Rapid are the best parts of the city.

Spearfish is a neat community and has several grocery stores along with a Wal-Mart Supercenter and K-Mart, but it also has smaller shops and eateries. The housing is a little pricier but is a very clean and quaint community of 10,000 or so.

Both areas have their good points and drawbacks, but it depends on one's life sitution and priorities.

[MAXXIMUZ]

Hey lizbethsayers.
I too will be moving to Spearfish and I'm from Palm Springs. Maybe we can carpool or something on the way there haha. But yeah I just got back from Spearfish, and it is really a beautiful place. It will definately be a huge change from LA for you. It's a very small town and it seems that the Walmart there is the main place to do all the shopping. All the big stores are a 40min drive to Rapid. It doesn't matter what town you choose, because you will be happy with both.

[lizbethsayers]

is there a "forestier" side of rapid city? i love the trees and the green-- something i DEFINATLY do not have here in LA. just wondering if the different sides of rapid city had distinctivley different scenery

[andyroo]

Just a cool random fact about Spearfish

Spearfish holds the world record for the fastest tempereature change. In the 1940's it went from being -4 F to 45 F in in two minutes. The temp climbed to 54 F before dropping back down to -4 F again. The change from 54 to -4 took 27 minutes. This all happened in the month of January. Talk about crazy temps!

[DannyBanany]

Originally Posted by lizbethsayers

is there a "forestier" side of rapid city? i love the trees and the green-- something i DEFINATLY do not have here in LA. just wondering if the different sides of rapid city had distinctivley different scenery

As a matter of fact they do. The northside is on the plains and it tends to be very windy up by the mall and I-90. Rapid Valley is on a plateau and it has great views of the Black Hills, the Harney Range, and the Needles. The southside is on the foothills and has many ridges and is hilly. The westside is actually in the Black Hills so it is covered with ponderosa and evergreen trees.

The westside is considered the affluent part of town, followed by the southside, followed by the northwest side, followed by Rapid Valley, the the northside. Unlike Sioux Falls, there is actually a part of town you want to avoid.

By the way, I know a guy who just moved here from Palm Springs and he says the traffic here is terrible! Is he kidding??? Compared to SoCal???

[MAXXIMUZ]

No way! What's his name. There's a very good chance I know him if he's under the age of 21. I don't know what he's talking about saying the traffic in sodak is worse than socal. There is absolutely no way.

[ashnat]

OMG, coming from a person that did not grow up in the Black Hills area, the schools here SUCK!!! The only sure bet schools in Rapid are on the westside. Many of the rest of our schools are not meeting NCLB and go on and off warning status every other year.
STAY AWAY from the north part of town. Most of the students there are on free meals/assistance.