Brookings (Volga: rent, to live, car)

[DreamingOfSouthDakota]

What is the demographics like there and in areas around brookings? Yeah i am already cheering for SDSU, getting to know the sports teams i am a big sports fan, and yeah i am thinking about going to school for computer information systems, and learning german. Is the crime rate bad there? whats the worst thing that has happened there this year? is it a good place for a family of four 2 twenty something year olds with a 2 year old and one on the way?

[Jammie]

http://www.city-data.com/city/Brooki...th-Dakota.html

The crime rate is very low. There is actually no place in the state that has a high crime problem and we're VERY fortunate for that.

[Chris19]

The Brookings area is mostly white but may have a little diversity due to the University, which it is not bad. SDSU has over 10,000 students (some of which are commuter students and ones who takes clsses in Sioux Falls). Brookings is still a decent sized town if you take out the college. It has some industry such as 3M, Rainbow Play Systems, and Larson Doors. Daktronics is a major employer and has been growing in recent years and they build scoreboards and related items.

The crime rate is not bad in Brookings and the area. The problems are with college students having too much of a good time. It would be best to have a house in another area of town where there is not as many students and the southern portions of the city have newer housing.

When I was in high school, I took German for two years and went up to Brookings one year for a German competition. I have to admit that SDSU is a better school for foreign languages than USD. There are plenty of options at SDSU. They are trying to expand research up at SDSU to encrouage more activity and help strenthen the university and the community, which is not a bad idea.

If you are considering the Brookings area, you should consider Volga. It is near Brookings and has 1565 people according to the City-Data site. It is a decent town that is convenient to Brookings and has its own K-12 school system and the smaller schools are good for the personal attention. Brookings also has a good school system.

Overall, Brookings and the area are good to raise a family. The neighboring towns such as Volga and Elkton (with easy access to Brookings via US 14 have their own school systems and the smaller schools are better for one-to-one attention with the students than the larger schools. Brookings has a respectable K-12 system also. The city has several parks and the area is not too far from lakes, where one can camp, swim, fish, and enjoy the great outdoors. Not too far from Brookings is Lake Poinsett, Oakwood Lakes, and Lake Thompson, which are in the state park system.

[DreamingOfSouthDakota]

Thanks for the awesome reply, you have helped me a ton, hopefully we will be there in october or november and will start looking for a home asap! Do you know which area is cheaper as far as housing? we want a 3 bedroom but will settle for a 2 bedroom for now, have a 2 year old daughter and an unborn son due in january. what are the average rent costs for these types of places?

[MJ1986]

I'm not sure about the average rent costs, but one thing you might want to do is contact the SDSU registrar's office. I'm not sure what part of the country you are currently living, but the rent costs will be low. I bet they would have more information as far as housing, or where to find information on housing. I looked online at the Brookings Register, which is the city's newspaper, but couldn't find any online classifieds.

[DreamingOfSouthDakota]

Yes, i have tried the newspaper its dissapointing and frustrating that they have no online classifieds,i live in georgia right now and average rent for a 2 bedroom is around 500-600$ a month.

[Chris19]

Rent in Brookings should be comparable to the $500-$600 that you are paying in Brookings. It may be a little more or a little less, but it depends on whether it is a newer one, older one, or one built back in the 1980s. Rent may be a tad higher in Brookings with it being a college town, but should not be horrible.

Here are some links that may help.
Welcome to Moriarty Rentals, Brookings, SD -- 605.692.6333

Brookings, SD, Apartments For Rent Yellow Page Listings

[BusySocialWorker]

mills property management is another good one to check out - I lived here my 3 and 4th years at SDSU and loved it - we had three of us in the townhouse -

Mills Property Management, Close to Campus - Garden Villiage Townhouses

after graduation I moved here for a year before leaving for grad school and it was also great - I lived here alone

http://www.millsproperty.com/family_three.htm

[DreamingOfSouthDakota]

Thanks for the links, you think it would be cheaper in the towns surrounding brookings?

[Chris19]

I would think that rent may be cheaper in towns such as Arlington, Elkton, Volga, and Bruce. I would recommend Volga, due to its easy access to Brookings and it has a K-12 system and has several gas stations and some service businessses. Arlington is another decent town. I do not know as much about Elkton.