Is Rapid City conservative? (Sioux Falls, Aberdeen: fit in, crimes, hotel)

[pikie]

Hello!

Is Rapid City and the surrounding Black Hills conservative -- socially and politically? I see that Pennington County voted for Bush in a landslide victory in 2004. From visiting there, I know they're friendly. Similarly, what are South Dakotan's attitudes about the right and left coast crowds?

Is it a slow pace of life? Do people seem that stressed? Are people generally religious? Do they have any strip clubs or gay bars? I don't frequent either one, but I want to get a good picture of what's it like to live there.

I might move here, and I myself don't like the right/left coasts crowds either.

Give me some examples and opinions.

Thank you all.

[Chris19]

The Black Hills region is generally conservative and leans Republican in the presidential and congressional races along with the legislative races. Spearfish and Rapid City may have few liberal-minded people. It is not quite the ultra conservatives that one would find in many areas of the South. The conservatives favor lower taxes, smaller government, and minimal government interference with people's personal lives (may allign more with libertarian ideals).

I know for a fact that Rapid City is more conservative politically than Sioux Falls. Oftentimes, a Democrat candidate like Tim Johnson or Stephanie Herseth would win the state. Often they would do well in Sioux Falls, Aberdeen, Mitchell, Yankton, Vermillion, and other areas in the eastern third of the state but would struggle in western SD with exceptions to the Native Amercian reservations. I can vaguely recall that Herseth did around 40% in Pennington County in a recent US House election and the comment that the percentage was good for a Democrat in that county.

Most of South Dakota leans Republican, but the eastern half of the state is more moderate in political views and apt to vote split-ticket on elections. There are spots in Eastern SD where Democrats do well including Union Country, Clay County, Yankton County, James River Valley, and parts of Sioux Falls and northeast SD. Many Republicans in eastern South Dakota tend to be more centrist in political views, similar to a number of centrist-minded Democrats and Independents.

Many Democrats in South Dakota are more conservative and moderate (some from a fiscal sense and others from a social stance) than their Democrat counterparts in other parts of the nation. A number would fall into the group of "Blue Dog Democrats", which is a more conservative group of Democrats. If they were in other parts of the country, they would be comparable to moderate Republicans.

When it comes to religion, most South Dakotans are religious but are tolerant of others for the most part. The most common denominations are Lutheran and Catholics, but there are other denominations (even if they are smaller in numbers). The ones who are religious are often not quite as pushy as some would find in other parts of the nation such as some areas of the South. There are many churches that are friendly and welcoming and few that are clicky. One has to check a few out and be open-minded when finding a church home.

[MJ1986]

Pikie,
I'll just type what comes to mind...
I'm not sure about Rapid City and the Black Hills area, but South Dakota as a whole is pretty conservative, especially in the rural areas... Republicans do outnumber Democrats in SD. I'm one who isn't too fond of labels, but those are the facts.
People here, I think, are friendly. I haven't been to either coast...the farthest east that I have been is Chicago! And the farthest west is Montana. If I had an opinion of the coasts, it would be more populated, more diversity, more traffic. I see both positives and negatives. Again, just a view/attitude. I hope to visit the coasts sometime during my lifetime (I'm only 22 years old ). I'd love to see an ocean someday hehe.
I live in Sioux Falls, which has about 150,000 people right in the city. If anything, its probably the most liberal/democratic area of SD. Again, just an opinion! People don't seem too stressed, but stress happens everywhere.
I know of one strip club that Sioux Falls has, which I've been to hehe. I think there is a gay bar downtown. I'm not sure about Rapid City though.

Sorry, my post probably doesn't help you very much, but theres some Rapid City people that should be along soon to provide some more info.

[Chris19]

There are very few gay bars if any. There may be one in Sioux Falls and I am not sure about Rapid City, but outside of that there are none to my knowledge. There are a few strip clubs here and there, but they are limited also.

The pace of life is slower than the larger metros for sure. It is not quite as slow as some of the areas of the Deep South, but it is relatively slow in most rural areas. The pace of life may be faster in Sioux Falls and Rapid City and little bit in larger towns over 10K, but is still more relaxed than the east and west coasts for sure.

People in South Dakota and many areas of the Upper Midwest value the virtues of hard work, honesty, and decency. When there are disasters, people often pull together and help each other. People, especially in small towns, often pull together to help others in situations of need, such as house fire, illness such as cancer, etc. There are many caring people who have common sense and a level of pride in their communities.

I do not hear much talk about the right/left coast crowds (east and west coast people). If anything, people comment (and sometimes get annoyed) about the misconceptions that many east and west coast people have on South Dakota and other areas of the Midwest and Plains states, like the following: everyone lives on farms, there are still cowboy and Indian battles, we have outhouses, ride horses everywhere, and still live like back in the pioneer days (late 1800s and early 1900s). People here think that some of the left and right coast people seem somewhat arrogant, have odd views, and lack common sense and view the coasts as crowded and expensive (and wonder how some can manage to live there).

I have been to both coasts (along with 39 states) and find them neat to visit but would not live there due to too many people and expensive. MJ1986's post is a very good post and is open-minded.

[MJ1986]

Totally agree with Chris, and sorry to get off-topic... I used to work at a hotel reservation line, so I dealt with people from all cross the country.
Its just insane that people on the east/west coast think that people in the Northern Plains do not have indoor plumbing/cars/modern conveniences.

[pikie]

I appreciate all of your comments. Would love some more !

[pikie]

That's why...I want to move there (Black Hills). I was born in Brooklyn, NYC, and I thank God everyday that my parents moved me out of that dump. I've lived all over the country (all 4 corners),and I want more personal freedom, less traffic, lower taxes, and a more conservative, family friendly environment.

I hear that South Dakota's school achievement figures are better than most. As far as sterotyping, I've lived with all of them, and I can stereotype the right and left coasts all day long, but I hate to even think about them for a second. I won't miss them! I think that Mid-Westerners have it right about a lot of things. Katrina "wouldn't" have happened in South Dakota --in a figurative sense. I saw the Mid-West "do for yourself" spirit, during the recent "epic" floods.

Keep posting on this topic please --thank you.

[DannyBanany]

Rapid City and the Black Hills are more conservative than most other areas of the state but there are a few strip joints and gay hangouts downtown. Shotgun Willies and The Belle Starr are two strip joints around Rapid City and although there are no gay clubs per se, the Brass Rail and 445 Club are considered large gay hangouts.

You will find that South Dakota in generalis WAY more conservative than either coasts but we have our fair share of a lifestyle too. Arts are very big in Rapid City and there are several museums and galleries in Rapid City too.

[Jammie]

Pikie, you'd be more then welcome to join us here. Some of the smaller towns in eastern and central SD may not be quite as welcoming just because they don't get a lot of new people, but in the Rapid area, I doubt that you would find that situation. Even many of the smaller towns near Rapid have people from out of state and they're used to many tourists being there. Personally, I wouldn't wander very far north of I-90, but that's just me.

I agree with what was already posted as far as politics goes~we do lean to the Right, but we generally vote for the person more then anything.

We really haven't had an invasion of people from any particular part of the country so our feelings are neutral on East Coasters and West Coasters. Most people who relocate here seem to fit in pretty well. We don't have the attitude that you HAVE to do everything our way or you're an outsider. It's more of a live and let live attitude.

I do a lot of reading here and cringe when I see someone asking whether they'll fit in and see the response, "Well, depends. You do as we do or keep to yourselves and don't expect us to give you a job and you'll be fine." I keep thinking that the person who asked the question should run for their lives and look for another area of the country. You really won't find that here at all.

As far as slow and laid-back~if you're asking if the traffic is much less then many areas of the country~definitely. Work related~we have a strong work ethic and I'm not sure that employment is more laid-back here. Most of us have jobs and work hard just because that's what we learned is expected of us. We are laid back in the respect that we generally know our neighbors and we don't generally hesitate to make new friends.

I have never been to the West Coast so I don't really have an opinion of it except many of the pics are beautiful. I've been to a few places on the East Coast and enjoyed it. I love the ocean.

We don't have the attitude that OUR state and OUR people are the best and the only ones who count. We have no plans of seceding from the Union. Most people find us quite welcoming. I hope you find us the same way.

[pikie]

that I will fit in and love it!

I've had many negative experiences with Native born Californian's that would tell me when I lived out there that,"maybe that's how you do things back east, but this is how we do here". I never felt welcome out west, despite having diverse life-work experiences around the entire country. I couldn't stand it. Many of them treated native New Yorkers, in particular, with New York city accents horribly, and would trash them privately. Californian's (most but not all) were so arrogant, and acted as if the country revolves around them and their grossly liberal Hollywood-esque lifestyle. Many of them had "zero interest" in other states except for Southern Nevada (Las Vegas area). I never experienced so much narrowmindedness. I'm sure that the native Californian's who relocate to Rapid City are "not like that at all", which is why they want to move to the Black Hills. That's why I was happy when you said that most RC natives don't treat people that way. Rapid City sounds like a great mix of people and philiosophy.

I agree, that many (I know from living there) on the coasts stereotype the small Mid West/Western cities, and rural America, as racist, backwards, and dumb. They look at these simple folks as "the racist, guns and religion crowd". -- Obama 4/11/2008

As far as pride, there is nothing wrong with RC natives thinking their city is the best. I mean in a good way, not in the arrogant, disrespectful way like New York City and L.A. From what I heard so far, I love Rapid City even more.

As far as crime, I hear it's pretty non-existent, and the DOJ numbers concur. Is that the case? Is it mostly property crimes? Any gang activities?

Do Rapid City folks call their region Western or Mid-Western?