Yankton SD (Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Pierre: homes, employment, college)

[DBuB]

Just wondering if you guys can give me any thoughts on this community. I am currently finishing college in ND and looking at moving the family down there this summer. I have an 8 month old daughter and I am looking for a good safe place to to raise my family. I appreciate any help you can give me in making this decision. Thanks

My wife and I are trying to decide between either Pierre or Yankton as a place to raise our child. My wife is also looking at obtaining her RN education as well and both of these areas serve our purpose. I am in the process of finishing my Bachelors degree in May and we are both feeling some pressure in trying to find the "right" place to put our roots down. By the way, I was raised in Montana and my wife in North Dakota so we are well aware of the type of winters involved with the move. We both love hunting and fishing and I have attended the Sturgis rally on numerous occasions when living in Cody, WY. The problem is neither of us have experienced anything east of Rapid City so any help you can give us will be greatly appreciated and taken to heart.

[Jammie]

I personally like both towns. As you may know, they're both along the River so you can do boating or fishing or just hang out there.

Neither of the two communities has a surplus of jobs, but since your wife is in the medical field, she could settle in almost any town here and be able to find employment.

Yankton was our original capitol and then it was moved to Pierre so that's something else they have in common. Since you mentioned hunting, IMHO Pierre would be the first place I'd check out. It's also much closer to the Rapid City area which is much nicer then Eastern So. Dak.

This is just my personal opinion, BUT if I had a choice of the two cities, I'd chose Pierre. It just seems to have a nicer, newer, better kept look and is more centrally located.

[DecayingAngel]

Funny, I feel just the opposite. But I am basing my feelings on the 1980s, when I lived in South Dakota for 2 years.

At that time, Pierre was really in a pretty remote area. But if you're used to the type of topography and weather, you would probably find it more to your liking, given your description of your own personal experience. If you are used to North Dakota, then Pierre would probably feel better to you.

Yankton just seemed to have more at that time--a mall, decent supermarket, etc. And it was at a nice spot on the Missouri River. We would head into Yankton when we had to do some serious shopping, since our little town had nothing even faintly resembling a grocery store chain. Yankton had a Piggly-Wiggly! Pierre was known as more plain, not surrounded by much at all and much more isolated.

Trivia: Yankton was where Custer and the Seventh Cavalry took off for their fatal meeting with the Sioux and Cheyenne at the Little Big Horn. I'm full of useless little stuff like that!

[andyjaq]

I personally agree with the guy who likes Yankton. I speak from experience. Pierre is the middle of no where. Yankton is with in quick (1hr) drive to sioux falls and (2hr) to Omaha. Where there is lots of big city stuff to do for a day or weekend. But then after you have the city fun you can come back to the slower pace of a smaller city. Plus Yankton has many facilities for health care workers. The hospital is very large and there is a surgery center to plus nursing homes and clinics. As far as getting a nursing degree your wife could go to Mount Marty in Yankton for a BSN or go to Vermillion USD (30 min. drive) to get a ADN. The lake is right here for fishing and hunting is also great. My husband does both. We spend many summer days on the boat fishing. We are both in the health care field and even moved away from Yankton and missed it so much that we moved back. Yankton takes pride in their city and I think it is beautiful. Every spring flowers are planted by the city all around town. Yankton would be my choice by far. Hopefully you read this before you make a decision. :

[DannyBanany]

I have a cousin who lives in Yankton... she hates it! She says that there are too many "strange characters" due to all of the mental health facilities.

Yet, if your wife is an RN, it may be the right place to live. My cousin is an RN too but she wants to move to Nebraska and just work in Yankton to escape the "people".

I also have another cousin who recently moved to Pierre. He went fishing ther once and liked it so much, he decided to move his family there. However, I am unsure about their jobs and it is TOO SMALL for me!

[DBuB]

Its beginning to look like Pierre as the place we will end up. We finally went down there and visited for a couple of days and really enjoyed our stay. It had a very small town feel, while still providing necessities needed for everyday living. I felt it had a unique blue collar/white collar mix with a little bit of the old west mixed in. You get a sense of how important the outdoors lifestyle plays in this region as well. It also sounds like many people make the trip to Sioux Falls on occasion to do some real shopping, but would not trade their lifestyles in Pierre for anywhere else. I appreciate all of the feedback on this board and I look forward to joining the ranks of the proud South Dakotans who take pride in their value systems & communities.

[Jammie]

Welcome to South Dakota!! We're glad to have ya.

[billiefan2000]

Yankton is a great town

BTW the radio stations you can hear in Yankton are (according to radio-locator.com)

(Unless otherwise noted they are local Yankton stations)

K204EO (KLOV) 88.7 FM
KUSD 89.7 FM of Vermillion SD
K216EY (WJFM) 91.1 FM
K220FV (KGRD) 91.9 FM
KKYA 93.1 FM
KIKN 100.5 FM of Salem SD
WNAX 104.1 FM
KVHT 106.3 FM of Vermillion SD

WNAX 570 AM
KXRB 1000 AM of Sioux Falls


KSOO 1140 AM of Sioux Falls

(which airs Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly and Dave Ramsey and Jim Bohannon and Matt Drudge and Money Talk with Bob Brinker and Dr. Laura and Paul Harvey and several local religious and talk shows)

KNWC 1270 AM of Sioux Falls

(which airs David Jeremiah and Chuck Swindoll and James MacDonald and Woodrow Kroll and Charles Stanley


KYNT 1450 AM
KVTK 1570 AM of Vermillion SD

[pdogmuncher1]

Originally Posted by DecayingAngel

Trivia: Yankton was where Custer and the Seventh Cavalry took off for their fatal meeting with the Sioux and Cheyenne at the Little Big Horn. I'm full of useless little stuff like that!

Custer did not leave from Yankton for the Little Big Horn. He rode the Northern Pacific train out to Bismarck area from Chicago thru Saint Paul. He was in Chicago conferring with his boss Phil Sheridan. His cavalry troop was raised in Memphis and with some tagalong infantry recruits, he rode the rails northwest to present day North Dakota. He was nowhere near Yankton. He arrived @ Fort Abe Lincoln last week of May 1873 and arrived at Fort Rice shortly after.

I have lived in both Yankton and Pierre. Love the River. You win with both towns. Pierre is smaller, less employment possibilities and lower wage scale.
Winter in Pierre lasts longer. Pierre is certainly isolated. Pierre could be classified as odd and unique. Your choice.

[Chris19]

I would rather chose Yankton as opposed to Pierre. Personally, I like Yankton due to having more green and being closer to larger communities. Yankton and Pierre are similar sized communties but Yankton is closer to larger cities such as Sioux Falls, Omaha, and Sioux City. The hospital in Yankton is a little bigger than the one in Pierre. Both towns have opportunities. Pierre has a lot of state jobs and Yankton has the state mental hospital along with Sacred Heart.