Brookings, SD

[kaeyil]

If you could give me a few subjects to elaborate on, I would be more than happy to do so. What would you like to know?

[kishwaukee]

I'm looking to find out about living in Brookings. Safety? Crime? Education? Entertainment? Recreation? Weather? Housing? Taxes? All those things a guy ought to consider before packing up the family and moving.

[BusySocialWorker]

Safety and crime - I would say safer then most places- walked everywhere all over town while in college including downtown and home again at night (thanks to the great night life) with never ever a second thought!

Education - very good public school systems - we considered moving back for that reason for our children - plus love SDSU ( GO Jacks )

Entertainment - great night life and fun places to go out after work - nice sports bars and hangouts! There use to be a comedy club at one of the hotel bars that was fun too! Movie theater, golf, swimming, etc

Recreation - Golf, several lakes, nice bike and walking paths, movie theater, - SDSU also has their theater department that does several nice productions a year.

Weather - humid in the summer with mosquitoes and winters are cold and usually snowey and icy - this was the main reason we did not move back to be honest I lived in it for 22 years though and it was really not terrible, we were just spoiled by Denver weather so when we returned to SD we chose Rapid City as the climate is more similar to Denver

Housing - lots of nice older homes and construction is going very strong - my very best friend is an agent there and I know she is always busy and with nice lots open and good builders to choose from.

Taxes - you can google Brookings county and get the specifics!

[Jammie]

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


Average Weather for Brookings, SD - Temperature and Precipitation

Here are a couple of sites you may want to check out. I don't have much first hand info of Brookings since we've only been there a few times, but these may help a big along with all the good info that Busy gave you.

Also, on page one of this thread, Busy has some more links about Brookings posted.

[kaeyil]

Originally Posted by kishwaukee

I'm looking to find out about living in Brookings. Safety? Crime? Education? Entertainment? Recreation? Weather? Housing? Taxes? All those things a guy ought to consider before packing up the family and moving.

Safety? You won't have a problem. I've heard of very little violence in that area aside from the usual drunk college guy at a frat house getting all "bowed-up" cuz some guy is moving in on his girl or something. I believe last month they had their first homicide in the area in about 47 years. And that was a family affair I guess.

Education... I didn't go to grade/high school there, but I haven't heard any complaints. SDSU is a very fine establishment, and is very affordable. It also brings a lot of vibrance to the community as well as about 15,000 college kid's spending money.

Entertainment -- Hmm, that's going to be the catch. There isn't much to do in Brookings, but that's no different from anywhere in SD. There's a movie theater, a bowling alley, and a great gathering of bars on main street if you're into the college bar scene.

Recreation -- there's a golf course or two, and I believe a bike trail somewhere, as well as a few parks. I haven't been there in 3-4 years, but I'm sure you'll find something worthwhile in this area.

The weather is like anywhere in eastern SD. Average of about 80 in the summer, and about 10 in the winter. You'll find some decent stats on that on wikipedia if you'd like more detail.

There are some extremely nice houses there, but as far as housing and taxes, hopefully someone else posts about those because I am really just familiar with apartments, so taxes and housing really aren't my area of experience with Brookings.

Good luck! I personally believe that if you're looking for a safe and friendly environment to raise your children, this area (as well as Sioux Falls) is among the best in the nation.

[kishwaukee]

Thanks, all of you! It is really as I suspected. My aunt grew up in North Dakota. She always spoke about how great it was and of course i couldn't understand, thinnking of nothing but the cold. As an adult I see the bigger picture and am looking for a safe community to raise the family and provide a good quality of life.

Now.., about the fishing. Are we talking trophy lg and sm mouth bass, pike, muske, and walleye?

[kaeyil]

Originally Posted by kishwaukee

Thanks, all of you! It is really as I suspected. My aunt grew up in North Dakota. She always spoke about how great it was and of course i couldn't understand, thinnking of nothing but the cold. As an adult I see the bigger picture and am looking for a safe community to raise the family and provide a good quality of life.

Now.., about the fishing. Are we talking trophy lg and sm mouth bass, pike, muske, and walleye?

Sorry, can't help much with that... But you WILL have a lot of lakes to choose from in MN.