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If you're really into mountains, the black hills is your only choice in South Dakota. The closest thing we've got to a mountain in eastern South Dakota is Great Bear Ski Valley by Sioux Falls. In skiing terms it's called a pimple. In mountain terms it's a bump. In other words, it's a tiny little hill.
I would look at areas outside of the black hills out on the prairie also. That part of our state is definitely cowboy country where everyone owns a horse and knows how to ride. If you're into horses, you instantly fit in. There's some nice little towns within 60 to 80 miles of the black hills where I guarantee you house prices will be quite inexpensive and you're only 1 to 2 hours from the hills.
As to Sturgis, I don't think that would be a bad town to live in. You can always leave town during the rally (which is what I'd do). The bike rally is cool to visit, but to put up with year in and year out would be too much.
Being right in the mountains with room for horses can be quite spendy. Sturgis, Whitewood, Spearfish and Belle Fourche, are all quite horse friendly - There are a number of areas (subdivisions) just outside of Belle Fourche and Whitewood that allow horeses and are just a couple of minutes to the hills- Being on the edge of the hills (as the towns I mentioned are) tends to suite better for horses since there isn't much for grazing in the pines and meadowed acreages right in the hills are tend to be very expensive. Would you be boarding, or do you need enough land to take care of them yourself?
eric#1..we would need land, we have just an acre and a half here for him, but no place to ride unless you trailer on out.
We got a pre-qualifying letter here in texas, but it's not where we want to be. So we hope once my hubby gets established in a job in SD, we can put a app in for the USDA loan there.
Yep I'd like to do sturgis once, but I doubt it'll happen. I was into bikes, had my own before hubby, he aint much into the life.
I have had horses longer than bikes so it's all good!
Town that are horse oriented are great, that way I figure they have 4 H and stuff for the kids, playdays etc..
I have not heard anything on the hunting front..where do most folks go to hunt there?
I will sure look that over, it looks VERY promising!! Sure thanks for the help..oh one other question, may be sort of strange, but does SD allow fireworks at your house? We grew up buying and shooting off fireworks on the fourth..can't do it here in Texas! We want our little one to enjoy that experience too.
I love the attitude Jammie! We want to be somewhere that accepts us and we can make friends! Here I am sad to say that if you do not belong to the local Baptist church then you are nobody..can't get a job and they treat our little one differently.
I am going to investigate the area of RC and see the job situation there and the weather.
If any of the membrs from that area can help with tips and tid bits I would appreciate it!
Thx RJL and Jammie
Sage, you won't have to worry about that no matter which side of the state you end up in. In fact, one of my pet peeves are rude people who think that they personally own entire states and others don't have a right to be there.
We've got plenty of room for you and your family so come on up. You can bring your accents and eat your fave foods and have religious freedoms, etc. You don't have to be clones of us native South Dakotans. All we ask is that you be nice. I think you've got that requirement covered.
As for Sx. Falls and Yankton~I just heard that Sx. Falls is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. It is a nice city and it's clean and pretty and the people are friendly and the economy is good considering that we're in a recession. It probably has the best economy in the state. There are several smaller towns quite close to it and you've probably already found them through the link.
Yankton is an older town and it was originally the capitol of Dakota Territory. I don't personally see it as being quite as pretty or neat as Sx. Falls, but it's a river town and has an awesome beach area and the people there are just as nice. The only problem with Yankton is the fact that they're struggling with their unemployment rate. But I shouldn't talk cause my own town is doing a bit of struggling right now, too.
Like others have said, we don't really have any mountains over this way. We do have hilly areas and pretty scenery, but IMHO we can't compete with the Hills area. The Black Hills area actually has some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. West River has milder winters, very little humidity since it's a semi-arid climate, etc. It sounds like it is the area you're looking for.
But you are wise not to rule out other areas because you may just bump into a spot that suits you better. As far as the East River humidity, you won't consider it humid. We've been down south and ours is mild in comparison. You'd probably laugh the first time you hear one of us say, "Wow, it's humid today!"
eric#1..we would need land, we have just an acre and a half here for him, but no place to ride unless you trailer on out.
We got a pre-qualifying letter here in texas, but it's not where we want to be. So we hope once my hubby gets established in a job in SD, we can put a app in for the USDA loan there.
Yep I'd like to do sturgis once, but I doubt it'll happen. I was into bikes, had my own before hubby, he aint much into the life.
I have had horses longer than bikes so it's all good!
Town that are horse oriented are great, that way I figure they have 4 H and stuff for the kids, playdays etc..
I have not heard anything on the hunting front..where do most folks go to hunt there?
South Dakota IS hunting, state wide. We are the undisputed pheasant capital of the US. Eastern SD is fabulous duck and goose hunting country. Deer hunting is statewide and plentyfull. Whitetails in the east and both whitetail and mule deer west river. Excellent antelope hunting west river. There are limited licenses issued in the black hills for cougar, elk, and big horn sheep. Lots of varmint hunting as well such as prairie dogs, rabbits, gophers, badgers, and coyotes. Ask any farmer or rancher, there are no limits on these animals.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that the Sanctuary was a boarding house, I just meant to say that there was big horse ranch down there so the area should be good for raising horses.....And if you're a first time homebuyer looking for land you may want to check out the USDA Rural Development loan, it works for towns under 10,000 people I believe, we used that in conjunction with the South Dakota first time homebuyer program for our house last November....worked out great
Jammie-I agree with you on that! Here in Texas..well I guess since I do not have anything nice to say I shouldn't say it eh?! Only reason we are here is the job market. But I found jobs for hubby in SF and Yankton, that's why I asked about the area...funny thing when you move you kind of have to go where the jobs are unless you are wealthy!
We are nice, laid back kind of folks who love to have quality family time and find some good friends to have BBQ's with go fishing etc...Texans can be a bit anal!
Glad to hear that the whole state is so welcoming, honestly after reading many thousands of posts from other states, I told my hubby that folks in SD are the most welcoming and most do not even consider leaving their state, that is a good sign!
DeadwoodJ-yep, that's what we wanna try is USDA loans! Thanx.
Good to hear the hunting is alive and well, again Texas is 97% owned..that leaves little wildlife land for hunters to roam around on, so instead you have to pay an astronomical fee (lease) to hunt someones land..thousands of dollars..ridiculous! We hunt for the meat, not the trophy so paying that much for a meal is not very economical.
Now I am really excited and want to get up that way....my info packet can't come fast enough!
Here is another few questions for you (notice I do not say y'all, LOL, I am a native Californian after all..) what are the utilities like up there, how about prop tax?
We rent a 4 bd/1 bath house on 1.6 acres, in the city limits..we were going to buy one year ago but found prop tax for this house (1292 sq. ft) is $2100!!!!
Last year our electric bill at the end of summer was $900 for one month, it just seems ridiculously high here. this month e bill is $300...and water is $100 doesn't matter if it's summer or winter, we do not water the lawn and have no pool...electric is stove and AC we keep it at 75*.
Any info on your utilities and prop taxes would be VERY helpful!
I can tell you that for my house a little south of Sioux Falls, we haven't had an electric bill over $75 since we moved in last November, we keep the AC set around 70 and our Natural Gas bill (for heating) was $100 one time all the others were around $60-$75 and we kept it set about 70ish....Our water has never been more than $55 dollars either but we don't water the lawn either, we have 2 bed 1 bath upstairs and then the same downstairs once we finish the basement....our taxes once they go up to the normal rate will probably be close to $2000 for a townhouse, its about 1200 sq feet upstairs and another 1000 sq ft downstairs....not bad I suppose compared to other places....I think the Black Hills have a lot lower utility rates than we do over on the East side of the state......Xcel Energy (who we use for electric) charges 0.07 per kilowatt in summer and 0.06 per in winter time, so if you take what kilowatts you use now times those you can get a rough estimate but I'm sure you'll pay less than you do here....HOpe it helps.
Xcel is asking for a 13% rate increase. We also have Xcel......
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I think you've got that requirement covered.
It is a nice city and it's clean and pretty and the people are friendly and the economy is good considering that we're in a recession. It probably has the best economy in the state. There are several smaller towns quite close to it and you've probably already found them through the link. 
, it just seems ridiculously high here. this month e bill is $300...and water is $100 doesn't matter if it's summer or winter, we do not water the lawn and have no pool...electric is stove and AC we keep it at 75*.
