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I'm considering a move to Rapid City and have been doing some research and it seems like a pretty nice city. My concern is how isolated the city is from any major metropolitan area.
I've always preferred smaller cities but enjoyed being close enough to a large city for visits when I feel the need for some culture or for something different.
I'd appreciate hearing from those that have lived there to know if they felt too isolated or felt content with what the area has to offer.
I don't feel isolated. It's 350 miles to Denver. 500 miles from the twin cities. The outdoor activities are ample. The symphony is very active. There is also a decent theater for live performances.
I never felt isolated when I lived in Rapid. The town has everything you'll need to live comfortably with new stores and restaurants coming in all the time. Pennington County has 100,000+ people, it isn't a small place.
Denver is a six hour drive from Rapid and a good weekend escape if you're needing a large metropolitan area. I'll tell you though, after spending enough time living in Rapid, Denver and it's traffic and sprawl will be less and less appealing. I got to the point I didn't like to make the trip to Denver even though I'm from Colorado. Rapid City is a better place to be in my opinion.
Rapid's a good place. Don't let the fear of isolation scare you away from it. It's relative remoteness is one of it's best aspects.
I guess it's all relative what one considers near or far depending on what you're used to. When you live in Rapid City, maybe a 6 hr drive is not seen as much of an inconvenience but that's double what I'm used to and I lived in a lot of states.
I can also see the benefit of not having any large cities near.
I guess it's all relative what one considers near or far depending on what you're used to. When you live in Rapid City, maybe a 6 hr drive is not seen as much of an inconvenience but that's double what I'm used to and I lived in a lot of states.
I can also see the benefit of not having any large cities near.
Yes, it's what you're used to, and if you move to Rapid City you'll likely start taking longer trips and soon be just like most of us in the Rocky Mountain West. I live 150 miles west of Rapid City, and I moved here from Iowa where I grew up living in a small town 50 miles from Omaha. That 50 miles seemed like a long trip then!
I wasn't here long before I started making a lot of trips to Rapid City. (It's the hub for shopping over a pretty wide area so has good retail offerings.) One night 4 of us were sitting around and decided we all wanted a good pizza, so we hopped into my car and made a trip to Rapid's Shakey's Pizza Parlor! (300 mile round-trip.) Also, some were surprised that our family had Bronco season tickets. We drove to Denver for nearly every home game for years! Now my son has the tickets and goes to all the games. (700 mile round-trip.)
Like you say, it's all relative. Driving out here is usually pretty relaxing, because the interstates have much lighter traffic. I just returned tonight from a 300 mile round-trip west on I-90. I'd guess there were fewer than a dozen cars that I passed or that passed me during the whole trip. A big herd of antelope (50?) surprised me as they galloped across the little country road I was on; I had to stop for a minute to let some turkeys cross the road a couple times, and a big bald eagle nearly clipped me when he took off from the roadside as I approached. Oh yeah, and I saw a a few cars, too.
I think you answered your own question. Everything is just a matter of perspective. I live in the mountains of CO and drive 2 1/2 to 3 hours for a weekend trip to Denver and an 1 1/2 to get to Costco. I am chompin at the bit for my house to sell so I can get to the Black Hills where I have access to plays, concerts, a mall, Sam's Club, nice restaurants and according to my calculations within 45 minutes of most places I am considering moving to. For me, that's all I need. Yet, I still have golfing, beautiful trails to hike and bike and little to no concrete . If I see Denver once a year that would be plenty for me. Looking from my little ski town, Rapid City has more than enough to offer me.
Think of Rapid City and the Black Hills as an island in the middle of America. Think of the prairie as an ocean.
The people of Rapid City have no clue, no idea, about life in the rest of America.
Rapid City has 70,000 people, and if you include all the towns in the Black Hills, like Hot Springs, Keystone, Hill City, Deadwood, Lead, Spearfish, Sturgis, Custer, etc., you might have 125,000 people.
It is hard to feel isolated with 125k people, but you still do.
Racial stuff is Rapid City's biggest problem, mostly because of indians. They are constantly panhandling you for a cigarette, chew of snuff, change, or a sip of your soda. They all, from Olympian Billy Mills, to a drunk by the creek, they all like to play the victim. One of them got a free 100K heart operation to save his life, he turned around and sued the hospital for carving kkk into his chest, even though there was no kkk carved in his chest. It was just another indian victim lie.
Then you have the case of the hockey game. The local hockey team, trying to pump attendance numbers so thyey could become an NHL affiliate, gave about 60 ticvkets to indians, and they gave the tickets to kids at an indian school, as a reward for showing up that day. [they lied and said it was for excelling in school].
At the hockey they acted like indians, got into an argument, and accused some white guy of throwing beer on their children and calling them racial slurs, and said they were told to go back to the rez.
As usual, it was a pack of victim lies from the start.
Recently they had an indian with a knife come at a cop saying "it is a good day to die", cop shot him, and this is after the other indians in the house called cops for help. Then the indians got mad because a white cop killed an indian who was about to attack the cop with the knife.
At night in the park, there are onoy 2 things, drunk indians, and drunker indians. about 13 have been murdered. By other indians, but they are angry and say a white guy is killing indians. Which is another victim lie.
A lot of places dont like indians to use their bathroom because they pee all over walls, crap on the floor, etc., because they want all the white folks to leave or pay them rent.
Indians are taught from childhood to be a burden to whites, lie and play victim, dont work, eat at all the free feeding places, harass by panhandling, fill the jail with drunks, and any other thing they can do be be a burden and exhause resources. BUT YOU ARENT ALLOWED TO SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT INDIANS.
Think of Rapid City and the Black Hills as an island in the middle of America. Think of the prairie as an ocean.
The people of Rapid City have no clue, no idea, about life in the rest of America.
Rapid City has 70,000 people, and if you include all the towns in the Black Hills, like Hot Springs, Keystone, Hill City, Deadwood, Lead, Spearfish, Sturgis, Custer, etc., you might have 125,000 people.
It is hard to feel isolated with 125k people, but you still do.
Racial stuff is Rapid City's biggest problem, mostly because of indians. They are constantly panhandling you for a cigarette, chew of snuff, change, or a sip of your soda. They all, from Olympian Billy Mills, to a drunk by the creek, they all like to play the victim. One of them got a free 100K heart operation to save his life, he turned around and sued the hospital for carving kkk into his chest, even though there was no kkk carved in his chest. It was just another indian victim lie.
Then you have the case of the hockey game. The local hockey team, trying to pump attendance numbers so thyey could become an NHL affiliate, gave about 60 ticvkets to indians, and they gave the tickets to kids at an indian school, as a reward for showing up that day. [they lied and said it was for excelling in school].
At the hockey they acted like indians, got into an argument, and accused some white guy of throwing beer on their children and calling them racial slurs, and said they were told to go back to the rez.
As usual, it was a pack of victim lies from the start.
Recently they had an indian with a knife come at a cop saying "it is a good day to die", cop shot him, and this is after the other indians in the house called cops for help. Then the indians got mad because a white cop killed an indian who was about to attack the cop with the knife.
At night in the park, there are onoy 2 things, drunk indians, and drunker indians. about 13 have been murdered. By other indians, but they are angry and say a white guy is killing indians. Which is another victim lie.
A lot of places dont like indians to use their bathroom because they pee all over walls, crap on the floor, etc., because they want all the white folks to leave or pay them rent.
Indians are taught from childhood to be a burden to whites, lie and play victim, dont work, eat at all the free feeding places, harass by panhandling, fill the jail with drunks, and any other thing they can do be be a burden and exhause resources. BUT YOU ARENT ALLOWED TO SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT INDIANS.
What part of Rapid have you been hanging out in?
uh
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