Possibly moving to Sioux Falls area from south suburb of Chicago, IL- what to expect? (Brandon: rentals)

[bcurtis8511]

Hello,
My husband has a job opportunity that would take him to the Sioux Falls area. We are a late 20's couple with 2 children (9 and 6) with one on the way. We are simpler, small town life kind of people who enjoy more nature things than city life. The town we currently live in has a ton of bars (not that we go to them, but we're used to the atmosphere that brings) and not much to do in attractions. My question is....what is the cost of living in Sioux Falls area? Currently here we are used to high state taxes (yay Illinois....), high property taxes, and a single family home 3 bedroom 2 bath in a decent part of town with little updates needed is going to run about $150-175k. Rentals for a single family home are 1200-2000 per month.

Would we expect the same pricing in the area? Here you want both spouses to make at least $17/hr to be able to afford everything.

Also- are public school ok?

Thank you for any and all feedback, its truly helpful as we have never been to SD before.

[uncleharley]

I have never lived in Sioux Falls, but having lived in both S D and Ill I believe you will find state and local taxes less in S D. You should not have a problem finding a house you want in your price range, but check realtor.com for current info and listings. You should find that the public schools are fine, but someone who lives there would be a better source of info than I.
uh

[OKC123]

I have been here just over a month now in Sioux Falls. Cost wise, you will probably see your costs go down living here. Schools seem to be pretty good from what I hear other people say.

I have previously lived in the west suburbs of Chicago. Though I have not experienced a winter here yet, I imagine it is similar. Some streets in Sioux Falls are quite steep, so bear that in mind in winter.

There are smaller towns surrounding Sioux Falls that you may like. Harrisburg, Brandon, Canton, Crooks etc. It is farm country once you get outside Sioux Falls.

It is fairly easy to get around. Rush hour is the usual traffic from a bigger town. The mall in Sioux Falls is small by comparison to Malls in IL, say Yorktown, Westfield. At least it seems that way. All one level. Anchor stores of Sears, JC Penny and one or two others.

Fair number of furniture stores. Walmart and Target of course.

Missing some chain restaurants strangely. There is no Longhorn Steakhouse, no BJs Brewery, no California Pizza Kitchen, no PF Changs. I think compared to the west suburbs of Chicago, restaurant selection here is a bit lacking. But the towns surrounding Sioux Falls are not as populated as the Chicago Burbs.

You will see a LOT of little casino's everywhere. In gas stations, in strip malls, everywhere it seems. It's South Dakota's dirty little secret that they don't like to talk about. Catering to people throwing money away on addictions. The state gets part of the take I hear. Rather sad in my view.

The weather in July was for the most part great. Temps in the lower 80s or upper 70s. Some humid days, but overall, just nice sunny mild summer weather thus far.

Parking downtown is metered in most places. Bring change. Depending on where the meter is located, per penny rate varies. Parking tickets top out at around $35 I think if you get spotted parked on a snow route in winter when snow is expected. And apparently they can impound your car if you have 5 or more unpaid tickets. Whether they do in practice or not, I don't know.

I expect winters to be similar to Chicago. Some years good, some years bad.

The nearest bigger city is Sioux City, Iowa, about 75 minutes away. Lots of construction on the highways around there.

Omaha, Nebraska is a good 3 hours away.

Minnesota border is very close. About 20 minutes away from Sioux Falls. You will see lots of MN license plates here.

Cost of license, registration and new title for your vehicles will depend on what you have. I just did my pickup truck for about $62. And a small cargo trailer for about $21. (If you have a trailer, take a photo of the data plate showing the vin # and weight, print it out and bring it with you. Otherwise you have to take it to a commercial scale and have it "officially" weighed and get a printed ticket from the scale place.)

Car drivers license was $20. Good for 5 years. Expires on your birthday. Strangely, they DO NOT ask about having vehicle insurance here. They do the low tech vision test thing on the usual crappy dated equipment.

The place you get your drivers license and tests etc is just for that. It's got an odd location and is in a former restaurant building apparently. And there is construction going on right in front, so access can be a bit confusing.

Read through the document requirements for your drivers license and have all your paperwork in order. It will save you extra trips.

You have to go to the Minnehaha Administration building on W 6th/Minnesota, first floor, for your plates, title etc. Don't go on the last day of the month, or you will have a longer wait. They DO NOT take out of state checks. Cash, money order. There is an ATM inside near the entrance.

Homeowners insurance and car insurance will most likely be less. Shop around. Watch out for automatically added costs on homeowners policies which are optional. Read carefully and question anything that seems odd.

Hope that helps.

[bcurtis8511]

Originally Posted by OKC123

I have been here just over a month now in Sioux Falls. Cost wise, you will probably see your costs go down living here. Schools seem to be pretty good from what I hear other people say.

I have previously lived in the west suburbs of Chicago. Though I have not experienced a winter here yet, I imagine it is similar. Some streets in Sioux Falls are quite steep, so bear that in mind in winter.

There are smaller towns surrounding Sioux Falls that you may like. Harrisburg, Brandon, Canton, Crooks etc. It is farm country once you get outside Sioux Falls.

It is fairly easy to get around. Rush hour is the usual traffic from a bigger town. The mall in Sioux Falls is small by comparison to Malls in IL, say Yorktown, Westfield. At least it seems that way. All one level. Anchor stores of Sears, JC Penny and one or two others.

Fair number of furniture stores. Walmart and Target of course.

Missing some chain restaurants strangely. There is no Longhorn Steakhouse, no BJs Brewery, no California Pizza Kitchen, no PF Changs. I think compared to the west suburbs of Chicago, restaurant selection here is a bit lacking. But the towns surrounding Sioux Falls are not as populated as the Chicago Burbs.

You will see a LOT of little casino's everywhere. In gas stations, in strip malls, everywhere it seems. It's South Dakota's dirty little secret that they don't like to talk about. Catering to people throwing money away on addictions. The state gets 50% of the take I hear. Rather sad in my view.

The weather in July was for the most part great. Temps in the lower 80s or upper 70s. Some humid days, but overall, just nice sunny mild summer weather thus far.

Parking downtown is metered in most places. Bring change. Depending on where you are at the time per penny varies. Parking tickets top out at around $35 I think if you get spotted parked on a snow route in winter when snow is expected. And apparently they can impound your car if you have 5 or more unpaid tickets. Whether they do in practice or not, I don't know.

I expect winters to be similar to Chicago. Some years good, some years bad.

The nearest bigger city is Sioux City, Iowa, about 75 minutes away. Lots of construction on the highways around there.

Omaha, Nebraska is a good 3 hours away.

Minnesota border is very close. About 20 minutes away from Sioux Falls. You will see lots of MN license plates here.

Cost of license, registration and new title for your vehicles will depend on what you have. I did my pickup truck for about $62. And a small cargo trailer for about $21. (If you have a trailer, take a photo of the data plate showing the vin # and weight, print it out and bring it with you. Otherwise you have to take it to a commercial scale and have it "officially" weighed and get a printed ticket from the scale place.)

Car drivers license was $20. Strangely, they DO NOT ask about having vehicle insurance here. The place you get your drivers license and tests etc is just for that. It's got an odd location and is in a former restaurant building apparently. And there is construction going on right in front, so access can be a bit confusing.

Read through the document requirements for your drivers license and have all your paperwork in order. It will save you extra trips.

You have to go to the Minnehaha Administration building on W 6th/Minnesota, first floor, for your plates, title etc. Don't go on the last day of the month, or you will have a longer wait.

Hope that helps.

Thank you so much for the info!! This has been very helpful! Next we just need to find a home rental that allows our dog. So stressful!