starting over in sioux falls (Watertown, Pierre: credit card, houses, job openings)

[goodwin847299]

Is South Dakota right for us?
Hello, my wife and I are planning to make a life changing move to South Dakota. We were wondering how the factory work or manufacturing work is there. If there is a lot of work to find. We are relocating from Georgia where there are no jobs that will pay enough to make a living. Minimum wage is only 7.25 an hour. We both have to work all the time just to make rent. We don't get to see each other as much as we would like to. I manly work in warehouses, but I have done a lot of management in retail also. My wife has only done retail. But she is wonderful with people, in fact that's where she shines. But we have concerns since we have never been to this area. Is it safe? Is there many things to do? Is the opportunity to make a new wonderful life there. I love fishing, and would like to try hunting. My wife is like a fish and if there is water she can get into she will be happy. We are hopefully planning on moving in the fall, since we do have a pet rat and don't want her getting overheated. Please give us your insight of how life is there.

[601halfdozen0theother]

There are a LOT of manufacturing type jobs available in our area, if you are a skilled worker.

In Yankton (about an hour SW of Sioux Falls) they can't fill all of the available welder jobs. They START at $15/hr. Cost of living is low here, too, though maybe not as low as where you live in Georgia.

Here is the state of South Dakota statewide job site. See if you find something that looks right for you! South Dakota Jobs - Jobs

If you don't have the skills you need you should take a look at out technical colleges for additional training. Here is the State website for approved technical programs and apprenticeships: Training Opportunities for Individuals - Approved Programs & Providers

If you are into hunting and water sports you might want to also look at other areas in SD, like Watertown and Pierre and Chamberlain and Yankton or even some smaller towns.

I'd encourage you to keep looking hard at South Dakota - it's a great place to live!

Let us know if you have more questions.

[jmgg]

Originally Posted by goodwin847299

Is South Dakota right for us?
Hello, my wife and I are planning to make a life changing move to South Dakota. We were wondering how the factory work or manufacturing work is there. If there is a lot of work to find. We are relocating from Georgia where there are no jobs that will pay enough to make a living. Minimum wage is only 7.25 an hour. We both have to work all the time just to make rent. We don't get to see each other as much as we would like to. I manly work in warehouses, but I have done a lot of management in retail also. My wife has only done retail. But she is wonderful with people, in fact that's where she shines. But we have concerns since we have never been to this area. Is it safe? Is there many things to do? Is the opportunity to make a new wonderful life there. I love fishing, and would like to try hunting. My wife is like a fish and if there is water she can get into she will be happy. We are hopefully planning on moving in the fall, since we do have a pet rat and don't want her getting overheated. Please give us your insight of how life is there.

Like was already mentioned, welding jobs are EVERYWHERE if you have any skill at all at it. I have a relative that works repairing rail cars and I believe starting wages there are $ 17 to $ 18 per hour and they'll train you. It's pretty tough work in the middle of the summer with our humidity, but the rest of the time it's not that bad as most of the repairs are done indoors.


There's a crushed rock place I know that's always trying to hire truck drivers and the pay is around $ 17 per hours.


The key problem these 2 places and many like them have in hiring is finding people who'll pass a drug test. In the case of the truck driving job they also can't have any alcohol related blemishes on their driving record since you'll need to get a CDL license. It's mind boggling to me that there's that many people around incapable of passing these tests because of their lifestyle.


If you're making $ 17-$18 per hour around here, with our fairly low tax structure and cost of living, you can live quite well. The one thing that can be quite high in the immediate Sioux Falls area is rent.


There are any number of retail job openings in Sioux Falls. Pay isn't too good though. We are also a major player in the nationwide credit card business. There are always jobs available in this field and the pay is decent. Beginning customer support phone jobs there can be pretty tedious, but if you stick with it you can usually move up to better jobs.


Also, lots of jobs in this city in healthcare. Sioux Falls has become a major player in the Midwest in healthcare.


Fishing and hunting galore in the state. You're in for a climate shock when winter comes if you're from the deep south. Unless you've been here before in the middle of the winter, it will take you some acclimating to get used to the cold AND our infamous winds.

[InchingWest]

Not the original poster, but thanks for the info JMGG. I've long tossed around the idea of a move to the mid-west and South Dakota seems great. It's also one of the most tax friendly states in the country. I'm really dismayed when I look at, say, Iowa or Nebraska because overall their taxes are worse than even the leftist east coast state (Maryland) that I currently live in!!!

The Sioux Falls area seems great, particularly Lincoln county to your south which seems like it's becoming a booming bedroom community and middle class jobs seem plentiful enough in the area. If you know anything about the business-friendliness of the area that would be helpful too as I'd like to get my own started up in a 3-5 year time frame as that would be about the appropriate time / experience level in my career field to spring off on one's own.

The only concern I have is with mass immigration and some of the refugee relocation centers that are being operated in the area. You hear of all the problems that Minneapolis has had and it makes you wonder why people would want to turn yet another city into a Baltimore or a Detroit. I mean, why the race to ruin even more parts of the country? One also has to wonder about future spillover as people eventually flee Minneapolis and Chicago for smaller, friendlier cities but still manage to take their nonsense with them.

As for the weather, I'm not concerned. I'll just take up cross-country skiing which I've done only a couple times and enjoyed it, and the summers seem less humid than the Tidewater and for a shorter period. I'll just supplement my downhill skiing urges with a flight out to the Rockies once or maybe even twice a season.

Thanks in advance for any other insights.