Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hello, i was born in rapid city and after a year my family moved away to florida. south dakota has always been interesting to me. from the pictures it is beautiful. now my wife and me are thinking of transferring there. we dont know were but looking at the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009. the question i have is how do yall cope with the winters? it seems like in jan. and feb. are the worst. my wife has never been in snow or driven on it. i dont mind it. just before i move my family up there i would like to know how it is. you must be able to get around during that time. looking forward to all responses. thanks
HI Nemcovic and welcome to the forum! Happy New Year to you and your family.
Well, I'm not the one to promote So. Dak. where weather is concerned so I actually should wait for someone else to come along. I have never liked the cold or the snow and a few physical problems in middle age are making my hatred for that even worse.
Anyway, the milder part of the state is the Western side. It has a semi-arid climate and their winters aren't as cold as they are East River. I live East River and my temp the last time I looked was 3 with a windchill of minus 14. They showed our statewide temps and I believe the windchill was 2 above in Rapid City. We do generally get around during the winter because the roads and interstate are normally open unless there is a pretty big blizzard. You do have to bundle up well here and there are a lot of things to consider. We have a thread here recommending winter survival and if you'd like, I'll find it for you and post the link to it. It has a lot of good info on there.
Up until now, East River was the area that was thriving with plenty of employment opportunities. Our unemployment rate is something like 2.3%. West River generally had a much higher unemployment rate, but that is about to change in the very near future.
As far as beauty~I personally prefer the Black Hills area. We have many nice areas over here, but the Hills area is stunningly beautiful with it's waterfalls and mountains, etc.
I'm very familiar with Fla. since we've been there frequently and have family that live there. The state has many beautiful areas, but has been having a lot of problems lately. I think you'd find our crime rates extremely low in comparison and our employers much more compassionate then where you live now. Our cost of living is also much lower.
I just don't want to mislead you about the weather though since you stated your wife has never lived where it's cold and snowy.
My suggestion is -
Take a vacation for two weeks in the winter and go up.
Hubby was very neutral about moving from the sunny South to the region, but my brother lives in ID so we went up there for one Christmas. We went exploring, skiing, and traveling about in the ice (which he had never driven in) and snow. While we were there we got caught in a force 3 blizzard, and it snowed almost the entire time we were there except for 2 days.
Now we are looking for property to relocate! The cold is nothing like we are used to in the South - it is a drier, lighter cold that doesn't sink into your bones or lungs like Southern cold does. The air is pure and breathable, the scenery is breathtaking, and most of the people are warm and friendly - not like in the South, where "Southern Hospitality" is touted, but the West's friendliness is not an invasive one where people plop down at a restaurant when you are having a quiet family supper and make themselves at home at your table without a by-your-leave. It is more of a polite "let me help you with that" that keeps its self-respect and privacy and allows you to keep yours. Love it!
Thanks, hey Jammie please get me that link, it would help alot. we are planning a vacation in march to go to rapid city. i am employed with the USDA so job is no problem all i have to do is wait for a opening. i appreciate everybody's input just to help my wife. i have no problem with moving there it is just getting data to help her with the cold.
Well, these are the average temps for the Rapid City area. I've gone through the first 7 pages of the archives and can't find the thread I'm talking about. It was offering someone advice on things like layering clothes, block heaters for cars, antifreeze, cans of Heet, etc~just basic cold weather survival. Hopefully someone will remember the thread and can post the link to it.
Your wife may actually enjoy it up here since there are so many positives to your move. The main reason I'm concerned about how she will feel is the fact that a few members from this forum who had grown up in Fla. had relocated north. They had moved to even milder climates then we have here, but are going back because they decided it's not for them. But there have been others who are just overjoyed with winter and snow, too.
I like SC's suggestion about spending time up here and since you'll be here in March, you should get a fairly good idea of what winter is like.
Agreeing with everyone, Rapid City actually has pretty mild winters. East River South Dakota can be below zero for a good week or two, while Rapid City is basking in the 30s. Whenever we get snow, it tends to melt pretty quickly too. I actually don't mind winter so much, because it gives me a chance to wear my really nice peacoat and my crocheted scarf!
Just be sure to bundle up! Think of it as a chance to expand your wardrobe. No more Aloha T-Shirts, and Cargo Shorts... at least until it hits 110 degrees in July!!!
Rapid City Airport is fine. Actually, there's not a lot of difference between the two airports. If you are using Denver as the hub, the fares to Cheyenne or Rapid are about the same most of the time.
I'm about five miles from South Dakota, but the weather's pretty much the same. I think South Dakota has a "bad rap." The winters CAN indeed be harsh and cold, but I find they're also brief: about two months total of really bad weather interspersed with warmer, sunnier days.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have never liked the cold or the snow and a few physical problems in middle age are making my hatred for that even worse.
