living in spearfish working in rapid city? (Sturgis, Custer: sales, find a job)

[lizbethsayers]

Hello!

I currently live in so Cal and went on vacation to South Dakota last summer--to Custer State Park to be precise. Fell in love with South Dakota and have looked into housing, I like Spearfish from what I've seen (pictures) and read.

I still have a couple of years before I graduate with a master's in speech langauge pathology, I was wondering if it is popular to work in Rapid City and live in Spearfish?

Also, I would love ANY and ALL additional information on Spearfish, I'd love to become better acquainted with the city, as much as I can at least. I'm hoping to go back to Custer again next summer and drive to Spearfish and check it out for myself.

Thanks for any responses!!

[DannyBanany]

Sadly it's not very popular to live in Spearfish and work in Rapid City. It is about a 40 minute drive and it can be treacherous during the winter. You'd probably miss work a lot. The furthest that most people commute into Rapid City is probably Sturgis which is still a good 20 minute drive.

I agree with you that Spearfish is a great town. IMHO it's the prettiest town in South Dakota. Is it possible to find work in Spearfish or is it possible to live in Rapid City?

[Jammie]

I totally agree with Danny. It'd be a rough drive especially in the wintertime. Spearfish is a very nice town, but if I couldn't find a job there, I'd work and live in RC and visit Spearfish on my days off, weather permitting.

In SD, we don't do the commutes like people in Cali and a lot of other places do. People who live in small towns often HAVE to commute to a larger town for employment, but generally people live in or very near the town they work in. It's got a lot to do with our winters.

[DannyBanany]

Like Jammie said, commuting isn't as big here as it is in CA. It takes me about 5-10 minutes to get to work and I often complain about that. I'm sure a 45 minute commute isn't unusual in CA but in SD it's unheard of! But then again, a 45 minute commute in CA gets you 10 miles while out here it gets you about 60!

[ElkHunter]

Ok, which is it? Folks spend all winter bragging about the Black Hills being the bananna belt and not getting any snow. Then discourage somebody making a short drive on the Interstate.

I used to work east of Rapid for a feedlot. I drove up every day of the week to pick up cattle. Don't remember what days each sale was but for instance, Sturgis on Monday afternoon, pick up cattle and back to Rapid. BelleForche on Tuesday afternoon, pick up cattle and back to Rapid. Newell on Wednesday afternoon, pick up cattle and back to Rapid. And so on. There were sales Monday through Saturday and I drove that road every day. I never once had to stop because of weather

I would be more concerned with $5 a gallon gas then I would weather. Sure, your going to have an occassional winter storm that closes the interstate. But realistically? Maybe twice during a winter. And then only closed for a few hours.

[DannyBanany]

That's very true EH, but your job was one that required driving long distances. Like truckers, I'm sure they drive further than 45 miles in the winter all the time. However it's very unusual for the average worker in the Black Hills to travel 45 minutes to work everday when they could just work in the town they live in.

Sure, the Black Hills is the "Banana Belt" of the region but occasional storms do pop up and shut down Interstate travel, possibly for days. I just don't think that long of a commute is neccesary for surviving in the Black Hills.

[ElkHunter]

Whether you drive because of working in Rapid and Living in Spearfish, is no different then Living in Rapid and driving through Spearfish every day. The point is not whether it is Required, but is it doable. Yes, very doable. You mentioned the road being shut down for possibly "Days". When was the last time that happened?

[Jammie]

One of the main things that concerns me (besides the price of gas) is the fact that Lizbeth is from California. Unless she lives in northern Cali, she may have never driven on snow or ice before let alone driving in a full fledged snowstorm. If driving is part of your employment, you have to be a person who enjoys driving. But it's different for someone who has to be on ice and drive a long distance just to get TO work. Truckers also have it a bit easier because of the weight.

[DannyBanany]

Originally Posted by ElkHunter

You mentioned the road being shut down for possibly "Days". When was the last time that happened?

May 5th and 6th of 2008.

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by DannyBanany

May 5th and 6th of 2008.

Snow or rain? haha