I don't really know what I'm looking for... (Rapid City, Hot Springs: crime, house)
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 graduated a couple of years ago from the University of Michigan-Flint with a bachelor's in elementary education. However, the economy here is one of the worst in the nation, and I have been unable to find a full-time job. (Not just in teaching, but ANY full-time job.) I've been substitute teaching for two years. I'm trying to find places in the country that actually need teachers, and happened across the ASBSD site. I was AMAZED at the number of listings for elementary teachers. From just a couple hours of research I learned that South Dakota has many reservations, has a lot of rural areas, only a couple of big cities.
Flint is one of the biggest cities in Michigan, but that's not really saying much. When I think "big cities" I think ungodly congestion, tons of people all over, but a lot of entertainment options. That type of atmosphere makes me claustrophobic. Flint doesn't really have any of that. You can get from one side of town to the other in about 15 minutes, aside from the usual (i.e. movie theatre, bowling alley, restaurants) you have to go to the Detroit area for sporting events, concerts, etc.
So I don't think the smaller cities will be that much different, but what do I know? From what I've researched Rapids City has a lot of the same restaurants, and they also have a roller derby team (I'm on the league in Flint and would like to continue playing.) I'd like to think I'm the type of person who can be happy anywhere.
My husband has always fancied himself an outdoorsman, so I think he might be quite happy there.
Also I think the lower crime rate, lower cost of living, etc is appealing.
What am I missing? Is there anything I should know about?
I graduated a couple of years ago from the University of Michigan-Flint with a bachelor's in elementary education. However, the economy here is one of the worst in the nation, and I have been unable to find a full-time job. (Not just in teaching, but ANY full-time job.) I've been substitute teaching for two years. I'm trying to find places in the country that actually need teachers, and happened across the ASBSD site. I was AMAZED at the number of listings for elementary teachers. From just a couple hours of research I learned that South Dakota has many reservations, has a lot of rural areas, only a couple of big cities.
Flint is one of the biggest cities in Michigan, but that's not really saying much. When I think "big cities" I think ungodly congestion, tons of people all over, but a lot of entertainment options. That type of atmosphere makes me claustrophobic. Flint doesn't really have any of that. You can get from one side of town to the other in about 15 minutes, aside from the usual (i.e. movie theatre, bowling alley, restaurants) you have to go to the Detroit area for sporting events, concerts, etc.
So I don't think the smaller cities will be that much different, but what do I know? From what I've researched Rapids City has a lot of the same restaurants, and they also have a roller derby team (I'm on the league in Flint and would like to continue playing.) I'd like to think I'm the type of person who can be happy anywhere.
My husband has always fancied himself an outdoorsman, so I think he might be quite happy there.
Also I think the lower crime rate, lower cost of living, etc is appealing.
What am I missing? Is there anything I should know about?
Ive been seeing a few michigan tags around town. Rapid city that is.most looked like they where moving here. The people next door also have michigan tags on there car and truck. Anyway I guess you would not be alone in your maybe move from there to here. Good luck to you both.
The only thing that you are missing is that most of the teaching jobs that are advertised on ASBSD site are not near Rapid City. And the small towns and reservations that they are on are - quite literally - in the middle of nothing and nowhere. SD does need elementary teachers in these rural communities, but some of these are still actually one room schools with a mixture of elementary grades. They are very much poor and isolated communities. I know, because I still get emails from ASBSD all the time (if you can figure out how to unsubscribe, please let me know!). You might get lucky, and they might advertise for teachers for Rapid or the Douglas school system, but I never saw any when I was on there. You might check the specific school districts' websites to see if they have anything listed.
Moving here for a teaching job might sound like a great idea, but if you are anywhere outside an hour from Rapid City, your small city access will pretty much disappear for the better part of the winter months. Be very choosy about where you will accept a position, and you might get exactly what you are looking for. Accept any position offered, and you might end up very, very sorry!
Have you looked into Minnesota? I don't know how strong the need is for teachers there (I'd think it has to be better than Michigan), but the culture shock would be pretty strong teaching on the isolated reservations in South Dakota (the poorest counties in the US). Minnesota is more similar to Michigan, but you'd be hard pressed to find places in MN with the type of crime Flint has (except maybe parts of Mpls/St Paul proper). As for non-reservation South Dakota, I could actually name at least a few Elementary Ed graduates in my own group of acquaintances that are working in call centers or other jobs that are not far above minimum wage because they were having a hard time finding teaching jobs. I'm not knocking their jobs either as it's better than not having one at all and I'm not trying to say SD is a bad place to live, but MN might be up your alley more.
The couple openings I saw in Rapid City were for music teachers, but there was one in Hot Springs which, I believe, is an hour from Rapid City. That wouldn't be too bad; especially if we could find a house in between the two.
I'll check MN too. Apparently hubby's dead set against MN because the winters are worse than Michigans.
Hubby's job is talking about cut backs, so we're just trying to figure out what we're going to do in the event he gets cut. We know we don't want to go the Florida, North Carolina route, but haven't really 100% ruled out anything.
Last edited by Tricia819; 02-28-2010 at 08:03 AM..
Wyoming also seems to have lots of educator needs, and their teacher pay is MUCH higher than the surrounding states. Also, you must consider the communities and isolation factor there.
Hot Springs would not be bad. Keep in mind, an hour drive in good weather is much different in the winter. The southern hills do tend to get socked in quite a bit. If you can deal with the snow (which I assume you can), and possibly waiting a month or so to get to town, Hot Springs would be very nice. Beautiful part of the state, and lots of outdoors stuff to do within easy driving distance.
If you accept the job in Hot Springs and can find a house you like in the area, that wouldn't be bad at all. It's a neat little town. The drive between Hot Springs and Rapid City can be a little hairy in the winter, though.
Hot Springs is in the southern foothills and has a climate somewhat similar to Rapid City's but the quickest route between the two cities is through the hills and that can make it kind of tricky as people have said...
If you accept the job in Hot Springs and can find a house you like in the area, that wouldn't be bad at all. It's a neat little town. The drive between Hot Springs and Rapid City can be a little hairy in the winter, though.
I haven't lived in Hot Springs, but my impression of it is that it's a quaint little town with very nice scenery and a lot of outdoor things to do if you're so inclined. The hot springs that give the town its name are there, as is a wild horse sanctuary. IIRC, there are also paleontological sites nearby. We looked at homes and land in that area before we decided it was a little too far to commute to and from Rapid City on a daily basis (we ended up on the outer fringes of RC). Too bad... we really liked Hot Springs. If you had work there, this wouldn't be a problem.
Check out the City-Data page on Hot Springs. It has a bunch of photos and info.
ETA: Their chamber of commerce mails out free relocation packets if you want them. I don't know what kind of information is in the packet, but it couldn't hurt to request one. They'll probably be able to give you more specific information on things you're personally interested in if you ask.
Last edited by kbat; 03-01-2010 at 11:01 PM..
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.
Good luck
