I want to live in South Dakota. (Sioux Falls, Rapid City: sales, low crime) - (SD) - City-Data Forum

thoepfner · 01-20-2006, 04:31 PM

Hi Anybody.

We want to live in South Dakota. My Family and me come from Germany (Europe), near Hanover. We've found this Place over the Internet. Can anybody tell more from South Dakota?

Thanks, Torsten Hoepfner

angela · 01-25-2006, 03:35 PM

Hello!

I can tell you a little about what it is like living in South Dakota.

South Dakota is a lovely state to live in because the people are so kind. I am from a small community in South Dakota and everybody knows each other. When you walk down the street everyone that you pass will say hello to you. You will be welcomed by all in any small town in South Dakota. If you are looking for a job in a small town, you might run in to some problems. My advise would be to look up a website for a business in a small town and call that business. If they do not have work for you, they will more than likely know of somebody who needs a good worker. Sioux Fall, South Dakota's largest city is nice as well. It has a lot to offer...good shopping, entertainment, beautiful parks, bike trails, tons of resturants, etc. It is as good as any other big city I have been in.

I Remember · 01-25-2006, 05:40 PM

I beleive one of the most beautirful places on earth is around Lead and the Black Hills. Black Hills is a mountainous heavily forested area surrounded by the Cheyenne and Belle Fourche rivers. My cousin worked in a gold Mine near Lead South Dakota for many years. The scenery is beautiful. Mt. Rushmore is located there with its sculptures of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and T. Roosevelt. It is an outstanding site taking many years of hard work to complete.

neverforget · 02-01-2006, 01:34 PM

I lived there for a few years in the '70. I agree with the other posters, people are really nice to you, to your face. People do say howdy and that sort of thing was you walk down the street, then curse you out behind your back as you walk away. My experience was that they were especially excited to see people who were different than them. They would all stop and stare until one of them reminded the others just how rude it was. That reminder usually stopped a few of them.

Since you are looking at relocating from Germany, you might get along pretty well. There is little chance you are Native American. Native Americans are met with more than a little disdain and mistrust. You are lucky there! It will also be lucky if you are white, straight, and well-groomed as any differences with cause a stir among the locals. My brother still lives there and he is, you know, the - "term deleted that means liking other men, also means happy". As long as he doesn’t bring it up, as long as his life partner of decades is willing to pass as a roommate, they get along just fine. It’s sort of an unofficial Don’t ask, Don’t tell policy.

The good news about South Dakota is that there is no State Income tax. A fact that many of the citizens are very proud of. Most of the state's income is derived from a regressive and excessive sales tax on everything and a plethora of Casinos. In fact nearly every place that sells beer has a few slot machines. South Dakota legalized this several years ago when the tribes were thinking of starting Casinos on the reservations. IT worked well as it kept the Native Americans for getting their hands on any economic development. Several of the poorest counties in the entire United States are located in South Dakota. Guess where? IF you guessed the Reservations, you were right!

If you are "Pro-life" you will also be in luck as South Dakota has passed some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the entire country. In fact, we are hoping to hear from the US Supreme Court on these laws soon. If these draconian actions do not bother you, you are lucky again!

I would really highly recommend South Dakota to you if you are in the Market for a low cost home and a low cost of living. Their cost of living is truly lower than most other places in the US of A. This fact is frequently touted by locals as one of the greatest things about living in South Dakota. What they fail to mention is that wages in the state are as repressed as the costs, effectively equalizing the cost to live in the state. Actually, some folks don't mind that they are barely making a livable wage.

So, good luck with your move. South Dakota welcomes you with open arms and closed minds, as long as you are not, you know, the "term deleted that means liking other men, also means happy".

lovemaine · 02-01-2006, 01:48 PM

I've been to South Dakota and thought it was beautiful too. As for small-mindedness, you'll find that in any smaller town anywhere in the U.S. I've lived in small towns in Wisconsin and Illinois, and although I'm very liberal, I have never had any issues with people not agreeing with me. It's one of those "agree to disagree" circumstances. Good luck relocating to the USA. It's a wonderful place to live! We relocated to the U.S. from Germany (Nuernberg) when I was 10 years old. I've lived here over 20 years now and have loved every minute! In addition to Wisconsin and Illinois, I've also lived in New Jersey. This spring we are permanently relocating to North Carolina. If I had a choice though, I'd move to Maine. So many states, so little time....

I Remember · 02-07-2006, 03:30 AM

Actually, this is true, shaking hands as you get backstabbed but in America, with our politicains setting an example of backstabbing, lying, dehumanizing reputable characters and sleazy sneaking attacks on our traditions by the judges, it is no wonder South Dakota follows the leader. I still love the plains and the solitude of farm life.

Jammie · 03-08-2006, 10:58 PM

It's nice to hear that you're interested in moving to SD. It does have some very beautiful areas. The only thing I want to forewarn you about is the extreme temps. We have four seasons here and spring and autumn are beautiful. We can have some pretty hot summer days. But the worst is the winter. The past two winters have been two of the nicest winters on record, but we can get a lot of snow and some very cold temps. Good luck with your move.

davidgsy · 03-17-2006, 12:42 PM

Despite what neverforget is posting, SD is indeed a great place to relocate to. If you've read his posts, you can see the guy has issues that have nothing to do with geogaphy.

South Dakota features low crime, friendly people, low cost of living, and if you enjoy outdoor activites like hunting, fishing, boating, camping, skiing, hiking, biking etc. than there are lots of options year round. Whichever end of the State you move to.

Sioux Falls is the largest city and there is a lot of German ancestry in and around the region. They do a small version of Octoberfest in the fall with a parade and a party. This state embraces hard work, so if you are a tradesman you can do really well here. But there is also lots of opportunity for professionals as well.

And politcally, SD is conservative, but open minded enough to elect Democratic canditates quite frequently at all levels. Voters out here vote the person, not the party.

Good luck in moving to the USA!

ElkHunter · 03-23-2006, 08:58 AM

I have very fond memories of South Dakota.

I was born down in the Eastern end of the state. My grand parent lived around Tripp and Armour. There's a very large contingency of German people in that area.

I went to school at the other end of the state in the Beautiful Black Hills. But I will tell you this, doesn't make any difference what end of that state you live in, it has very great qualities.

Low cost of living pretty much throughout the state. If you want to live in a place like Rapid City, the taxes are high on property. But if you get out of Rapid far enough, the property taxes are reasonable.

I thought they had excellent schools in Rapid City. But I grew up there from 1956 until 1972. Then I got the heck out of Dodge. In Rapid City I was being paid $1.19 per hour for blue printing and drafting homes. I moved up to Wyoming and started making $4.50 per hour as a laborer. Do the math, it was a good move at that time. But South Dakota has made a lot of changes through the years and are now very competitve with wages.

I now live up in Wyoming in the Big Horn Mountains. When I moved up here years ago, I fell in love with this place. But South Dakota was good to me and I really have fond memories of it.

I Remember · 03-23-2006, 11:40 PM

This summer, my wife and I plan on visiting the Mt. Rushmore areas and look up a few long lost relatives. Since my family ancestors were pioneers in South Dakota from around 1890's we have many relatives I have never met. I heard the farmers still feed good. I know when I was on the farm, we had the great food, three big meals a day. Something to look forward to.