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After our recent trip through the Dakota's, my wife and I are trying to narrow down our Top 3 places to move to. Were trying to decide between Bismarck and Rapid City, SD. I've read alot on here that comparing the Dakota's is more east vs west than north vs south but we were curious as everyone's thoughts between the two cities after the obvious hills vs mountains. I'm going on the assumption that Bismarck is cheaper and has harsher winters. Is there anything else though?
Boy, that is a tough one. The 2 cities are very similar in size, what they have to offer for shopping, restaraunts, etc... both are pretty as both are built on hills...either would be a nice place to set up house. I have spent time in both places over the years, and currently live in Bismarck. I love this town. Bismarck is growing rapidly, as is Rapid City. So both are very progressive. However, there are difference. You are correct when you say harsh winters vs. mild winters, and hills vs. mountains. However, I find Bismarck is very business oriented as far as attracting large companies that have set up shop in town, such as Unysis, Aetna, Covenant, Sykes, it is also the state capital with lots of office workers, etc... Rapid City reminds me more of a service city, with the air force base, and seasonal tourist rushes. Bismarck has the beautiful Missouri river passing through, cottonwood trees and neighborhoods created around canals, water access and man made lake bays vs. Rapid City and the Black Hills. Either way, you couldn't lose on either town. Just my opinion. Hopefully others will give you some feedback.
If you have kids, I'd look @ the graduation rates, test scores, percentage of kids going to college right after high school, etc.
If I were a betting man, I'd take 10 - 1 odds on Bismarck having better schools but its something to verify. This is not to say Rapid City has bad schools but Bismarck has very, very, good schools.
I remember doing some research comparing Rapid City Public Schools to Grand Forks Public Schools. Grand Forks was significantly better than Rapid in every category. Don't have the time to prove it but from the stats I remember seeing in newspapers, etc., Bismarck Public Schools are as good as or better than GF.
Thanks for the response. We loved both cities and agree either would be good, just trying to get some insight on something maybe we havent thought about.
We dont have kids yet but are moving to the Dakota's for a better life and to eventually raise a family so schools are important. Not to mention, my wife is a teacher. So we will look into that closer.
Everyday I go back and forth between the two cities. We kind of prefer the mountains for things to do but like Bismarck's real estate prices a whole lot better.
We have spent time visiting relatives in both cities over the years and although both are very nice, we prefer Bismarck. It is the cleanest city we have ever been in and has excellent shopping and health care services. We are seriously considering moving there.
One thing to consider is the tax structure of both states. As you probably already know, South Dakota does not have state income tax. The sales tax rates are similar, but North Dakota does not charge sales tax on groceries.
Your dilemma reminds me of something a friend said many years ago when she was making a major life change, "It is not a forever, it is a for now". And, after a few years, she did something else.
Since your wife is a teacher, I'd would like to point out that the average salary for teachers in either state is at or near the bottom nationally. That is just an average but gives you an idea on what she can expect.
IMO, it is a sad commentary on how much the voters and taxpayers of South Dakota underappreciate their public school teachers that the average teaching salary in Alabama and Mississippi are higher than in South Dakota. I don't have a link for it (or the time to look for it now) but it is not as though Alabama and Mississippi are overly generous with all governmental workers - their correctional officers earn less than correctional officers in South Dakota. I see it as an example of misplaced priorities.
Thanks for the link. We knew both Dakota's were low on the teacher salary chart but we were going to look further into it so the link is much appreciated.
We know its going to be a pay cut for her which hurts and makes us start leaning towards Bismarck over RC due to real estate and cost of living etc.
But we completely agree with you with the concerns of the low salaries of teachers and the misguided priorities.
I'd agree teacher salaries are in a sad state. I'm sure you'll want to do more reserach but it does look like Bismarck is a bit higher than both Rapid & ND as a whole. Lowest pay grade in Bismarck is $31k while the average starting salary in ND (from the NEA website) was $24k. Highest salary grade in Bis is $65k (that's w/ a masters degree though)
Lowest in Rapid appears to be 27k, highest is $58k.
RCAS - State Salary Comparisons (broken link)
That said, I'd be somewhat leary of Bismarck as (from what I've heard), teaching positions in many subjects are somewhat competitive.
One last thing to consider is that the ND legislator will be looking @ a massive surplus the next time they meet: Surplus for 2009 is expected to be a billion dollars vs. three billion dollars in spending. Putting that in perspective - if the US federal goverment had the same % surplus ND has, we'd be looking at a trillion dollar surplus. They're almost certain to raise teacher's salaries.
Last edited by ebitdadada; 06-23-2008 at 08:36 PM..
I think you can still enjoy the scenary in bismarck. I am in Fargo, but if I could live and work in any city in ND, Bismarck is top on my list. There is still areas that you can buy a nice home and a good plot of land and not be far from the city. And schools are some of the best. The work ethic is also really good. People in ND are a real pull yourselves up by the boot straps type, and I like that.
My wife and I talk about it as far as retiring, if we had the money that area where you have canals and housing all together would be great. Just 35 more years to go!
I agree about the scenary in Bismarck. I actually liked the Central Dakota's over the Western Dakota, slightly. My wife slightly liked the Western Dakota's over Central Dakota's, so its that close. With things being so close, we may end up going with best financial situation which would be Bismarck, both salary and real estate wise. Bismarck had more of a "charm" feel to it imo over RC. I loved the initial experience of driving from Fargo to Bismarck and seeing nothing but open land, then climb a hill and BAM, there's Bismarck spread out on the hillsides. Very cool city. Last week, we gave the edge to RC but after looking further thanks to the info/links on this post, Bismarck is back in the lead.
We actually liked Fargo, which surprised us due to some of the things we'd heard before our trip. It's a little flat for our taste, but felt the city was very nice for a "big" city and the people were very friendly and nice. We use Memphis and Nashville to compare against the bigger cities in the Dakota's and it becomes laughable at how much nicer, cleaner and spread out they are. Granted, those two cities are alot bigger but still. I'd gladly take Fargo over those two but we agree with you and prefer Bismarck.
And one of the main reasons in moving to the Dakota's is for the people. I love the blue collar attitude but more so, there seems to be an authentic niceness amongst the people there that is very refreshing. Everyone we talked to or even walked by were either very friendly or kept to themselves and didnt want to be bothered or want to bother anyone else. Which is ideal to us. Little different than when your a stranger in the south...
I also find it interesting comparing the flooding of Iowa and the way people are handling it compared to how most people handled Katrina. Huge difference in attitude.
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