Dentist wanting to move to SD (employment, live in, moving to)

[indigosd]

Michael,
I got off on a tangent defending my community and forgot to add that the weather this month is chilly. We haven't had any snow but I think that Rapid City or the Northern Hills had a little dusting last week. What type of "cultural activities" are you interested in for your three daughters? What I truly love about living here is that I can drive to Fargo, Souix Falls, Pierre, Rapid, Minneapolis and see or buy anything that I desire and then leave all that congestion and chaos behind me and come home to an incredible quality of life.
Kay Marie

[DannyBanany]

My dad is from Britton.

[slowdog101]

Check carefully before you leap. I moved from California several years ago to eastern South Dakota, and I can say both good and not so good things about the place. First, the positive. There is low crime. There are very few crowds. In Sioux Falls is the busiest street in the entire state, and it is pretty mild except during the x-mas shopping season. People are very polite. The summers are pretty nice, not too hot and not real humid.

Now for the not so good. Teachers here are some of the lowest paid in the nation, and it shows. You will be living in the northern Bible Belt, and if you aren't a Christian you and your kids can face discrimination. However, the only ethnic minority group I think faces much discrimination is the Native Americans. The university system is mediocre. The Board of Regents and the present governor are trying to rectify that, but it seems that the only way they can really make progress is by selling every new program in economic terms. The idea of knowledge for knowledge sake didn't take here. The arts are weak. There is an elementary school teacher here who shows the movie Grease to her students to introduce them to opera. Kind of sums up the art scene here. I've lived in 3 places on the west coast and 4 places in the midwest, and SD is the most monocultured place I've ever lived. As for the food, one person I know calls it the "land of bland". I agree.

Best of luck to you.

Originally Posted by Fatherof3girls

Thanks for reading my thread.
I would like to relocate to SD to raise my young girls. I have been practicing about 6 years in California, but too much competition and less than great public schools are making me to look at SD.

There may be an opportunity in Britton, SD, but that place seems isolated. I want a smaller town feel, but with great public schools and some cultural activities would be nice for my girls.

I live in a fairly small town in northern california, but declining jobs and local economy is depressing me...

I hope I am not sounding foolish but I am concerned about acceptance of minorities in the midwest US. I am a korean but born and raised in the US. That shouldn't be a problem but I've never lived in the midwest....so a little bit of concern .....

Fortunately, I married a wonderful woman that will follow me to the end of the earth so we are seriously considering a move. We are planning a 10 day road trip towards the end of the month. Would the weather already be like winter in October??

If you can share some thoughts, my family would appreciate it very much.

Michael

[blackhillsdreams]

Well, I'd have to say that while "land of the bland" might hold true for certain geographic locales in the state, I for one (and I'd bet many others) would welcome the trade off for a switch from the overpriced real estate, low wage, high crime, areas like Florida or California.

I'm still working on getting out there as soon as I can. Maybe, the lack of exotic places to eat creates a unique opportunity for someone who's always wanted to own and operate a restaurant.

[DannyBanany]

I wouldn't say that South Dakota is all bland in its cuisine. You can go to some pretty exotic restaurants in either Sioux Falls or Rapid City.

In Sioux Falls there is a large variety of restaurants to choose from. Carnaval Brazilian Grill is pretty exotic. I mean they serve shark, C'MON! I like going to Panera Bread, Granite City, and some small bistros downtown.

Considering I live in Rapid City, I know more about the restaurants here:

The Enigma serves French and Italian food. The Corn Exchange is owned by a trained chef and has GREAT bakery foods too! The Firehouse Brewery is an actual brewery downtown and has a huge menu. Sanford's Grub and Pub started out of Spearfish and now has about 6 locations across the upper midwest. They have the largest menu I have ever seen!!! There is also Khourry's Mediterrannean Cuisine, Coco Palace Thai and Sushi, Ichiban Sushi Co., Curry Masala Foods of India, and chain restaurants like Olive Garden, Outback, TGI Friday's, Ruby Tuesday, and more to name...

We don't just eat meat and potatoes! Even though I like those from time to time too!!!

[slowdog101]

While good food can be had in South Dakota, speaking generally, and certainly in the smaller towns like Britton that I have been to, the food will not appeal to most people who have had a variety of choices like you can get even in smaller towns in California. Certainly there are trade offs when you move from and to anyplace. What I try to do when I move is to find a place where the good outweighs the bad, and with regard to the dentist who was investigating Britton, I was trying to give my perspective on my move to SD. And, food is a bit on the bland side here. I did eat an excellent meal at Braccos in Sioux Falls a couple of weeks ago, and I'll go back. But in many small towns that one visits, fast food is the only viable option. This dearth of good restaurants can spawn cool things like cooking clubs, however.

[sugarbeet]

There are many great places to live in SD - from small towns to medium-sized cities. I don't think a person can go wrong in any of them, it just depends on what you want.

In addition to Sioux Falls, which will offer the most "stuff" I really recommend Brookings. It's home to the state's largest university and, thus, is a relatively diverse and interesting place. Plus, it's not far to the airport and shopping in Sioux Falls.

[indigosd]

SlowDog,
Thank you for saying that you had "good food" in Britton. I am assuming that you ate at The Bistro?! I have to agree with you that in the small towns it is "The Land Of The Bland"!!! I am still laughing! I also missed eating a variety of foods when I returned home and abhor the greasy fast food that is served at every gas station. That is one of the reasons that The Bistro was created and I must admit that we are making great progress with the community accepting our menu items. It would be impossible for a specialized restaurant to survive in a small town-not enough clients to appreciate it. When I want Thai food, I drive 5 hours to Minnesota and have a grand time. Is the Dentist still interested in moving? I have noticed that he has not responded since October. Thanks for giving me such a great laugh this morning!

[Jammie]

Indigo, you're correct. The dentist's last visit here was Oct. 14th. He hasn't been back to read his replies.

[Chris19]

"The Land of the Bland" comment is overrated. South Dakota has a number of small towns with neat places to eat and places with specialties. Eureka has kuchen (yummy coffee cake) and other German specialties along with Freeman and a few other locales. Tyndall and Tabor area may have Czech specialties. Pierre has an excellent Chinese restaurant that has reasonably-priced and tasty Chinese food.

Many of the towns have festivals that embrace the cultures of ancestors and traditions. Viborg has Danish Days, Freeman and Eureka have Schmeckfest, Tyndall/Tabor area have Czech Days, and the list can go on and on. Heck, Lennox has an excellent 4th of July Celebration.

Granted, South Dakota does not have an elitist attitude like Florida, NY, and California, but it has heart and character. The character may not always be as obvious as the bright orange worn by hunters, but it is there and it may be more of a "Diamond in the Rough" concept. The schools are decent and the teachers and college instructor try hard to do worthy job and do the best with what they have. At least, the students coming out of South Dakota (by and large) have a solid work ethic and are willing to do a great job. The universities are small enough to allow the instructors to be personable, not distant, to their students and there are many bright people who come from South Dakota's Univesities and many of these people want to contribute postiviely to society.

There is an up and coming arts scene in a number of areas in South Dakota, especially with the larger cities such as Vermillion, Sioux Falls, Aberdeen, Rapid City, etc.

South Dakota is a friendly state that has its hidden gems and has a sincere (not fake) character. People are sincere and have good values. Those who are critical of South Dakota and its people are overlooking many hidden gems. It is a great place to live and for raising kids. The dentist and his family are welcomed in the great state of South Dakota.