Dentist wanting to move to SD (Sioux Falls, Rapid City: real estate, crime, houses) - South Dakota - City-Data Forum

Fatherof3girls · 10-08-2007, 11:37 PM

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

DannyBanany · 10-09-2007, 12:25 AM

I doubt that you will face much prejudice in the midwest just because you are Korean. People in South Dakota are very friendly and welcoming to any newcomers. My dentist is actually Vietnamese!

I am not sure if you will like Britton very much, but it just depends on what type of town you are used to. Coming from California, you may want to live in a larger town like Sioux Falls, Rapid City, or Aberdeen. These cities are our largest and will offer more for your children in culture, academics, athletics, etc. Also, it would be easier to find work in these cities.

Good Luck!

uncleharley · 10-09-2007, 09:38 AM

Danny's comments are right on the money IMO. Small means different things to different people. I believe Rapid has a population of about 150,000 people which is small to many people but it is large by S D standards. You may also want to consider Pierre. It is the state capitol and may have more to offer for your daughters. Your timing for the trip is excellant as you should be in South Dakota for the peak in the fall colors.

Jammie · 10-09-2007, 10:43 AM

We have a few people in our community who are of Oriental descent. They're totally accepted. One of the families is just the nicest family and they're actually very popular in town. She is one of the most successful realtors around here. They both sing in our church choir and participate in a lot of things in the community. If I'm not mistake, they weren't even born in the U.S.

There are several Drs. and specialists in So. Dak. that are Oriental and they're highly respected. They're actually considered to be top notch in their professions, honest and hard working people. I don't know of anyone around here who has any negativity toward your race. As was said before, we're pretty accepting and character has more to do with it then race.

As was suggested before, I'd look into the bigger towns. I met a woman from Cali once who said my town would be considered a "village" in Cali. I live in the fifth largest city in the state.

Do you like mountains or prairies? Our state is divided by the Missouri River and our topography and climate are quite different from east to west. I live East River and we have a good economy over here. We also have a bit of humidity, but also have colder winters then West River. West River has a semi-arid climate, but have milder winters except they do have more snow. But fortunately, it melts over there since their temps get quite nice some winter days. Our economy is better and we have some very beautiful areas, BUT IMHO you'd have to look a long time to find a more beautiful area then the Black Hills.

If you do a search and find a town you like, we'll be here and try to help you with any questions.

And welcome to the forum.

SoDak11 · 10-09-2007, 12:09 PM

Rapid City is less than half that size, uncleharley. Did you mean to say Sioux Falls?

One thing to keep in mind is that South Dakota as a whole has very, very little crime. You may think you need a super small town to avoid crime and stuff like that, but I'm positive you will get that "Small town feel" from every town in our state. I'm sure a town of 150,000 in California has way more problems in it than our 1 town of 150,000.

IMO, you will want to live in a town like Brandon. Its the largest and closest suburb of Sioux Falls. It has probably about 6000-8000 people now and is just a few miles from all the good stuff in Sioux Falls. It has a great school system, and there are a lot of nicer neighborhoods and houses in town (which any doctor or dentist is going to want).

Its growing everyday so newcomers are everywheres, thus potential patients are everywheres too. The problem with many other established towns (Aberdeen, Huron, Pierre, Madison, Brookings, Rapid City...) in the state is that fewer people are moving there, so it would be harder to establish yourself as a healthcare professional since they all have their own dentists already.

DannyBanany · 10-09-2007, 08:09 PM

Uncleharley, either you meant Rapid City's metro has 150,000 or Sioux Falls proper has 150,000. Either way, they're both great places for a dentist to practice!

ollie007 · 10-10-2007, 09:06 AM

Dear Father of 3 Girls,

We moved from a "small" town in Northern Califronia in June of this year.

We love California because of its weather and because much of our roots are there. However, because of the very exhorbitant cost of living, crime and crowdedness, we decided to move either to Rapid City or Austin, Tx. We chose Rapid City.

We're very glad we moved to Rapid City, SD and find it very unique area. We were blessed to get a lovely home 5 miles from town proper with a panormic view of the Black Hills. The price was certainly right. The weather this summer was wonderful. From our contacts here (before we moved) we monitered the winter weather...sounds good to us.....a variety of cold, relatively mild snow and sun (as the previous post mentions).

I hope you can move here. The best to you and your family.

Jammie · 10-10-2007, 09:30 AM

Hi Ollie, thank you for validating how the locals feel about our state. I'm so glad that you feel you made a good decision and it's a bit late, BUT Welcome to South Dakota!! Welcome to the forum, too.

Fatherof3girls · 10-10-2007, 06:56 PM

Fellow friends,
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. I am planning a road trip beginning October 19th to visit the area. I will certainly spend some time to get a feel for the area. I am encouraged by your positive thoughts and hope to make a move in the near future.

Michael

indigosd · 10-14-2007, 06:41 AM

Michael,
I actually live in Britton and would love to discuss what we have to offer as a community to your family. It saddens me that people post negative or less than positive comments about communities/towns in our FABULOUS state when they have no personal knowledge or experience to form the opinion. Rapid City and Souix Falls are not the only places to live unless you want to live in a bigger city. Do you want small town living? Do you want quality of life and an excellent public education? Would you like to live in a community where there is virtually NO crime and people actually know you, care about you and greet you? Britton is a thriving and progressive little town in a wonderful rural setting. Our biggest safety issue is the deer that run into cars at dawn and dusk! I am curious as to why DannyBanny would say he doesn't "think that you would like Britton very much"? Have you ever been to Britton DannyBanny? Has anyone heard about competition? If you are a good dentist people will travel miles to see you. I take my child to a pediatric dentist in Fargo, North Dakota [2 1/2 hour drive one way] every six months for his cleaning and check up! We have a new city library with high speed FREE internet, a new auditorium, a new track complex, a new swimming pool complex, a new Fire Department, 911, progressive hospital, a wellness center, assisted living complex, a nursing home, 4 light industries that are very sucessful, a new motel, a new Bistro, a museum, 2 real estate businesses-I could go on and on but you get the general picture. I am proud of this community! Predjudice...yes, it exists but is not about ethinicity. It is directed towards individuals that do not have values/morals or a work ethic. If you are interested contact me directly and I will be glad to speak to you. Would you consider visiting us? Hope to hear from you and I would love to have DannyBanny come and have a cup of coffee so that next time he posts about Britton at least it will be from his personal experience!
Sincerely,
Kay Marie