anyone from SD...sioux falls/rapid city?

[KellyBender]

I currently live in Northern Colorado and am looking at possible areas to live, one of them is Sioux Falls and the other is rapid city. Anyone offer some guidance and info on what its like to live in these areas? obviously looking for some hunting info but also looking for some specifics on what its like to live there...cost of living, economy etc. Thanks for any help you can give. Greg

[yekrut]

Hi I live in sioux falls, sd . Umm I don't really know about the cost of living, but the hunting is good, I have hunted along the missouri river forb years and in nthe eastern part of the state around the sioux river and am gonna be hunting along the river this year. People are pretty nice here to.I shoot alot at the local range too.the weather is sometimes a little unstable but we do get  as few nice days! Haha. well ltr  

[SlowBowinMO]

I was raised in Rapid City.  Being at the foot of the Black Hills you'd often think you were still in Colorado.  The weather is not usually quite as brutal either.

South Dakota is a great place to live.

[KellyBender]

thanks for the help fellas.  Any insight into the winters?  Looks like Dec, jan and feb are the worst in terms of temps etc.  we have lived in CO for a while and miss the seasons, especially winter and fall.  

we were in the black hills last year on vacation.  It reminded me of CO but a green colorado.  define "brutal winter" slow bow. my wife grew up in vt so the cold and snow are not unfamiliar to her.  thanks for the help.

[SlowBowinMO]

Rapid City is often referred to as the "Banana Belt" in South Dakota.  Because of the Black Hills, the area is often shielded a little from the worst cold compared to the rest of the state.

The Lakota Indians used to winter in the Black Hills for that reason.

But it's still South Dakota which means it will be cold.  You'll still get stretches of 7-10 days where the daily HIGH is 10 below zero.

I've not lived there in over 20 years now, maybe global warming has changed that.  Hah!

[Jim River]

I live 2 hours North of Sioux Falls.  Sioux Falls has way to many people for my liking. The cost of living is low in this state and I believe the turndown in the economy has not affected South Dakota near as much as other parts of the country. Just a short drive from Sioux Falls and you are hunting whitetails, pheasant, turkey.  Rapid City's population is not near as large as Sioux Falls.  The western part of the state don't have near as many pheasants but you can hunt whitetails, mule deer proghorns, and elk if you are lucky enough to draw a tag.  Of course the Black Hills always offers something for the outdoorsman to do.  The State is full of public land.  The winters can be very cold sometimes like SlowBoinMo said but Black Hills area is usually milder then the rest of the state.

[KellyBender]

thanks for the info fellas.  Can anyone share some insight on the way the tags work in SD.  In CO, it can be a bit complicated compared to other states where you just go in, buy a tag, and go hunting.

Also, is there a decent stickbow following?  Thanks everyone...
Greg

[yekrut]

for an archery deer tag u just order online and they send one out to ya, you can get up to five tags, all diffrent ones though like any deer and then antlerless, a buck tag and a doe tag? something like that. hope it helps??  

[Justin Falon]

lots of deer on my place.  Come out and hunt!!!

justin falon

[KellyBender]

thanks for the help fellas...really appreciate you lending a hand.  Justin, sent u a pm.

[GingivitisKahn]

My best friend lived in Rapid City for a number of years.  The winters can be rough (they got stuck in a blizzard there in March if I recall correctly) but there is LOTS of game in the area.  Also (if this is of interest to you) the fly fishing in the area is just spectacular.

We parked my 4x4 waaaay back off the beaten track one time and hiked down a gully to a really pretty spot, cast to (and, as I recall, caught) a few rainbows and had a general blast.  On the way back, we had to maneuver *very* carefully through the trees to my truck because a 1-200 head heard of buffalo decided they wanted to graze by my vehicle.

I wasn't hunting on that trip but we also saw mule deer, antelope and all kinds of cool stuff.

[Lone archer]

KellyBender, Why are you leaving such a beautiful state? I have been looking to move to Colorado ever since going elk hunting outside of Durango. One thing that I see is Co. is 1.2 billion in the whole not bad compared to NY over 2 billion. Thats has me worried some. Your taxes are much cheaper in CO but I can see both states raising them in the near future. My taxes are insane!

[goblism]

the hills are just covered with deer, been elk hunting out there this fall and can't wait for the deer opener so i can hopefully harvest a couple of deer along with my elk

[4 point]

goblism, do you live in SD? Just wondering how you got tag if you are from MN.

[KellyBender]

lone archer.  true, I live in a beautiful state.  IMO, the cost of living here is getting rediculous.    Also, I have 4 boys under 8 and we are a very "outdoorsy" family.  We really want to have some land for the kids to roam and really miss the change of seasons - Fall and Winter especially.   There is a lot that Colorado offers but we have been here nearly 20 yrs and the Colorado that we came to has really changed.  We have looked at some areas in So Dakota , Minnesota and other parts of the country and it really shows how much the standard of living has changed (increased) in CO.

Goblism...where you from in MN?