Rapid City - My take
-
4/20/2010
Well Rapid City has it good points and bad points. I grew up not far from here so I know a little bit about it. I have also traveled around a lot so I should be able to give a fair opinion. GOOD: Rapid has nice weather compared to the rest of South Dakota. You still get the wind, snow, and cold but you will get those days in the middle of winter where it is in the 70's. The Black Hills are another good selling point. Being an out doors person I have to say there is no place on earth like the Black Hills. The hills are the main reason I moved here. BAD: The people...well I have mix feelings. I used to think Rapid had the nicest people but since I moved back three years ago I do not think that is the case. You will find nice people but I would say the majority of them are rude. I think this is partly because the middle class is so small. You have two extremes either poor or wealthy which mirrors the job market. You have two groups who are quite different so I think it causes some tension. Now the job market...low income and not a large variety of jobs that pay well. That pretty much sums the job market up. If you move here for a good job you better hope it has good job security because if it doesn't you might find yourself moving if you want to keep that same standard of living. Rapid just does have a lot of good paying jobs. For housing...I am just guessing but for the average level of income I would say housing is expensive. Its difficult to find a nice middle class neighborhood that is affordable. My biggest complaint about Rapid is the zoning. The zoning has pretty much kept Rapid a trashy town. I do think it has gotten better but it has a long way to go. Well I think I have highlighted more negatives and could probably keep going but Rapid isn't all bad. It really depends what you want in a city. For me I have a descent job I like the outdoors so I can overlook all the short comings the city has to offer. If you want to enjoy life in a city Rapid probably isn't the place. For city living in South Dakota I would suggest Sioux Falls. They have good dining, good shopping, and lots of nice people. I have lived both places and that is my take.
Jacob | Rapid City, SD