South Dakota -opinions?
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Kicking around some job opportunities. To those who live or have spent lots of time near the black hills: pros and cons? Is there year round climbing if you're psyched? How is the potential for hard trad (say 5.13 and up)? Pretty good climbing community? Gym anywhere? There's a job covering Fort Meade (near Sturgis) and Hot Springs. What are some nice places to live? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. |
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I grew up in Rapid City, and go back every year or two to visit family. Haven't lived there full time since the mid 90s though, so others may have a better read on the place. |
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Thanks, Andrew -incredibly helpful! |
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I lived in the Black Hills for most of my life and graduated high school here. Like most kids I thought the small town life sucked and needed to get away. I spent a decade away from home, moved back, and realized how much of a gem this part of the world is. Climbing year round is definitely possible on both limestone and granite. It seems that very difficult climbing is becoming the norm thanks to the visions of some very progressive, young people who are putting up lines that were once unimaginable. For the most part South Dakota has a lot of friendly people, albeit it could be argued that our society and cultural values (in general) tend to be very conservative. I can't speak for everyone but don't expect much in terms of culture that doesn't revolve around cowboys and the merits of rural living. We are not Colorado. Plan on spending a lot of time at home watching TV during the evenings since the night life in most towns is nonexistent (especially in winter time) unless you like to line dance or go bowling. Opportunities to see really good live music are almost nonexistent as well. Plan a trip to Red Rocks if you need a good concert. Spring climbing tends to be awesome but watch for thunderstorms. Fishing can be off the hook in the spring and early summer but mountain bikers have a definite mud season at this time. The real climbing and outdoor magic starts mid to late June and stays awesome till the middle of august. About this time the heat begins to become unbearable and the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally traffic really starts to become irritating. The locals tend to flee to other states so they may escape the August tourist take over. After the motorcycles leave SENDTEMBER is climbing heaven and fall is spectacular until the snow flies in November and you are back to using snowshoes. Our climbing community is full of solid people. Our climbing gyms are below average but the cure for that is bouldering at Baldy. I've lived other places and any town in the Black Hills area (Rapid City included) tends to be great for people like me who make just enough money to be broke. No one I know makes jack squat for money but our low cost of living makes it possible to make a dollar stretch a long way. I appreciate living in Spearfish because it has a college town vibe and has a higher concentration of people who are not "normal" for South Dakota. I'd be wary about living in Hot Springs if the V.A. goes away that place will become a ghost town. Sturgis is a nice town but has less culture and character than Spearfish or Rapid City. Good luck and get a hold of me. I'm the guy with the BBQ and a lot of extra hot dogs and hamburgers at Poverty Gulch. |
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I'll vouch for everything Brent has said. I will add that if you lose or quit the job you're thinking about you will end up with min. wage or looking to move.(not a lot of options here) I'm self employed and make about a third of what I can get almost anywhere else. |
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D.Buffum wrote:To me, it is very important to know and understand the community where I live. If I were moving to Rapid City, I would want to know about the neighboring communities. Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is adjacent. It is one of the most impoverished areas of the United States: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_…Pine Ridge is adjacent to Rapid City in the sense that it is located in the same state. Making a decision about living in Rapid based on Pine Ridge would be along the lines of making a decision about living in New Paltz because of the projects in the South Bronx. The historical and current treatment of Native Americans and their land is a sad and shameful story everywhere in the country. In places like South Dakota, the story is much more visible because not all of the Native Americans have been wiped out or forcibly removed from the area like in most of the rest of the country. D.Buffum - you might note that the only county in Wisconsin(Menominee) that is all reservation land makes the top 50 poorest counties in the United States list, and is not much further from Madison than Wounded Knee is from Rapid City. |
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I'm an enthusiastic visitor to the Black Hills. There is a grand variety of rock climbing, the locals are welcoming and talented, and what a beautiful place. Maybe avoid it in August when it's motorcycle high season, but the rest of the summer it's such a nice break from the Colorado Front Range mania. |
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I'm surprised to hear that August is so bad. I and quite a few others spent 2 or more weeks in the Needles every August for ten years or so. The two times I was there in June the weather was much worse. |
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Just moved here from Mn a few weeks ago. Brent hit the nail on the head it seems. |
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I spend a lot of time up there in the summers but would defer to people like Brent Larsen and Andrew Gram (whose knowledge of Hills climbing clearly exceeds mine). But I might have a few things to add... On the 5.13 trad issue, I'm not sure. I'm in early my fifties and a sport climber. I have climbed 5.10 in the Hills and 5.11 elsewhere on my best days, so I don't go looking for what would be world-class trad climbing-- nonetheless, the amount of rock out there in the Hills is INFINITE. Areas that require any amount of hiking are almost always undeveloped, and I know that there is at least one unsent line in the Rushmore area that would probably meet your criteria. The gym situation isn't great. There is a small bouldering gym with some worthwhile thought-provoking lines at the Rapid City Athletic Club that change regularly-- bring a pad because their floor is not forgiving ( my back found that out the hard way last November). My father-in law is a resident at the VA in Hot Springs; last I heard, they were NOT moving that sprawling facility to Rapid City as was initially planned-- so no "ghost town worries" in the near future. |
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I would also say that Rapid City has improved as a town in the last decade and become a bit more Colorado-like... you can find yoga, some nice shops, and at least one really good Indian restaurant. Still some limits as Brent noted... but nothing in life is perfect. |
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Only a couple of things to add, I lived in Custer and Hill City as well as Poverty Gulch back in the 90's. |
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I myself am a fourth generation western South Dakotoan who has moved away and come back several times. This place can be kind of backwards and quirky at times. Likewise things are ultra conservative here. The pace of life here is kind of slow. Rapid City has become a bit more of a rat race in recent years. The job market here can be quite dismal. The cost of living here is really not that low. Real estate and rentals keep going up in price. Retailers quite often take advantage of a lack of competion and inflate prices here. You can be in Denver within six hours to get your big city fix and shopping. |