We have now been in South Dakota for one month. It is high time I wrote a blog about it. The differences between living in a big city in Texas and a relatively unpopulated state are very interesting. If I am not mistaken South Dakota is the fourth least populous state.
Comparing Dallas Texas to Aberdeen, South Dakota (In many cases this will be a comparison between Dallas and the entire state of South Dakota):
1. The population of the greater Dallas Metroplex is 9 million. It is the ninth largest city in the country. The population of the entire state of South Dakota is around 700,000. The largest city in South Dakota is Sioux Falls with 100,000. Our city is the third largest with 25,000. This city caters to the shopping/commerce needs of people in about a 100 mile radius. Most people think Aberdeen is quite the "big city" here.
2. There is one, just one, phone area code for the entire state of South Dakota. I believe Dallas had four all by itself. In Dallas you are required to dial all ten digits of any phone number, including the area code (even if it's your next door neighbor). In South Dakota I don't think you ever need to use the area code unless you are outside of the state. The whole phone book shows only seven digit phone numbers. We are so used to having to quote the area code when we give out our phone number that we've had a few people snicker at as for giving them the area code. Of course they know the area code! Everyone does!
3. In some ways it is so much cheaper here! Case in point: transferring car titles, licenses, and insurance. In Dallas it cost $25 dollars a piece for new drivers licenses in SD only $8 a piece. In Dallas it cost $250 to get Texas State license plates. In SD it cost $25. In Dallas insurance on one car cost us around $100 a month. As a result we had a funny experience here in SD. Josh asked our insurance agent for a quote. It was about $150. Josh said "Wow that seems pretty high per month!" The agent said "No, I was quoting you the rate for six months!"
4. In some ways it is more expensive. Living in the only "large" town for 200 miles means you sort of feel like you live on an island. It is more expensive to ship products here. Gas is routinely 30 cents higher here then in most of the midwest. Fresh produce seems to be higher as well. Also there are fewer stores and therefore less competition so the stores don't have to lower prices as much here. They know we can't go to the next town over for a better deal.
5. Dallas was such a center of consumerism. Dallas had more stores per capita then any other large city in the US. If you wanted something, and I mean anything, you could find it and have it within the time it took to get to the store. It was easier to spend money because you could always find exactly what you wanted somewhere in the area. Josh was dismayed to find that there is no shop that caters to Mac computers here. I am dismayed that there are no craft stores like Hobby Lobby or Michaels. (We lived less then two miles from Michaels in Dallas). Our condo in Dallas was within walking distance of a Super Target, a Home Depot and a Sam's Club. Now we are four miles from any store. Plus Aberdeen doesn't have a Sam's Club. The only Sam's Club in the state is in Sioux Falls.
6. Dallas was on the cutting edge of fashions and fads, here, thankfully, things go at a slower pace. Everyone has a new car and the latest fashionable clothes on in Dallas. In South Dakota people hold on to older cars. We are just now getting used to seeing much older model years around. It was much easier to find a used car in Dallas then it is here because people don't go looking for a new car so quick here. We've also noticed that the stores here stock clothes we like better. No joke! There are differences from region to region what kind of clothes they stock and I am so much happier shopping for clothes here.
7. The weather. So obvious a difference it's hardly worth mentioning. One thing though: the coldest it ever got while we were in Dallas was 18 degrees in the coldest part of January. We've already been to 8 degrees here and that was in October! The hottest we ever saw it in Dallas was 107 and that was the day we moved away. (Appropriate timing, I thought.)
8. We were driving along one day and met three Combines going in the opposite direction. The road was so narrow and the combines so wide that we could not fit on the road with them. There are no shoulders on these roads and our car can't hack driving into ditches so we had to turn around and find a side road!
I'll blog more later about other aspects of life.
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