While I enjoyed reading Erika’s letter, and she makes some great points, let’s just admit it, Denver is a much nicer place to live if you are a professional compared to Sioux Falls;
When I think of the people I know from my time in S.D. and at USD, a smile comes to my face. They are wonderful and talented. They have masters and professional degrees and successful careers. They are public policy analysts, news anchors, social media directors, teachers and doctors.
And if they all want to make better money, they leave the state, that’s just common sense. I have had several friends in the medical field that literally doubled their pay overnight by moving to places like California, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, Texas and even Nebraska with maybe a 20-30% jump in cost of living. I even have a close friend who literally built herself a small franchise clinic business in Atlanta pretty much overnight. Never would have happened here.
But besides getting paid better, there is also the social/governmental aspect of living outside of South Dakota;
I posted something on Facebook recently about the current legislative session and the hateful measures garnering national attention. I spoke not even so much about the content or the constitutionality of these bills, or the fact that it’s downright crazy they are passing through chambers of our state’s highest branch of government.
You may have answered your own question;
I don’t try to quell their stereotypes that South Dakota is full of backwoods rednecks who hate anyone who doesn’t look, act or think like them. Similarly, I answer glibly with something like “tis the season … .â€
These are the very ‘rednecks’ that are running our state legislature and making the rest of us at least ‘moderate to progressive’ thinking folks look like them. If I didn’t live in Sioux Falls, I wouldn’t live in South Dakota. I often call the borders of our fine city ‘outer space’ and Pierre as ‘deep space’.
I think Sioux Falls has become more progressive over the past 4 years or so, there is a lot more diverse entertainment (mostly due to private promotion) visual arts and artists are more recognized, there is more then 2 good restaurants in town (I think we are up to about 5 now, but that number floats quite a bit due to musical chair chefs) and I honestly believe there is a lot more tolerance of the LGBT community then ever before (the city hosts a gay pride festival, just don’t park on the street or you will get ticketed). Things are getting better here, at least in Sioux Falls.
South Dakota, we love you and we miss you. And you’re right: we’ve changed. But we’re not coming back until you do.
It will be awhile before they get back to where they used to be (whenever that was) but we are coming around. Now if we could just get rid of the rednecks in the state legislature.
l3wis