What kinds of people should move to the Black Hills of South Dakota?
Do-It-Yourselfers
The fact that Rapid City alone has 8(!) different, large hardware stores should give it away that home repair hobbyists, shop junkies and hands-on experimenters love to tool out here. Home ownership is probably the biggest draw to the Black Hills area, along with the prospect of raising kids in a safe place and the outdoor life (see below). There’s great satisfaction in being able to mow your own yard, shovel your own snow and just generally be responsible for your own maintenance without having to wait for some villainous landlord to get off their duff and deign to see to fixing your Victorian-era boiler.
Fuel fumes are practically a food group here. Many a morning is greeted with the sweet sound of a snowblower, a motorcycle, or a chainsaw firing up in the distance. Even if it isn’t your gig, (I sympathize, because it’s not mine, either) it’s best to just embrace the majesty of motor music. It’s a way of life. Which leads me to…
Gearheads
Odds are if you are reading this you are at least passively aware of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Motorcycles from all across the planet gather en masse the first two weeks of each August, but many locals ride the rest of the year, too. Show and shine/car show culture, as represented by events like Kool Deadwood Nights, the annual Black Hills Corvette Classic in Spearfish and even a vintage Saab museum in Sturgis should not be dismissed as imitations, despite paling in size and gravitas, by comparison. There are Jeep meet ups, side-by-side/ATV adventures and many other opportunities for off-roading. People are very enthusiastic about all things that go vroom. And there are rebuild, paint and body shops aplenty to keep your engines humming.
Weekend Warriors
The Black Hills is rightly famous for its hiking, golfing, mountain biking, waterskiing, snowskiing, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, fishing, hunting, and on and on. The Black Hills National Forest still allows dispersed camping, which means people can trek most anywhere on BHNF public property and pitch a tent to camp (no campfires). Several non-profit organizations work very hard to create trails and keep them shipshape in the on- and off-seasons. It’s yeomen’s work for which very few of these generous folk get their due and they are owed a debt of gratitude. So, as I often say, please do tread lightly, but go out and send, rip, climb, and shoot to your heart’s content.
Church Folk
It feels disingenuous to the point of dishonesty to ignore it: religious devotion—primarily Christianity—is a cultural thread woven seamlessly into the tapestry of the social and charitable endeavors of many people. My (admittedly limited) perspective tells me that the worship experience here is somewhat subdued and more private in comparison to say, the Southern Baptist tradition. You will not see many people bearing witness in the aisle, hand to the sky. Much like their politics, people hold their spirituality close to the vest, for one because they’re proud, private people, and secondly, that’s where their heart is.
However, the Black Hills Is Not Good For:
People On the Run
Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “The odds are good, but the goods are odd.” Some states that hold the promise of isolated, ruggish adventures seem to revel in their reputation for luring a certain sort of person. And while you can live a life of relative seclusion here, the Black Hills isn’t Alaska. People will be up in your business. Good for hiding from your psycho ex? Maybe. Hiding from the law? Do not recommend.
Nightlife
While I haven’t ever been a single adult in the area, I’ve seen far too many reddit posts bemoaning the lack of options for entertainment and the small dating pool not to comment here about it. The struggle is very real. The Black Hills is fantastic for young, married couples, especially as a starter place for those with a five-year plan to move to a bigger urban area. It’s even better for families looking to put down roots, especially those with young children. But, if you are of post-college age and are trying to Tinder up a, ahem, spouse, it’s probably not ideal to…
What's Good, Black Hills? 
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