We South Dakotans may be able to handle life in our one-of-a-kind region, but we want to be absolutely clear that our home state is certainly not for everyone. If you’ve been considering making a move to Mount Rushmore State, read this list before you make a terrible mistake. Here are 14 reasons not to move to South Dakota. (Wink, wink.)
- We barely have any delicious regional foods to choose from.
m01229 / Flickr
Clemson / Flickr Not having a choice of food is one of the worst things about living in South Dakota (sic).
Whitney / Flickr In fact, don’t expect to find any South Dakota delicacies at all.
- Our cost of living is absolutely through the roof.
John B. Kalla / Flickr So is our personal income tax.
- Nobody does anything fun or exciting in South Dakota, especially in the winter.
Joe Wolf / Flickr What an absolute snooze fest. Looking for the best things about living in South Dakota? Look elsewhere.
- It just really bites not having one specific sports team to cheer for.
Joe Bielawa/ Flickr Getting to actually choose the team you want to support is not ideal.
- Our state parks are awful.
South Dakota / Flickr
Chad Fennell / Flickr Nothing interesting to see or do at any of them, especially Custer State Park.
- Our sunsets and sunrises are just…. meh.
Deb Chow / Flickr
Ryan Tow / Flickr The same goes for the ones in our national parks.
- And the people just aren’t that friendly, really.
Kevin Dunne / Flickr Ugh, just look at that attitude.
- It’s awful to live in a state where it snows.
Roderick Eime / Flickr
blucolt / Flickr The worst! Especially during Christmas time. (The snow also makes for horrible photography.)
- We don’t have any historic towns to explore.
Tom McSparron / Flickr That’s definitely one of the WORST things above life in South Dakota.
Tom McSparron / Flickr All of our towns are boring with no character, and nothing interesting ever happened in any of them.
- There’s just nothing to see in South Dakota.
Matthew Paulson / Flickr
- You will never feel as though you have privacy.
John B. Kalla With no open spaces, you will always feel claustrophobic.
- Every single rumor you ever heard about South Dakota is true, including the one about our state consisting only of farmland.
Flickr/Wayne Hsieh We aren’t even civilized. Cities in South Dakota? Ha. They don’t exist.
- South Dakota is not really a great place to raise a family.
John’s Photography / Flickr
ktbuffy / Flickr Just look how unhappy and miserable everyone looks. Do you really want to suffer like this?
- Who would want to live in this state anyway?
schwa021 / Flickr
Austin Matherne / Flickr It’s just not aesthetically pleasing on any level.
What are some of your favorite reasons not to move to South Dakota? Let us know in the comments! If you got a kick out of this list, check out our list of Extremely Weird Things Only South Dakotans Do!
m01229 / Flickr
Clemson / Flickr
Not having a choice of food is one of the worst things about living in South Dakota (sic).
Whitney / Flickr
In fact, don’t expect to find any South Dakota delicacies at all.
John B. Kalla / Flickr
So is our personal income tax.
Joe Wolf / Flickr
What an absolute snooze fest. Looking for the best things about living in South Dakota? Look elsewhere.
Joe Bielawa/ Flickr
Getting to actually choose the team you want to support is not ideal.
South Dakota / Flickr
Chad Fennell / Flickr
Nothing interesting to see or do at any of them, especially Custer State Park.
Deb Chow / Flickr
Ryan Tow / Flickr
The same goes for the ones in our national parks.
Kevin Dunne / Flickr
Ugh, just look at that attitude.
Roderick Eime / Flickr
blucolt / Flickr
The worst! Especially during Christmas time. (The snow also makes for horrible photography.)
Tom McSparron / Flickr
That’s definitely one of the WORST things above life in South Dakota.
All of our towns are boring with no character, and nothing interesting ever happened in any of them.
Matthew Paulson / Flickr
John B. Kalla
With no open spaces, you will always feel claustrophobic.
Flickr/Wayne Hsieh
We aren’t even civilized. Cities in South Dakota? Ha. They don’t exist.
John’s Photography / Flickr
ktbuffy / Flickr
Just look how unhappy and miserable everyone looks. Do you really want to suffer like this?
schwa021 / Flickr
Austin Matherne / Flickr
It’s just not aesthetically pleasing on any level.
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.
Address: South Dakota, USA
The OIYS Visitor Center
Reasons Not To Move To South Dakota June 30, 2022 Beth Price-Williams What are the best things about living in South Dakota? Life in South Dakota is oh-so-amazing. After all, we have some of the most gorgeous natural landscape in the county, but that’s just the beginning of the amazingness. We’re lucky enough to have all four seasons in South Dakota, and each is equally beautiful. Summertime means chasing lightning bugs and hot air balloon rides. Wintertime is all about staying toasty and warm and tons of outdoor fun, including snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and snowboarding. If you’ve got a hill nearby, you can’t go wrong with sledding either. Compared to the rest of the United States, we enjoy a rather low cost of living, too. Even so, that doesn’t mean we don’t like to go thrifting. We’re pretty fortunate to have some of the very best thrift stores in South Dakota, and it’s so much fun to go treasure hunting. Oh, there’s so much more to love about living in South Dakota – the rich history, the food, the culture, and the people. What do you love most about life in South Dakota? What are the worst things about living in South Dakota? Okay, okay, there’s not a whole lot that’s so bad about living in South Dakota, is there? We wouldn’t live here if there was! However, you do want to be aware of a few things, including the most dangerous cities to live in South Dakota. Known for its famous Corn Palace, Mitchell tops the list, followed by Rapid City. Rapid City just might be the most popular city for tourists, too. Chamberlain, Pierre, Yankton, Sioux Falls, and Spearfish also make the list (in that order, too). If you’re new to the state, you’ll also have to get used to some things South Dakotans do that seem weird to everyone else. We often don’t lock our doors, and corn hole? We can spend hours playing it! We pair our chili with cinnamon rolls and get our driving permit at 14! That’s all pretty cool, though, isn’t it?
The OIYS Visitor Center
Reasons Not To Move To South Dakota
June 30, 2022
Beth Price-Williams
What are the best things about living in South Dakota? Life in South Dakota is oh-so-amazing. After all, we have some of the most gorgeous natural landscape in the county, but that’s just the beginning of the amazingness. We’re lucky enough to have all four seasons in South Dakota, and each is equally beautiful. Summertime means chasing lightning bugs and hot air balloon rides. Wintertime is all about staying toasty and warm and tons of outdoor fun, including snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and snowboarding. If you’ve got a hill nearby, you can’t go wrong with sledding either. Compared to the rest of the United States, we enjoy a rather low cost of living, too. Even so, that doesn’t mean we don’t like to go thrifting. We’re pretty fortunate to have some of the very best thrift stores in South Dakota, and it’s so much fun to go treasure hunting. Oh, there’s so much more to love about living in South Dakota – the rich history, the food, the culture, and the people. What do you love most about life in South Dakota? What are the worst things about living in South Dakota? Okay, okay, there’s not a whole lot that’s so bad about living in South Dakota, is there? We wouldn’t live here if there was! However, you do want to be aware of a few things, including the most dangerous cities to live in South Dakota. Known for its famous Corn Palace, Mitchell tops the list, followed by Rapid City. Rapid City just might be the most popular city for tourists, too. Chamberlain, Pierre, Yankton, Sioux Falls, and Spearfish also make the list (in that order, too). If you’re new to the state, you’ll also have to get used to some things South Dakotans do that seem weird to everyone else. We often don’t lock our doors, and corn hole? We can spend hours playing it! We pair our chili with cinnamon rolls and get our driving permit at 14! That’s all pretty cool, though, isn’t it?
The OIYS Visitor Center
The OIYS Visitor Center
Life in South Dakota is oh-so-amazing. After all, we have some of the most gorgeous natural landscape in the county, but that’s just the beginning of the amazingness. We’re lucky enough to have all four seasons in South Dakota, and each is equally beautiful. Summertime means chasing lightning bugs and hot air balloon rides. Wintertime is all about staying toasty and warm and tons of outdoor fun, including snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and snowboarding. If you’ve got a hill nearby, you can’t go wrong with sledding either. Compared to the rest of the United States, we enjoy a rather low cost of living, too. Even so, that doesn’t mean we don’t like to go thrifting. We’re pretty fortunate to have some of the very best thrift stores in South Dakota, and it’s so much fun to go treasure hunting. Oh, there’s so much more to love about living in South Dakota – the rich history, the food, the culture, and the people. What do you love most about life in South Dakota?
What are the worst things about living in South Dakota?
Okay, okay, there’s not a whole lot that’s so bad about living in South Dakota, is there? We wouldn’t live here if there was! However, you do want to be aware of a few things, including the most dangerous cities to live in South Dakota. Known for its famous Corn Palace, Mitchell tops the list, followed by Rapid City. Rapid City just might be the most popular city for tourists, too. Chamberlain, Pierre, Yankton, Sioux Falls, and Spearfish also make the list (in that order, too).
If you’re new to the state, you’ll also have to get used to some things South Dakotans do that seem weird to everyone else. We often don’t lock our doors, and corn hole? We can spend hours playing it! We pair our chili with cinnamon rolls and get our driving permit at 14! That’s all pretty cool, though, isn’t it?
