today it's a beautiful and sunny day. it's also peaceful, it's quiet, and i'd venture to guess it's much like any other sunday morning in march anywhere in south dakota. i woke up to an article in the paper that raised the debate "is sioux falls a CITY or a TOWN?" such talk has come up since a local billionaire gave $400 million dollars to one of the biggest employers in town (maybe the biggest, dunno) - a hospital - and set everybody in an uproar. from now on, it seems you are either "for" progress in sioux falls, or against it.
i never thought of sioux falls as a city when i moved here in 1990. beener and i came down the interstate a little ways, to my new life away from my home town of brookings. i was YOUNG, even though i was 28 years old. i was afraid of driving in sioux falls, because i didn't know where the one-way streets were (um, there are 2 of those). i was afraid of going to drive thrus for banking and fast food, because i did not know if i would hit the building (well, some things don't change). i was afraid of having to leave my car parked on the street, in case somebody stole it (which they didn't, but they stole everything in it once, and a couple of bikes to boot).
i guess, i was afraid of sioux falls becoming a CITY. i like small towns. i grew up in NO town, and i liked that too. i love south dakota because of it's remoteness, because the people in my alley raise gardens in the summer like they truly ARE on a back forty somewhere. i like that when i wake up in a snowpacked mess, karen from across the alley comes sailing thru with her snowblower (she is a transplant from jersey, and loves it here!) so i don't have as much to shovel. i like that phil (who was raised near san fran) says "anywhere in south dakota is the country" when we dream about where we'd want to live someday. i would not ever feel the same affection for sioux falls if it really did become a CITY, i don't think.
on the other hand, my business in marketing tells another truth. for the midwest, we do really, really well here. a couple of years ago, when the economy took a dive, people from minneapolis started coming here for interviews at the ad agencies in town. i guess when you are out of work, city living is less than desirable. today, there is more new business going on in sioux falls, and thusly more new clients for carey and i, than you can shake a stick at. it's fun to think we are growing! i for one, like that we have an arts pavilion, and a plan for revitalization of the downtown area, and new stores to shop at when i am not on a spending fast :) i am encouraged that we are growing for good!
no matter what you call us, if you are coming here to live, i think the most important thing to remember is to bring yourself a hat and some gloves. oh yeah, and a shovel :)
4 comments:
holy cats. that car under the snow was insane.
as for sioux falls, i'm proud of our 'city'. i read the article too, and think people just love to think too much. sioux falls isn't going to become minneapolis. it's just going to get some new things and some new people. and maybe some of those people will move out here in the country. progress is good for south dakota. thank you mr. sanford.
i KNOW! wasn't that insane?
i am not sure where that is, it was on the keloland ushare site!!
:) hey man, happy sunday!
I guess you have to take the good with the bad, eh? Just watch out for those Californians, they drive like maniacs. I personally would like to live in a town that is only big enough to support one WalMart. That's me, a One WalMart Town kinda girl.
I read about Mr. Sanford in the newspaper here - what a gift. If I didn't live up here I would want to live in Sioux Falls, either that or on the south of France.
Let's see, Sioux Falls, Cannes. Cannes, Sioux Falls. Snow, no snow. No snow, snow.
Wait, I think I will pick Cannes until the snow melts. Then will be back and we can hang out and plant stuff.
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