You can give away all the free tickets to a free outdoor concert or unlimited mimosas on center court of the EC, doesn’t matter, if young people want to move back to Sioux Falls to continue their career that decision depends on something else very important;
“There’s other things that hold people back from moving back. Like pay and benefits,†she said.
She expects her husband will take a pay cut when they return.
“He’ll most likely get paid less than in Alaska,†she said.
We can talk all we want about the cost-of-living differential, but it’s still important to note the perception here is that financially they feel they will be less-well-off.
WAGES! WAGES! WAGES! So often we like to talk about low unemployment or affordable housing, but let’s face it, over 40% of the full-time jobs in Sioux Falls don’t pay a living wage. Though we have two of the largest industrial hospital complexes in the region, our pay for healthcare workers is still some of the lowest in the nation, so yes, her husband would have to take a pay cut, a big one.
While there is lots of things to do in SF, some of them free, like recreation in our parks, it still costs money for entertainment. I’m sorry, but the 700 lb. gorilla in the room is still the lack of good living wage jobs in Sioux Falls, not entertainment and recreation.