This is my fifth year in Sioux Falls and it was about time to change my phone number. My driver's license and vehicle license plates were all done within hours. I couldn't believe it! License plates sat behind a counter and they just scanned and handed me a pair after I payed my fees. At the DMV, I brought some ID, took a 30-question test and they said, "Stand over there". Within a minute, my license came out of a printer.

This was one of my first impressions of how efficiently things are handled here. That would have been six hours at the California DMV and I would have waited for the post office to bring my plates. Of course I didn't have to get a smog check nor deal with vapor recovery nozzles at the pump. Some stations allow you to pump first then pay with a personal check. What? That's so old-fashioned that maybe one day I'll see Doc Brown drive up in a flying DeLorean screaming "What year is it?"

Did I mention that the speed limit in many places is 80 mph? Fun.

The arts are well-supported. There's a sculpture walk and plenty of neat things to see besides the waterfalls that gave the city its name. Summer concerts are free every weekend and they have a movie night in the park during summer. There's a 22 mile bike trail that never, ever crosses city streets, so you can get some exercise pretty safely.

Several homeless shelters exist and there is a place called The Banquet where you can eat twice daily for free. I've volunteered there a few times and it's very satisfying. The homeless/houseless aren't obvious because they have a place to go...especially when it gets cold. Most require their guests to be sober and look for work, but there is a "wet home" for the more troubled people.

The first place I ate at was an old-fashioned diner. A gal named Jessica served me (as she did this last Friday) and I remembered being called "Honey". Back at my old home, someone would have been pulled into HR for using that kind of language. But for me, I like the instant familiarity. Calling someone 'hon' or 'sweetie' is disarming and I love it. That plus I'm from the sticks-and-stones generation and I don't hair-split on pronouns and all that happy horsecrap.

When I was a kid, I couldn't slide through a red light without hearing about it at the dinner table. This city is kinda like that. Everybody knows everybody.

There are plenty of shops out here that are using small systems to keep me busy. That plus I have taken somewhat of a handyman role by servicing POS machines, cabling, access points, rack and stack and all sorts of stuff. It's quite a change from demarc extensions in highrise buildings or being barked at by my picky Hollywood clients.


TLDR (too long didn't read): It's easy living out here and I like it.