I'm a lifelong Fl resident who's recently started working as a travel nurse. Fl sucks for travelers in the winter because everyone wants to come here, the result is the pay is low because they have a huge supply of workers. I asked my recruiter to find me a place where no one wants to go in winter that would be willing to pay up for a traveler. She said Rapid City usually has several spots every year. I'm just wondering what the city is like. Decent place? Safe? Any areas to avoid? Really, any info would be appreciated. I see the thread that's down the page has some good info, anything else would be great. Thanks in advance.

Rapid City is the second largest city in SD. I consider the crime rate to be fairly high, by SD standards, so probably pretty tame for you coming from FL. There is TONS to do and see in the Black Hills and there's a reason Rapid City is known as the Gateway to the Hills: it's located centrally north/south. It's the perfect base of operations for exploring the Black Hills.

In no particular order, things I love in the Hills:

Highway 16 going south out of Rapid
Iron Mountain Road
Needle's Highway
Custer State Park (especially the Wildlife Loop)
Alpine Inn in Hill City (EXCELLENT legit German food)
Highway 385
Sylvan Lake
Pactola Reservoir
Rochford Road
Nemo Road
Sugar Shack south of Deadwood/Lead (dumpy place with OUTSTANDING burgers)
Spearfish Canyon
Crow Peak Brewery
Miner Brewery

Locals will be along shortly, I'm sure, with more.

Do you hunt?

I haven't since I was younger, but mostly because of lack of opportunity or a place to hunt. I would love to get back into it.

Plenty of opportunity around there. Turkeys, deer, elk, bear, and millions of acres of public land to hunt.

How do you feel about snow and sub-zero temperatures?