Hi guys.  So, I have an opportunity to apply for a job with a state agency that will be based out of Springfield.  I hadn't considered a move at this point, as I'm 8 years from a nice pension from my state job here in NY and was planning on bailing then.  

But, if the cards fall the right way, I may be looking at relocating within the next year.  I know next to nothing about SD other than its a shit ton free-er than NY, so I'd be interested in anything you could tell me about Springfield and the surrounding area.

For some background, I'm 39, 17 years in my state agency.  I have 3 kids, 9 and 5 year old twins, one is special needs and has an IEP for school.  My wife is currently a SAHM, but runs our small homestead farm with horse, beef cow, couple Emu's, and she also runs a poultry/fowl hatchery and breeds/shows chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese and specializes in bringing back critically endangered breeds of birds.  I make good money for our area, about $120k/year and we have a decent house on 10 acres in the country.  I don't necessarily want to live in BFE miles and miles from the nearest telephone pole lol but I won't live in a city, and not really a fan of town or village living, either.  Does such a thing exist in that area?

We would want to have roughly about the same setup if possible, more land the better but its understood that if we make this move, the animals most likely will have to go and she'd have to start over.  I don't want the assache of moving all those animals halfway across the country .  A good school district would also be a must for wherever we end up in order to give my kids, especially my special needs guy, a good place to learn.  Our current school is awesome, K-12 all in one building, less than 500 students total.  I'm also a volunteer fireman and have been since I was 18 and would very much like to continue doing that if possible.

From my very basic research so far, the area looks like mostly commercial farm land, so I'm not sure how likely we are to find something we like that is somewhat close to Springfield.  I appreciate any info or insight you guys can provide!

I'm not far from there. Somewhere around Springfield overlooking the river is on my shortlist for places to retire.
You'll have to be patient looking for the right acreage to use as a hobby farm. They do exist so be ready to buy when one pops up.
It's right at the area where things can get very scenic heading west. I love driving across northern Nebraska, using 37 near Springfield as the place to cross the river.
The wind and the winters can be treacherous. The people are fantastic. You likely won't miss big city amenities.
Your kids will love raising animals to show off in the county fairs.
Do your business local and get involved in things. You'll fit in, in no time. Or be a recluse and no one will ever bother you.

You won't have any trouble finding a golf cart for sale to tootle around on.

We get some pretty severe weather here, so that part doesn't really bother us, and we don't have anything I would consider "big city" amenities.  We are about 10-15 minutes away from the nearest village that has gas, couple dollar stores, grocery, drug store, etc and 20 minutes from a walmart, 30 to the nearest "city" (Watertown).  We live along the St. Lawrence river so it's mostly farmland with small tourist villages in between.

My wife has already gotten my oldest involved in showing birds so I'm glad to hear that could potentially continue.  Never had a golf cart.  We're more tractor, 4 wheeler, side by side and my Harley type of people.  Love hunting, shooting, etc.  Eventually I wouldn't mind getting involved in more things if the job allows, it could have certain restrictions on political activity if its anything like what I do here, but I'm perfectly content being left the hell alone too .

It's rider heaven. I think even Nebraska is doing (or did) away with their freedom hating helmet laws so you won't have to worry about that crossing the river. There's a 2nd amendment poker ride out of Marion that has us go through Springfield, and always riders/groups/poker runs around the area.

Area is famous for pheasant hunting. No shortage of places to go shoot.

Downtown Springfield has been taken over by the golf cart guy, it's what the town is known for other than the prison where they make the governor houses.

Eh, helmets don't bother me but thats probably from living in a helmet state all my life, but I have no problems with anyone not choosing to wear one.  

What's around for big game?  Mule deer?  Only ever hunted whitetail and black bear here.

I'm not sure if I 100% want to make a move right now or not, and I'm not sure how competitive the job I'm looking at is or if I'd even be considered as an outsider.  It makes more financial sense for us to wait the 8 years and lock in a 50% pension I can draw immediately at 47 years old and only work as long as I feel like.  If I resign/retire early, I won't get nearly as high a percentage and I can't touch it until I'm 55.  NY sucks the big one in general, large scale terms, but luckily we don't have it too bad in our area.

White tail East River, Mule deer west river in the Hills generally speaking.

Someone else will have to chime in about getting tags. I've only ever hunted deer using tags from some friends of mine. They're not hard to get. Field rats are everywhere and plan on hitting a few with your car.

lol very similar here.  Way overpopulated deer herd in this area.  Between the wife and I, we get 4 tags each just for rifle and muzzleloader season, more if we bow hunted.  We're always well stocked with venison.

I watch a few New Yorkers on youtube and it looks awesome up there. Just a Few Acres Farm and Andrew Camarata.
You might miss some of that beauty here, but we have a different kind.

Thing I couldn't imagine is the entire state being ran by 1 city. So far, our biggest city does not run the state THANK GOD. It's turning into Minneapolis West.

SD isn't exactly known for it's high wage potential, but it is probably the best state to start a business in. Not sure on the .gov side of things. Tough call with your pension.

West River and the Hills are mule deer heaven. West River you'll find both whitetails and muleys. Also antelope. Elk in the hills. Bison in Custer State Park. Mountain goats and big horn sheep in the hills. East River is predominantly white tails, but I've seen a few confused muleys. Mountain lion in the hills.

Rifle deer tags you generally draw every couple years, maybe every few for the prime areas. Been a minute since I've hunted antelope, so not sure on that. Elk, you might get two or three tags in a lifetime. Mountain goats, bighorns, and bison are one in a lifetime drawings.

Archery deer you can either get one statewide tag or one each east and west river a year, guaranteed draw.

You only asked about big game, but if you swing that way, there's a silly amount of bird hunting too. Huns, chukkar, pheasants, shot a few ptarmigans over the years, prairie chickens west river, and a stupid amount of waterfowl.

I've applied for rifle tags for probably a dozen years. I think I've gotten two. I refuse to buy preference points on principle.

I meant the deer aren't hard to get, don't know much about the tags

Depending on which county you are trying to draw for, one preference point is basically a guaranteed draw for deer.

Other tags, like elk, used to need at least ten before you had a shot.

It's just how the game is played west of the Mississippi.