Living in Rapid City, SD, From a Local Realtor’s Perspective

Visit Rapid City

Markie Zacharias met her now husband, Tom, the weekend she moved to Rapid City. 

“It was nearly love at first sight, and we married less than a year later, in 2010,” she says. 

Tom has a son named Steven, and the couple had another son together in 2012. While neither Tom nor Markie were originally from Rapid City, it’s where they chose to call home and raise their family. 

Finding Home 

Tom moved to Rapid City when he was just 19 and worked for his family business before taking over the dryer vent cleaning company in 2013. 

Markie, originally from Minnesota, became acquainted with the area while she went to college at South Dakota State University in Brookings. While interning at Daktronics, she met fellow interns who studied engineering at South Dakota Mines in Rapid City and often spent the weekends in the area with them. 

“I’m from a small town, so I loved that there were a lot of outdoor things, which I grew up doing,” Zacharias says. “You could hunt, fish or hike, but also go to Target, the movies or a restaurant within just a few minutes.” 

Now a local Realtor, Zacharias is deeply invested in the community she and her husband call home. “While neither of us are born residents, we very much have deep roots here in Rapid City and the Black Hills,” Zacharias says. 

Markie Zacharias

A Place to Grow 

Rapid City offers a welcoming, safe place to grow a family. According to Payscale, the cost of living in Rapid City is 1.2% lower than the national average, while the cost of housing is 3% lower. Zacharias has leveraged this affordability to her advantage, both as a resident and as a manager of multiple local rental properties. 

“In my business, I work with tons of families with different interests moving here,” Zacharias says. “Whether their interest is theater, dance, sports or music, there are program options available.” 

Her 12-year-old son plays an active part in the local baseball community. Having recently graduated from the Canyon Lake Little League, he is set to join Post 22 Legion Baseball. Her family’s commitment to the sport is so strong they recently relocated just to be closer to the diamond. Education is another highlight of the region, offering diverse, high-quality choices. While Zacharias’ stepson thrived in the public school system, her younger son has attended private school since preschool. 

Gateway to Adventure 

Rapid City serves as a gateway to both natural wonders and a rich cultural core. Downtown, the streets come alive through the bronze statues of the City of Presidents Trail and the kaleidoscopic murals of Art Alley. Between museum visits, locals can browse curated local shops and dine at an eclectic array of eateries that reflect the city’s unique character. 

For fun, Zacharias likes to go fishing at Canyon Lake Park and hiking on area trails. Three different trail systems are within just minutes of downtown, at Hanson-Larsen Memorial Park, Raider Park and the Skyline Wilderness Area. 

“If we have time that we’re not at the baseball fields, or we have an evening off, we’re spending it outside,” Zacharias says. 

There’s plenty of outdoor recreation right in Rapid City, but families can also enjoy quick trips to Mount Rushmore, Badlands National Park, Custer State Park and more. 

Zacharias likes that you can experience the four seasons in Rapid City. Winters aren’t as harsh as where she grew up in Minnesota, spring and summer offer ample outdoor opportunities, and fall showcases stunning foliage in the canyons. 

“Rapid City is an awesome place to live,” Zacharias says. “I’ve traveled a lot, and this is one of the few places where you can really have it all.”