What's it like to retire to/ live in Ashland, Ky. and/or Pleasure Ridge Park, Ky. ? (Lexington: condos, crime rate)

[DADDYO49]

...........I am still searching for good retirement friendly towns to retire to and was wondering what are the pros & cons and similarities & differences between Ashland and Pleasure Ridge Park ? Where are they located in Ky. ? What are these areas like ( mountains, lakes, farms, horse country etc. ) ? How do Housing costs & cost of living compare ? Area Hospitals ? Crime Rate ?

[texas scorpio]

mr. doowop
i have visited ashland ky. it is a very small town located onthe ky ohio border the ohio river runs along the town.is not a lot there in the town. that is about all i can tell you at this time.

[JRR]

For what it's worth, I go through Ashland just about every year on my way from Ohio to North Carolina. I travel on Route 23 which goes through downtown. My impression is an industrial city that has seen better times, but may be working at getting back on it's feet. It is right on the Ohio River with hills in behind it and still has some working steel and refinery facilities.

I'm considering some areas of Kentucky for retirement, but Ashland is one that never made my list. Just nothing that makes me say "Hey, I really like the looks of this place and I'd like to live here." But I'm sure that there are people who do live there and would never want to go anywhere else.

[rppipa01]

Pleasure Ridge Park is a neighborhood of Louisville. It is in the city so if you are looking for a small, rural town, this is not it.

[cvh03]

Originally Posted by MRDOOWOP

...........I am still searching for good retirement friendly towns to retire to and was wondering what are the pros & cons and similarities & differences between Ashland and Pleasure Ridge Park ? Where are they located in Ky. ? What are these areas like ( mountains, lakes, farms, horse country etc. ) ? How do Housing costs & cost of living compare ? Area Hospitals ? Crime Rate ?

Ashland is in Eastern KY. It's very close to the KY/WV border. Becomes gradually mountainous as you travel farther east. Small town friendliness though the town has grown in the last few years. As far as housing cost, I've never looked into, but my guess would be housing and cost of living would be lower than that of Louisville, KY. Closest metropolitan area would Lexington to the west, or Morgantown, WV to the east. I don't know much about the nightlife or attractions there either.

Pleasure Ridge Park (PRP) is a part of the Louisville Metropolitan area. I grew up in Shively which runs into PRP. Some consider PRP and Shively one and the same. The area has a ton of new homes and many more under construction. There several new patio homes and a few condos in that area. The schools, however, rank among the some of the lowest in the county. But if you're retiring that may not be a concern of yours. Every area of PRP is on the busline, it is very accessible. The crime rate for the area is low, though it is somewhat high in the city as a whole. There a plenty of shoppings centers, Wal-Mart, Meijers, Dillards. The closest shopping mall is about a 15-20 minute drive. Airport about 10 minutes. It's not the most cultural place in the city, but has a few decent restaurants. The fine dining and shopping are located in the east end of Louisville, and several downtown. PRP will give you more house for your money, and more area. Nice homes with big beautiful backyards under 200K. Same size home in the east end would run 225K or better. Everything is lower in Ashland: cost of living, crime rate, poverty rate, housing costs, pop., etc... Hopes this helps. Try the Highlands if you're looking for a more cultural area, traffic can be heavy at times though.

[Wiley_Coyote]

i'm not exactly near retiring age, so my viewpoint will be a little different, but since i used to live nearby and used to drive through ashland all the time, i thought i'd offer my impressions on the town. as said in a post above, the town has certainly seen better days...and that's quite the understatement. i found the town to be terribly depressing and couldn't possibly imagine living there. no offense to anyone that lives there, but i just can't see why anyone would want to willingly move there. i think there are a lot better places to live.

[dela1234]

My mother is from Ashland, KY and I still have a lot of family there. I currently live in Detroit, MI. I agree with the other poster, I don't see why anyone would willingly live there. The community is extremely small and they don't have much in the way of entertainment. If your looking for the small, desolute town feel this is your place. However, my family who still lives there loves it and has a happy life. It is just a slow town with not much to do. It is a hard adjustment for someone used to city life.

[The Village Idiot]

I hate to break it to you, but I have a feeling the OP isn't reading this thread anymore...before the most recent post, no one had posted in this thread since August of 2006.

I will say that Ashland and PRP are completely different, since PRP is part of the Louisville metro area and Ashland is, well, not. Coming to Ashland from Long Island might involve too much culture shock, but then again, if you want to escape the urban, rat race type environment without being completely in the middle of nowhere, Ashland would be okay.

I think this is a bit of an exaggeration, to say the least:

the town has certainly seen better days...and that's quite the understatement. i found the town to be terribly depressing and couldn't possibly imagine living there.

This is probably a more accurate assessment of Ashland:

My impression is an industrial city that has seen better times, but may be working at getting back on it's feet.

[KAREN GROVES]

i live here in Ashland Ky and love it ,there is a lot to do you just need to know where to go and do it,,there is dancing,,movies,,resturants there's alot,im not sure what you may do in your town ,

[SVTLightning]

Karen, the last reply to this was 18 months ago lol