Northern Kentucky vs. Western Kentucky (Owensboro, Hopkinsville: house, buy, best school)

[Court1219]

I grew up in N.Kentucky and I have to say it was a wonderful experience!! I went through 12 years of private school. I attended Notre Dame Academy for high school, which is an all girls private school and absolutely loved it! I would recommend Kenton County if you decide Northern Kentucky. There are wonderful homes, great neighborhoods, great schools, and some of the nicest people ever! Edgewood is by far my favorite city! It is a very upscale neighborhood, but the people are so great... Two country clubs and great golf courses. It is only about 15 minutes from Cincinnati where there is tons of things to do and GREAT shopping. I currently live in Lexington, and it doesn't even compare!

[cincyUK]

Originally Posted by Court1219

I grew up in N.Kentucky and I have to say it was a wonderful experience!! I went through 12 years of private school. I attended Notre Dame Academy for high school, which is an all girls private school and absolutely loved it! I would recommend Kenton County if you decide Northern Kentucky. There are wonderful homes, great neighborhoods, great schools, and some of the nicest people ever! Edgewood is by far my favorite city! It is a very upscale neighborhood, but the people are so great... Two country clubs and great golf courses. It is only about 15 minutes from Cincinnati where there is tons of things to do and GREAT shopping. I currently live in Lexington, and it doesn't even compare!

Definately agree with everything Court said - except I prefer Kenton county but that's just splitting hairs! Also, if you seek a more rural existence it is very easy to achieve it just a little farther outside of cincinnati... check out gallatin, grant, pendleton and Bracken counties. The farther out you get, the more rural so there is something for anyone... it's only an hour to Lex due south from the river so you get an idea of how short a distance you have to get to get out a little bit. Union and Walton are both nice... i personally like taylor mill if you still want to be withing 20 of downtown.

[nalabama]

Originally Posted by EJohns

I only have one question? Why in Gods name would you leave the Great State of ALABAMA for this??????? LOL!!!!!

Well, taxes are higher in Kentucky, but then you do seem to get more house for your money in Kentucky. The natural beauty of the two states is comparable, but Kentucky has a greater variety IMO, although it does lack saltwater beaches. If you could have two seasonal homes, I'd permanent domicile in Alabama for tax purposes and spend my winters south of Montgomery within two hours of the Gulf and its back-bay fishing, then move north of Frankfort for the spring beauty and the summer's lower temps and humidity. Fall would be a toss-up. Great freshwater fishing in both states, early squirrel season in Kentucky, but more generous deer limits in Alabama. A lot to love in both places.

[timelesschild]

Definitely Northern Kentucky.

[EclecticEars]

I'm originally from western Kentucky and have too lived, albeit briefly, in northern Kentucky. I'd prefer northern Kentucky--more urban sophistication (for Ky. anyway,) it's not as "country-fied" as the rest of the state, and the job market is much stronger with higher paying jobs and a more education population. Go NKY!

[Kentuckyguy]

While I believe Western Kentucky has much to offer I would still choose Northern Kentucky. I know from living here that the job market is great and the schools are excellent from what I hear. Our daughter is about to attend school in the next few years and have talked to some folks here about schools and hear that they are very good. Also, in terms of housing we have many neighborhoods with old houses that have a lot of character (in my opinion). You can also get a fairly good size house for what you are planning on sending. You can also choose between an urban area (mainly Covington, Newport) if you prefer the city, a great suburb (Ft. Mitchell, Crescent Springs, College Park, Villa Hills) or rural area (Indepedence, Union, Burlington) depending on where you prefer to be. So, in terms of housing I believe you get more variety to choose from than you would in Western KY, but then again I don't live in Western Kentucky so I could be wrong. Also there is a lot to do and see in Covington which is basically our downtown here. There is also a lot to do in Newport which is right next to Covington. In NKY alone there are 3 malls which is nice. The best thing I like about NKY is the fact that you can have the convience of a large city (Covington) within a 20 mile radius and still live out in the country if you choose (hilly countryside).You can also enjoy all there is do in Cincinnati if you choose to cross the river.

[EclecticEars]

Originally Posted by Kentuckyguy

While I believe Western Kentucky has much to offer I would still choose Northern Kentucky. I know from living here that the job market is great and the schools are excellent from what I hear. Our daughter is about to attend school in the next few years and have talked to some folks here about schools and hear that they are very good. Also, in terms of housing we have many neighborhoods with old houses that have a lot of character (in my opinion). You can also get a fairly good size house for what you are planning on sending. You can also choose between an urban area (mainly Covington, Newport) if you prefer the city, a great suburb (Ft. Mitchell, Crescent Springs, College Park, Villa Hills) or rural area (Indepedence, Union, Burlington) depending on where you prefer to be. So, in terms of housing I believe you get more variety to choose from than you would in Western KY, but then again I don't live in Western Kentucky so I could be wrong. Also there is a lot to do and see in Covington which is basically our downtown here. There is also a lot to do in Newport which is right next to Covington. In NKY alone there are 3 malls which is nice. The best thing I like about NKY is the fact that you can have the convience of a large city (Covington) within a 20 mile radius and still live out in the country if you choose (hilly countryside).You can also enjoy all there is do in Cincinnati if you choose to cross the river.

Kentuckyguy has pretty much put the perks of NKY outright. There are plenty of somewhat expensive but gorgeous architectural gems in safe neighborhoods such as Wallace Woods and around Devou Park in Covington and East Row in Newport. Bellevue and Dayton are making a comeback too, with new refurbishments and developments right along the riverfront. Considering economic, cultural, and architectural diversity, so much more is concentrated in the three county NKY area than western Kentucky.

Western Ky. is alright, don't get me wrong, and some architectural diversity (i.e. Victorian-style homes and shotgun homes of the early 1900s) can be found in Owensboro, Henderson and Paducah. But, the area has never been known for its economic strength and strong concentrations of rich folks. So, with the lack of economic diversity also comes the lack of architectural diversity. Yes, WKY has many nice homes, but what people consider lovely homes there would be considered alright homes in suburban America, generally speaking. Western Kentuckians aren't poor folks, mostly, they're just not into flouting their wealth and possessions...not a very pretentious bunch, and I like that.

Still, at the end of the day, there's more that meets the eye in northern Ky. and that's my choice of places of live out of the rest of the state.

[missymomof3]

Originally Posted by jcm1986

Western Kentuckians aren't poor folks, mostly, they're just not into flouting their wealth and possessions...not a very pretentious bunch, and I like that.

There are people like that in Louisville, too. A man I used to wait on was a millionaire but you would never know it by the way he lived. I wish there were more people everywhere like that!

[EclecticEars]

Originally Posted by missymomof3

There are people like that in Louisville, too. A man I used to wait on was a millionaire but you would never know it by the way he lived. I wish there were more people everywhere like that!

There are people like that everywhere if you can find them. It's just that western Kentucky is the most truly "middle-class" region of the state. There are very few bonified poor folks, but rich folks are hard to come across too. Most of the ones that are rich don't flaunt it (if they're doctors, businessmen, dentists, etc.), as I guess they in a sense don't want to be looked down upon by the middle-class folks that often helped them get there. It's just a "middle-class, middle America, plain John and Jane folks" type of culture down there. Western KY is neither showy nor shabby.

Sorry, I tend to beat around the bush.

[NotSoPassive]

Northern KY. Whatever you do don't move into the city of Paducah proper (Western KY). Its the pits in terms of education and culture despite the fact that it promotes itself as a progressive and thriving artist community.