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My wife and I are "RENKAHs" (Retired Early, No Kids at Home") and are looking for an affordable area to move to. After considering several factors (climate, proximity to family, taxes, etc) we have 'zoomed in" on Lexington and/or Louisville as places we might like to relocate to. We are hoping that after reading our lifestyle "profile" some of you might be kind enough to let us know if you think central KY is our place in the sun....and if so exactly where we should consider further narrowing our search to.
We are active adults in our late 40's (she)-early 50's (he). Culturally we really enjoy live music (from Rock to Bach), live theatre and dance. We love to cook/dine out so having a source of fresh local ingredients for our own cooking as well as nearby upscale dining (think something well north of "Applebee's") is extremely important to us. One example of a perfect evening for us starts with a great dinner followed by a couple of cocktails and a rocking live band. For exercise we enjoy bicycling (NOT mountain biking) and walking, so having acess to bike/walking paths is considered important.
In terms of housing I have spent a little time on some of the real estate sites and I think we will be looking for something in the 250K-275K range. We both enjoy gardening a great deal so finding an area that is quiet and provides a bit of "elbow room" (min. of 1/2 an acre, preferably a bit more) is important. Probably as important as what we will be looking for is what we will NOT be looking for...That being a subdivision where homes are packed in on 1/4 acre lots with a swing set, trampoline and half a dozen screaming children in every back yard...sorry (hope we didn't offend) but we've been there, done that, and (until the grandkids start popping) we ain't going back again. On a related note, being "empty nesters" we are not too concerned about schools, other than how having good ones/bad ones nearby may affect our property value.
One final consideration...my wife worked in the accounting end of the construction industry for many years. She is toying with the idea of starting a small (i.e. part time) bookkeeping service that would cater to residential/commercial subcontractors in the area we relocate to. So my question then is what is the level of (non road/infastructure) construction in Lexington and/or Louisville and which part of town is most of this construction taking place.
Thank you in advance to anyone who has taken the time to read and respond to this note. We can also be reached via SteviePee2 (at) Yahoo.com
We are looking forward to learning more about this beautiful area of the country.
Look almost anywhere along the I-71 corridor, but look especially hard at Prospect (40059), Goshen (40026), Crestwood (40014), LaGrange (40031), Pewee Valley (40056) Louisville (40245, 40241) or Pendleton (40255). Pendleton, the greatest distance of the above from Louisville is only 30 to 45 minutes from downtown, the airport, and most high quality Louisville shopping; however, most if not all your daily services and needs can be adequately met living anywhere in Oldham County or eastern Jefferson County. check out Welcome to OldhamCounty.com! for some really good information.
I like both cities as each area as some very special but unique attributes. I have lived and worked in both markets. I have family in Lexington area and they love it. I live in Oldham County, and I love it, but the main thing to me is they both are in Kentucky, and that's a good start on the worst of days.
Hey - I am reading this years later. Where did you end up? We are having the exact same question - Louisville or Lexington......
I grew up 27 miles south of Louisville and then moved to Lexington and lived there for 48 years. Both cities right now are having their problems with congested traffic, rising crime and affordable housing.
Louisville has a LOT more places to dine, shop, entertain, tour, party etc. than Lexington does. Lexington being smaller, has a more comfy "hometown" feel to it. And if you are a basketball fan, pick Lexington.
I grew up 27 miles south of Louisville and then moved to Lexington and lived there for 48 years. Both cities right now are having their problems with congested traffic, rising crime and affordable housing.
Louisville has a LOT more places to dine, shop, entertain, tour, party etc. than Lexington does. Lexington being smaller, has a more comfy "hometown" feel to it. And if you are a basketball fan, pick Lexington.
If you are a KENTUCKY basketball fan, pick Lexington. All other fans risk death by stones! Not even kidding lol. In Louisville you can actually live there without being CONSUMED with Kentucky basketball but it will be apparent, just not all consuming like in Lexington. Literally you cannot even eat at a bar in Lexington during UK games without the game on every single screen and crazy loud fans all over. You just don't see that in a larger city like Louisville.
Louisville is just so much bigger and more cosmopolitan that it is not even a fair comparison.
Lexington, for its size, is truly a rising star though. It's so compact, cute and increasingly manicured. There is probably not many metro areas under 1 million better than Lexington.
In the 1-2 million range, Louisville is one of the 4 or 5 nicest cities you will find!
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and are looking for an affordable area to move to. After considering several factors (climate, proximity to family, taxes, etc) we have 'zoomed in" on Lexington and/or Louisville as places we might like to relocate to. We are hoping that after reading our lifestyle "profile" some of you might be kind enough to let us know if you think central KY is our place in the sun....and if so exactly where we should consider further narrowing our search to.
On a related note, being "empty nesters" we are not too concerned about schools, other than how having good ones/bad ones nearby may affect our property value. 
