Hello all looking to relocate! (Lexington, Louisville: transplants, houses, to buy)

[CA~Native]

Hello folks, my wife and I have been natives of northern ca our whole lives and are ready for a new adventure. Among a few choices we have looked at Ky is one of our choices, and I have many questions that i hope some of you can answer. We live in a typical ca track home where our houses are so close together, i don't want to mention what i have seen my neighbor doing So homes with a little more land in woodsy areas. A part of town where my young boys can play and go to a good school as well. But here is the catch. We both work in health care she is a acute care nurse and I am a cardiovascular specialist. This means i need to be within a 30 commute to the hospital to respond to emergencies. So where would this perfect place be for my family? Oh and if there are any medical professionals out there that can give us an idea of salaries that would be awesome too. Thanks all

[EclecticEars]

Your criteria, as I understand it, includes, let's see...woodsy area for kids, good schools, 30 minute commute to hospital, decent salaries for healthcare industry.

Kentucky is very wooded and, even where it's not, is generally rural otherwise. Check.

Good schools? Ha! I'd have more faith in some of the suburban and small town systems of California, believe it or not, but we have a few gems sprinkled here and there.

Easy commute to hospital? Plenty of large, medium and small cities in Kentucky close-by to wherever you may choose to live.

Healthcare salaries: Stick to the cities for the larger salaries.

My suggestions:
1. Oldham County: Some of strongest public schools in Kentucky. Close to Louisville, easy commute down I-71 or an array of alternate routes. One of the wealthiest counties in America, yet land and housing are a fraction of what you'd pay anywhere but in the northernmost part of California.

2. Hardin County: Elizabethtown and Hardin County School systems are pretty good for Kentucky standards. Self-sufficient and modern county of 105,000 residents and growing anyway b/c of its easy proximity to Louisville (45 miles) and local presence of Fort Knox. At the convergence of I-65 and the Wendell Ford and Bluegrass Parkways, providing very easy access to anywhere you want to travel in Kentucky. And, as you can imagine, there is a hospital in Elizabethtown.

3. Boyle County, very nice place. Even though there is a nice hospital in Danville, it is a rural community (albeit modern yet preserving of its heritage). As you can imagine, the wages at Ephraim McDowell Medical Center probably wouldn't be great compared to nearby Lexington's hospitals. Speaking of Lexington, it's 45 miles away but up to one hour each way given traffic on US 27 which is just east of Danville.

4. Daviess County. Owensboro is a slowly-growing city in the process of improving and modernizing its downtown while preserving much of its history. Its small regional airport provides a direct flight to Orlando if you ever want to get away. Daviess (in which O'boro is located) is just shy of 100,000 residents and is in the process of opening a very large hospital, one of the largest in the state, on the east end (Owensboro Mercy). It has everything you could ever need in a small city, plus it is 30 miles from Evansville, IN which has about 250,000 residents in its metro area. Daviess County Public is generally a great school system.

5. McLean County is just southwest of Owensboro and is a much smaller, rural county (population 9,000) and basically commuter county to Owensboro and Evansville. Some of the best public schools in the state.

6. Webster County, but limited to the Slaughters area. The future of Slaughters Elementary (Preschool through eighth grade) seems to be in jeopardy every 4-5 years b/c the local school board wants to consolidate it into another school zone. It's a shame, really, b/c Slaughters is the life-blood of this very tiny, rural community and, as far as test scores go, has beat even the best schools in Kentucky's best-reputed school systems. I'd check it out. It's ten miles from Regional Medical Center and Trover Clinic complex, easily the largest medical complex in the state west of Louisville, and 35 miles from Owensboro and Evansville. The downside to Webster Co.: the school system sucks immensely beyond the eighth grade.

7. Greenup County, but limited to the Russell area. This is a stretch b/c the Huntington, WV-Ashland, KY area has been extremely slowly dying over the last 50 years and continues to very gradually bleed population. The healthcare wages may not be as high in this area as in other urban areas of our region. However, the Russell Independent school system has produced some graduates that go on to some great schools like Ohio State, Auburn, Indiana, etc.

8. Boone County. In the heart of rapidly growing and suburbanizing Northern Kentucky where the I-75 and I-71 corridors converge. If you want to live in Boone Co. and still have rural areas, there are plenty, but focus on far southern Boone Co. to reduce likelihood of suburbanization in the near future. Walton-Verona Independent Schools in southern Boone Co. are easily among Kentucky's best.

Of course, I strongly advise that you take a trip to Kentucky and see the state's rural lands, towns, cities and meet some its people before you move here. You may find it to be more of a culture shock than you think. Or, you may find a place to buy land, raise kids, die and be buried.

I want to move to either Southern or Central Coastal California. Love that state! I've had a couple of interviews for jobs out there so far but to no avail.

[tomocox]

Originally Posted by CA~Native

Hello folks, my wife and I have been natives of northern ca our whole lives and are ready for a new adventure. Among a few choices we have looked at Ky is one of our choices, and I have many questions that i hope some of you can answer. We live in a typical ca track home where our houses are so close together, i don't want to mention what i have seen my neighbor doing So homes with a little more land in woodsy areas. A part of town where my young boys can play and go to a good school as well. But here is the catch. We both work in health care she is a acute care nurse and I am a cardiovascular specialist. This means i need to be within a 30 commute to the hospital to respond to emergencies. So where would this perfect place be for my family? Oh and if there are any medical professionals out there that can give us an idea of salaries that would be awesome too. Thanks all

Cannot do better than Oldham County. 40014, 40031, 40056, 40059, 40026, 40010. Louisville is a medical mecca. First successful artificial heart, hand, face, eye, and other transplants. Baptist NE is a great regional hospital, with several satellites within 3 miles of western county line. Downtown Louisville has trauma, heart, and pediatric, plus five full service suburban hospitals. All within 30 minute drive during peak traffic.

Outstanding education, emergency medical, fire, rescue, police, and parks system. Lots of festivals ranging from art, to community, to holiday parteeeees...

Home prices are about 1/2 of California costs per square foot, one acre lots are common.

One of my agents is married to a major university medical center chief doctor recruiter.....

Super transportation with three major airports within area. Southwest, Delta, Continental, US Air, direct to Europe, easy to Atlanta, NYC, Chicago, Orlando, Tampa, Houston.

Lots of history, family recreation, and first off Broadway quality plays, etc. Elton John, Lady Gaga, major Country & Western recently downtown Louisville. 1 hour to NASCAR Sprint Cup, 2 hours to Indy pro-football, basketball, 90min to Cincy for ML baseball, three hours to Nashville for music, pro-football.

Yeah, I am happy to live in Oldham County, KY.

[EliRy]

Im relocating to northern KY with my son. He is 4 years old and has had a lot of medical issues that has lead to a heart transplant he had last August. He is doing wonderful now but still needs some attention. Im looking to move to Verona or close surrounding areas. Any suggestions on a pre-k?

[UKUKUK]

Stay out of Kentucky if you value your soul.

[CraigCreek]

Troll.

[UKUKUK]

Not trolling. He's an outsider so he's likely experienced a far better quality of life and been around a higher standard of people than what he'll be exposed to if he moves here. Just warning him.

[CraigCreek]

I hope the op will read all your previous posts, UKUKUK, just to get an idea of where you're coming from. Your opinions and your experiences are yours alone, and do not reflect those of the majority posting here. That said, you're welcome to your opinions and have every right to share them here, but to post as you did above, with no rationale or reason given for your negativity, is not helpful or informative.

It's just negative. No place is all-good or all-bad, as most mature, experienced, and fair-minded people recognize.

As for local opportunities, we've been down this discussion-road to the point of exhaustion. However, within the last ten days, I've participated in activities including visiting a nature sanctuary, attending a musical program, volunteering, church attendance, dining with friends, socializing with friends and neighbors, reading six public library books, working on a small crafts project with many even smaller components, attending a special-interest club meeting, visiting an art gallery, and more. That's in addition to housecleaning, cooking, bill-paying, yardwork, etc.The upcoming week's schedule is similarly loaded. And as several interesting upcoming activities overlap, I will have to choose between them.

Anyone who cares to involve himself in interesting activities in our community will not lack an abundance of opportunities to do so.

[CraigCreek]

For EliRy: Cincinnati Children's Hospital most likely will be the best place for your son's ongoing medical needs. Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati has a wealth of interesting places for families to visit, including the Cincinnati Zoo and the Ohio River waterfront, with lots of boats and other attractions.

Unfortunately, since I'm in central Ky, I cannot advise about PreK for your little boy, but I am glad to hear that he's doing so well and send my best wishes to him and your family on your upcoming move.

[UKUKUK]

Originally Posted by CraigCreek

I hope the op will read all your previous posts, UKUKUK, just to get an idea of where you're coming from. Your opinions and your experiences are yours alone, and do not reflect those of the majority posting here. That said, you're welcome to your opinions and have every right to share them here, but to post as you did above, with no rationale or reason given for your negativity, is not helpful or informative.

It's just negative. No place is all-good or all-bad, as most mature, experienced, and fair-minded people recognize.

As for local opportunities, we've been down this discussion-road to the point of exhaustion. However, within the last ten days, I've participated in activities including visiting a nature sanctuary, attending a musical program, volunteering, church attendance, dining with friends, socializing with friends and neighbors, reading six public library books, working on a small crafts project with many even smaller components, attending a special-interest club meeting, visiting an art gallery, and more. That's in addition to housecleaning, cooking, bill-paying, yardwork, etc.The upcoming week's schedule is similarly loaded. And as several interesting upcoming activities overlap, I will have to choose between them.

Anyone who cares to involve himself in interesting activities in our community will not lack an abundance of opportunities to do so.

Lexington does all of those things as well as nearby similarly sized cities... oh wait.