western KY on middle class income? comfortable or not really? (Louisville: for sale, foreclosure)

[alleged return of serfdom]

Hey KY people.

I've been lookiing at western KY recently and I'm wondering if my perceptions are correct.

It seems as if, for example, around the lakes, there are very wealthy people who have very nice lake homes and then there's just the lower middle class folks plugging along.

Those big homes, are they year-long residences, or are they get-away homes from the big cities (like other big lake areas in the south)?

Is the "income gap" really as noticeable on the ground as it seems when reading about the area?

I'm looking for about 50 acres close enough to civilization-- like 45 minutes to a decent-sized city (like 200-300K people). But I don't think I could swing a purchase of that size in that area, due to the market catering to what appears to be megahouses on one hand and 80K homes on the other.

[Franky400]

I noticed that your post had been out there a while with no response so I thought I would make a comment or two.

If you would like to be near a lake in Western Kentucky and within 45-minutes of a 200k plus city, your choices have been narrowed tremendously. Evansville and Clarksville are both only a 100k or so in population - and Bowling Green, Owensboro, and Paducah are considerably smaller - so being close to Nashville and Louisville sound like your only options unless you don't mind a smaller city.

Many people disagree on what is actually Western Kentucky, but by my definition I will mainly stick to a line from Scottsville to Brandenburgh and westward.

Also, when you say the lakes most people think of Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley but remember there are many other smaller lakes in Western Kentucky that you might want to look at >> Rough River, Barren River, Nolin, Malone, etc.

Also, I'm not clear if you want 50-acres close to a lake or actually located on a lake with access. No matter how far out in the so-called boonies you move to you are not going to find a reasonable price for 50-lakefront acres.

As far as the current cabins on the lakes, there are all types, from retirement and weekend homes for the middle class, as well as the larger more luxurious places for the wealthy. There are many affordable places in the area with 50-acres near a lake or an acre or two on the lake. Not everyone that has a cabin on the lake is considered wealthy by any means. If you don't have to be on the lake some really good deals can be found in the counties that border the Mississippi River.

Clarksville/ Bowling Green/ Evansville/ Paducah have lots of restaurants and decent malls. The roads are good so driving distances aren't that bad. Many people forget and think that Paducah is in the middle of nowhere but it is only 135 miles to Nashville and 145 miles to St. Louis, close enough for a nice day or weekend trip.

Western Kentucky is a great place to live if you want small town living with big city facilities within a couple of hours. I'm sure you can find a place to suits your needs, and the people are great as well.

[easydoesit]

Originally Posted by alleged return of serfdom

Hey KY people.

I've been lookiing at western KY recently and I'm wondering if my perceptions are correct.

It seems as if, for example, around the lakes, there are very wealthy people who have very nice lake homes and then there's just the lower middle class folks plugging along.

Those big homes, are they year-long residences, or are they get-away homes from the big cities (like other big lake areas in the south)?

Is the "income gap" really as noticeable on the ground as it seems when reading about the area?

I'm looking for about 50 acres close enough to civilization-- like 45 minutes to a decent-sized city (like 200-300K people). But I don't think I could swing a purchase of that size in that area, due to the market catering to what appears to be megahouses on one hand and 80K homes on the other.

It could just mean they have more debt than most people, not wealth. Having a big lake home doesn't mean shat

[Franky400]

Great Post easydoesit

[beilart]

Yep, and quite a few of them are in foreclosure or they are for sale because the current resident/owner can not longer afford to keep it. And lake home sales have pretty much come to a dead halt.

Originally Posted by easydoesit

It could just mean they have more debt than most people, not wealth. Having a big lake home doesn't mean shat