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Getting close to taking a trip out to KY to look at some properties for sale. There are many in my range under 200k with some acreage. I know the eastern part of KY is prettier, but I hear Lex is more provincial and harder to get to know folks from what I read. I am looking at rural areas outside of these 3 regions outside of each city area.....places such as Radcliffe, Elizabethtown, Sellersburg, Winchester, Berea, Bardstown, Frankfort, Carrollton, etc.....I am going in all directions, I know. I never been around the area before so I am lost at where to start. Looking for a welcoming, friendly, low crime, safe, and pretty suburb, to possibly relocate to, but don't know where to start. I need to be not too far from a VA, like an hours drive. Any help is appreciated.
uhm...what part of Virginia?...It's like a 5 hour drive from Lexington to say Roanoke, Virginia(355 miles)....it would be even more from around the Louisville area(6 and a half hours orapprox 427 miles). It looks so close on the map, but it's not so much. (According to Google map Covington, Kentucky is around 6 hours - 375 miles.) If you need to be within an hours drive you would have to choose a town in the Mountains of Eastern Kentucky pretty much.
I can only speak of Lexington and its surrounding towns, which are for the most part well within an hour's drive. There are 2 VA hospitals in Lex, as far as I know, and each town has a hospital as well. Lex is a beautiful, clean city where you can find shows, concerts, sporting events, museums, farmers' markets, etc. The surrounding smaller towns offer a more country-type atmosphere, and the roads connecting them to Lex are incredibly scenic with beautiful horse farms everywhere! RE prices are more reasonable in the outlying towns that in Fayette County(Lexington).
I'd start by getting a map of KY and perhaps researching the RE on line, so you can see what your money can (and can't!) buy! Try www.lbar.com for the Bluegrass area. Once you come here to look at properties, you'll get a better feel of all the areas, and your agent will be able to help you out as well.
Good luck! Enjoy your search and welcome to Kentucky!
Yes I was liking that fact that Lex is closer to mountains and nature, but I have read that it has a snooty air to it, true or not, I do not know. No offense, but I have that read that a few times on CD, from some old threads.
Richmond is outside of Lexington with reasonable home prices and you could get some land. Also Berea is nice. I go there all the time, love it. Very artsy, and you can see the mountains in the distance from there. On the north side you have Georgetown which is nice.
I live in Northern KY, I find that Lexington people are very nice. Normally they are pretty friendly. I do know what you mean about some areas. Way far East can be a bit hilly billy type. Excuse me, don't mean to offend at all. London KY is near the boarder of TN, off I-75, and we went there and people were very nice and friendly. When I moved to Northern KY I thought people weren't very friendly, and then I made friends. The county I live in now is just south of Boone county. It's still part of Northern KY though off I-75. It's a mix here as there are more demarcates than I thought. A lot of farmers tend to be. I am Republican with leaning toward libertarian, so I understand what you mean there. Lexington is probably a mix. I do think for the most part KY is a conservative state.
I think there are areas where an outsider wouldn't feel welcome. Like some really small towns towards the East. Going into WV and VA. That corner there. (Very pretty area though) I think they are more clannish there, with the snake handling thing. Again, I will get blasted for this I know I will. Mean nothing by it. I do know in Middlesboro there is snake handling because there is a reality show about it...ha! I didn't even know about it till I saw that. To me that is some Twilight Zone stuff. But to say that the whole town or area is like that, is not so. I'm sure there are wonderful people all over. I believe the farther west you go the more open and friendly people tend to be. I've noticed that traveling. I also lived in Colorado and travel back often, and notice the difference as I travel out west. It could be a cultural type thing.
Since I am a transplant I can say at first I did feel out of place. I came down from Alaska. And Alaska is very friendly and welcoming. I thought the store clerks were rude, and maybe I was too talkative. I don't notice it as much anymore though. Maybe I am used to it.
I would say if you come here and you are friendly, then people will respond. Lexington is a nice area. It's growing and has a good housing market. There are jobs to be had there. Lots to do, and very pretty pasture land. You'll see horses grazing. They have a nice college with a great agricultural dept. Going on down south I-75 Richmond is just outside the city. I shop there sometimes. Berea is really nice, I love it there. Very artsy and diverse. Friendly, college town. If you like rock climbing and hiking there are lots of areas, and Lake Cumberland is awesome.
Once you got a job, you would network with people and get to the know area better, and meet more people. It's like any change, it's scary at first. For the most part this area is not bad.
I am retired, and just want a home with some acreage out of town....no need for a job, I just thought that the geography might be prettier south and east of Lexington, opposed to over by Louisville....I love West Virginia, went to college there for one year, many years ago, loved the people, I was in Wheeling. I just think now, that WV, might be too small, population wise, at least if I lived 30 miles out of Lex, I could get a date once in a while, don't think WV would support much of a dating or social life, with its low numbers. I do love the conservative, libertarian vibe of the northwest states though, also can find that vibe up in Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire, very live and let live. Once you hit either Utah (Mormons), and most of the southern states, not too sure if that libertarian spirit exists much like the way it would say in Montana.
Last edited by folkguitarist555; 06-21-2014 at 06:13 PM..
Getting close to taking a trip out to KY to look at some properties for sale. There are many in my range under 200k with some acreage. I know the eastern part of KY is prettier, but I hear Lex is more provincial and harder to get to know folks from what I read. I am looking at rural areas outside of these 3 regions outside of each city area.....places such as Radcliffe, Elizabethtown, Sellersburg, Winchester, Berea, Bardstown, Frankfort, Carrollton, etc.....I am going in all directions, I know. I never been around the area before so I am lost at where to start. Looking for a welcoming, friendly, low crime, safe, and pretty suburb, to possibly relocate to, but don't know where to start. I need to be not too far from a VA, like an hours drive. Any help is appreciated.
The best place IMO by far is Oldham County. Look no further than La Grange and Crestwood...best schools, best return on home investment, closer to malls and amenities yet still "country", upscale, and very safe with a growing and diverse population moving there from all over. I really wouldn't look too much anywhere else. Bardstown is nice if you want more of an independent small town.
Also, Oldham County is very close to the VA, less than 30 mins. In Louisville's NE suburbs a new VA will open by 2018 that will be state of the art. I would stick close to that area, especially if you are getting older.....
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